So I'm thinking of changing the speaker placement in my bow... currently i have holes that are cut out down by the floor for some 6x9's which I am replacing with some 6.5's Rockford Fosgate's. I have a thin piece of starboard that will cover the 6x9 cut outs and make fit correctly for the 6.5's.

But this got me thinking, I'm already doing all the cushions in the bow and what if i could put the speakers up higher for better sound... but will this make much of a difference? is it worth the extra work? I'll just cover the bottom holes fully with the 3/16 starboard below then.

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I definitely think that you’ll be able to hear the sound better with the new placement, but the question becomes is it worth the extra effort. I have encountered a similar situation with my bow rider and the issue I had was that where you are proposing the new placement of the speakers, the mounting surface is curved, so you would have a hard time flush mounting it without fabricating a custom speaker housing to account for the curvature (at least with my application that was the issue). If you figure something out, let me know.

it will sound much better higher up, and you can use the holes down low for some subs!

It will most certainly sound better, and be much louder where you plan to put them. Depending on how you are going to do the cushions mounting the speaker wont be that hard. You could even go right through the cushions if needed. If the surface is curved depending on how much of a curve you can just use some foam insulation strip to help seal it.

Thats what I thought... So I will be moving them up front. For covering up the lower speaker cut outs... is the plan of cover them up with a thin plates of starboard the best idea? Should I screw them in or glue them with 4200?

If it were me I would get some translucent Acrylic put some LED's behind it and make a cool light out of the holes.

Not sure if they still make them, but Kicker used to make some 6x9" freeair subs that would probably provide some nice midbass in this application and keep you from filling or covering any holes.