Do Speakers Exist that Fit a 188 Sport?!

[Paul P]

I am at a loss to find a pair of speakers that fit the stock speaker locations for a 188 Sport. I thought installing a new radio would be the hard part when upgrading the stereo but finding speakers is impossible as far as I know. I bought a pair of 6 inch Kickers that did not fit and ended up destroying them as I tried to resize them to fit. The cutout diameter for the speaker cannot be greater than 5.25 inches and the outside diameter cannot be greater than 6.5 inches. It seems like the molded side panels where the stock speakers were mounted are designed around the crappy Seaworthy speakers that came stock.



So any info, contacts, etc, that can help me find decent coaxial speakers that fit a 188 sport is greatly appreciated!



(I was unable to upload pictures of the panel where the speakers are mounted but will try again later)



Thanks



Paul
http://www.nitroowners.com/msgboard9e.asp?boardname=msg&view=1113985&replycount=23

 

[cq]

Check - Great lakes skipper, wholesale marine, Google or Bing.

 

[Ralph Hayden]

You might find some here too
http://www.rocktheboataudio.com/marine_speakers.html

 

[Kenny Benoit]

I used a stone bit on a cordless drill and made the holes on my 189 larger to accommodate normal speakers of higher quality.

 

[Paul P]

Hi Kenny



In the 188 Sport the outside dimension of the grill is tight and smaller than all new 6 inch speakers that I can currently find. So its not the inside cutout dimension is the grill outside diameter that is the problem.



I will upload images of the panel where the speakers are mounted when I get past some site issues.



Thanks



Paul

 

[Paul P]

Thanks to the help from Nitro Parts department at Bass Pro in Foxborough, I found out that in the 2003 188 Sports that the rod locker panel which includes the speaker mounting area has a different design and supports most 6 inch speakers. Prior to that (mine is a 2001) the speaker mounting area supported a speaker with a smaller outside cover diameter which is near impossible to find now. I am onto one that I am going to check out at a local West Marine. If it fits then I'll post the details.



Paul

 

[Paul P]

I was able to fit a new pair of PolyPlanar MA6500 5.25 inch dia speakers. The outside diameter of the speaker fits perfectly. The mounting hole pattern diameter on them was a little smaller than the diameter of the existing cutout. To solve this I had a buddy machine 2 aluminum rings. The ring served as a backing plate effectively sandwiching the boat panel between the backing plate and the speaker. The ring had through holes so the screw passes through it and is fastened with lockwasher and nut.



http://www.polyplanar.com/product/ma6500-5-14-platinum-round-speaker



Paul