I was recently asked whether it was possible to mount speakers on the tow bar of a pontoon boat or on the top of a Bimini, and if so what would my recommendations be.
Now I am not going to pretend that I am an audio specialist.
I can wire up basic electrical components, but I don’t have a brilliant knowledge on amps and speakers generally, other than the more portable waterproof types, some of which I have reviewed previously. Click here to see some recommendations for awesome waterproof boat speakers that are ideal for pontooners.
So, what I did instead, was asked a few questions on Facebook and some other boating forums to see what other pontoon boat owners, and whether I could get any good advice on what to know.
Here’s that advice with some photos where people have mount speakers on a Bimini top or tow bar, with some notes of advice added too.
I hope it helps and should give you an indication on the best way to do things.
Mounting Speakers on a Pontoon Tow Bar
Here is a selection of photos from Facebook where have people have successfully fixed speakers to their ski tow bar. I’ve included some notes and comments on each photo to give you an idea on how the results were achieved.
Wet Sounds Rev 8s with an Equalizer
In this example shown below, the guy responded to another Facebook user who asked if anyone hangs speakers from their ski tow bar. The original request was to find out how or if wake board speakers on ski tow bar was a good idea or not.
It’s almost impossible to see the wires running up the tow bar in this example, but cable ties were used believe it or not!
The guy running the set-up above said that tow bars accommodate speakers very well, and in this photo was using Wet Sounds Rev 8s undermounted on a swivel.
He also mentioned having an equalizer to adjust levels by zone being key to balancing overall sound levels across the pontoon boat.
If you are curious as to sound quality produced, it was mentioned that the biggest issue with speakers set below the pontoon seats is that they’re usually aimed at your feet.
Ideally, you want speakers at ear level and in front so mounting them to the pontoon tow bar was an easy compromise and worked very well.
In terms of running the wires up the tow bar, he managed to get it very clean looking by using stainless zip ties bought on eBay and it has worked well so far.
The tow bar shown in the photo above is a 3 piece so he ran a techflex braided wire loom up the backside of the vertical post and jumped inside the upper horizontal post for a slightly cleaner look.
Speakers with Zip Ties Again
I am not sure on the brand of these boat speakers, but the guy who fitted these to his pontoon ski tow bar again used the small diameter wire loom and a few zip ties method.
He says it works insanely well, and the sound quality is awesome. It looks very cool too!
Exile Audio Speakers on a Tow Bar
This set-up needs to be seen to be believed… which you can do below!
I have a feeling that this is going to be very, very loud.
Again, the pontoon owner said was easy to do by running a wire through the ski pole, but also having to drill a small exit hole for each wire. The pole is hollow allowing them to hide the wiring way better than is using cable ties.
Personally I do wonder if by drilling holes you would hurt the integrity of the tow bar?
The owner also recommended that you use a JL audio 8 Channel amp so you have plenty of space for other speakers when mounting so many at once in this way.
Internal Wiring Again
Here’s another example where the wires are run through the tow bar pole, rather than being wrapped and attached externally. The effect here is stunning, and you could be mistaken for thinking that the speakers were wireless – they’re not!
I know they look like wireless speakers, but the wires run internally inside the tow bar.
Another user commented that if attempting this set-up then they would recommend WetSounds REV8 or REV10 series tower speakers with swivel mounts. That means you can aim them different directions and remove them during the off season.
Speakers Mounted by a Dealer
This example below looks stunning. The boat owners dealership took care of the whole job i setting up a great sounding system. They added Rev 8 Wet Sound speakers, Wet Sounds Amp, and then added a remote on the back of the boat.
This sound system set-up was put together by the pontoon owner’s dealership.
In addition to the mounting set-up above, they also neoprene travel covers for them but they’re on swivel mounts so they can be turned as well.
They opted to do this as the railing wouldn’t allow any speakers to be mounted in the rear panels of this pontoon boat so this was considered to be the best option available – as before the wires run through the ski tubing.
In terms of cost the amp, speakers, and the rear remote were over $2,500 dollars installed with the the Rev 8s being about a $1,000 for the pair.
Another Stunning Example
This pontoon boat has a JL Audio Media `master M100, 2 JL 10″ subs, 6 jl 6.5″, 1 Rockford 1500-watt amp for the 6.5″ and towers, 1 Rockford 800 watt amp for subs.
This looks really good, and could be how you mount your own speakers.
It also has a bass knob for subs, had a knob to control tower speakers. It’s possible to turn the speakers in the boat down and leave the tower ones on. It also had a water proof key fob for the stereo to control while away from boat.
Mounted Speakers on a Bimini Top
Many wake tower speakers will tend to be too heavy to mount onto a pontoon boat Bimini, but that doesn’t mean you can still achieve what you are looking to do.
Here are just a couple of examples where it has been done successfully.
These Bimini mounted speakers were fitted by Waves and Wheels Marine Audio at Lake Ozark.
Alternatively you can buy a tower which is easy and simple to install.
