The Official 450 Express Bridge Owners Club

[Shoyrtt]

Okay, JBL Flip 5s; not elegant, but effective. I may move the forward speaker all the way out to the radius on the bow rail and face it towards the bow seat once I feel like it won't fall off under way. That will get rid if the asymmetry of what I just tested.

Pros, right at $300, no holes in my boat, plenty loud, and can move them anywhere; inside/outside/dinghy/neighbors.

Cons, about 5 minutes to install and remove (don't order the speaker holders I have, had to rig up something to make them tight enough to hold on the rail), they are a little ugly (would hardly be noticeable if I could find white holders), eventually they need charging (advertised 12 hrs of play, but even if they get 6 I'll be happy), very slightly out of sync with Fusion as I am sending two Bluetooth feeds, one to Fusion and one to the master JBL.

Still
View attachment 153462

From no volume to full, can easily be heard off the boat.

I didn't realize you were going to connect to the Bluetooth of your Fusion head unit on the flybridge. I figured I would just use a phone on the bow, but I like the idea of connecting to the Fusion. So I take it one of the three JBL speakers is the "master"? As far as being out of sync with the Fusion, was there any improvement if the master was closer to the Fusion?
As far as the mounts, I would guess you could have something made by your local shop or someone with a nice sewing machine in white material. I was thinking the mounts would be similar to a GoPro.
Nice video Kevin and good choice of music! Have a great weekend!

 

[Jack O'Brien]

That is how it cleaned up with my shore power cable. Try it on your hypalon dinghy next.

Dinghy always a mess even with a waterproof cover. Wondering if there's a coating for easy clean instead of scrubby and hypalon cleaner.

 

[Jack O'Brien]

Grand Desire at Boca Grande, Gasparilla Island. Delightful.

 

[Forrestkk]

I didn't realize you were going to connect to the Bluetooth of your Fusion head unit on the flybridge. I figured I would just use a phone on the bow, but I like the idea of connecting to the Fusion. So I take it one of the three JBL speakers is the "master"? As far as being out of sync with the Fusion, was there any improvement if the master was closer to the Fusion?
As far as the mounts, I would guess you could have something made by your local shop or someone with a nice sewing machine in white material. I was thinking the mounts would be similar to a GoPro.
Nice video Kevin and good choice of music! Have a great weekend!

To clarify, I am using a phone to send Bluetooth to the Fusion and the Master JBL. My phone allows me to drive two audio outputs via Bluetooth (pretty sure most phones do). I think the sync issue is a slight difference in processing of the Bluetooth signal by the Fusion head and the Master JBL, but the whole boat is playing the same music.

Also, this allows me to control the volume of the the whole boat with my phone, and adjust Fusion and JBL separately from the phone. Obviously, JBL and Fusion can be adjusted separately at the Fusion head or remote, and each JBL speaker has buttons embedded for volume/ play/pause. Of course, you could also have each system driven by a separate phone and have different tunes going if desired.

Agree, thinking of having a canvas shop recreate the mounts in white. There were some Go-Pro like mounts too, but they didn't have a fixed loop around the speaker. I was a bit skeptical of an 'oops' and then I would be driving around in circles trying to fish out a speaker (they float), or wouldn't see it happen and lose a speaker altogether.

 

[keithmo]

Hi Guys,

Cheap, non-wired solution for bow speakers. Thoughts?

So, the JBL flip 5s allow for connection of up to 100 speakers.

Thinking 3x Flip 5s on bicycle mounts for the bow. Removable, transferable, and if you haven't heard these they sound great. Could put two on the bow stair hand rails and another up on the most forward part of the rail.

Compared to adding a third Amp and figuring out wiring this seems like a less expensive 'easy' button for bow sound.


TXEsign Portable Speaker Mount for Bike/Golf Cart/Boat Railing, Adjustable Strap Bike Speaker Holder Speaker Attachment for JBL Charge 4/JBL Charge 5/JBL Flip 5/JBL Flip 6/UE Boom 3/Wingman View Golf https://a.co/d/dQr70sk

JBL FLIP 5, Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker, White, 3.6 x 3.6 x 8.5 https://a.co/d/4ljNTGC

Our flybridge amp blew a couple of years ago, so we have been getting by with a pair of Megaboom 3 speakers. I can strap them on anywhere and save the house battery while anchored out. They pair with each other and sound great! I use them on the dinghy and golf cart, too.

 

[Jack O'Brien]

Grand Desire was in Clearwater YC Mon-Thu, sorry to have missed meeting Mr. Turner of our group (Tickety Boo?). On way up we stopped next to Holiday Inn, Indian Rocks, at free town dock, walked over to The Original Crabby Bills. We had a two week trip aboard, now in Venice, back to St. Charles Ft. Meyers today.

 

[Shoyrtt]

Dinghy always a mess even with a waterproof cover. Wondering if there's a coating for easy clean instead of scrubby and hypalon cleaner.

After I clean the dinghy with the Boat Cleaner Pro (BCP), the hypalon is a little sticky. I usually rinse it with fresh water and then use a light spray wax to finish it off. With my Weaver Davit, the soot from the exhaust gets the dinghy dirty quick if I use the BCP alone and its sticky. The spray wax seems to help.

 

[Jack O'Brien]

After I clean the dinghy with the Boat Cleaner Pro (BCP), the hypalon is a little sticky. I usually rinse it with fresh water and then use a light spray wax to finish it off. With my Weaver Davit, the soot from the exhaust gets the dinghy dirty quick if I use the BCP alone and its sticky. The spray wax seems to help.

I have heard floor wax on hypolon helps. I tried 303 protectorant once, didn't help. My dinghy is nicely covered but seems the cover holds in the soot and even mildew. Keeping the hypolon clean is a giant chore.

 

[keithmo]

It appears that my sump pump may have failed. As you guys are aware, it is extremely difficult to work in the sump area. I'm struggling to remove the pump hose to begin diagnosing the problem. Before I start ripping things apart, I have been researching the Whale sump system. Have any of you considered this? There are a lot of positive reviews on the CSR site, and there is a good chance I could put the new system in a more manageable position, with the pump mounted externally. Here is a picture of what I am looking at:

 

[Jack O'Brien]

It appears that my sump pump may have failed. As you guys are aware, it is extremely difficult to work in the sump area. I'm struggling to remove the pump hose to begin diagnosing the problem. Before I start ripping things apart, I have been researching the Whale sump system. Have any of you considered this? There are a lot of positive reviews on the CSR site, and there is a good chance I could put the new system in a more manageable position, with the pump mounted externally. Here is a picture of what I am looking at:
View attachment 153989

"more manageable position" a big +. Mine is neglected for that very reason. Whale eliminates submersible bilge pump & float, prone to fouling. Quite a plumbing project rerouting hoses. I'm sure you're aware all the inputs are gravity fed, so same or lower elevation required.

 

[LMBoat]

When the pump in my sump failed, I could not remove/replace. I ended up abandoning it in place and installing another/new pump. I had to fabricate a bracket to hold it, but it has worked for 7-8 yrs.

Same with the float switch.

Still a pain to deal with, but manageable.

Just a comment, the Whale box looks small? Too small for 2 sinks, 2 showers? Possibly back up if all is in use?

 

[Bill Carroll]

New SeaDek flooring

 

[keithmo]

I am going analyze this quite a bit before taking this on. I agree with Jack about size, and would probably go with the 4 gallon model. This would make it easier to add a second pump if needed. On my next trip to the boat I plan to attempt removing the pump outlet hose to determine if there is a check valve issue. Then I'll try to remove the pump from the base to look for other issues. I will also look at the tank dimensions and hose inlet locations to get an idea of what would be involved. Thanks!

 

[Shoyrtt]

I found this thread on the Trawler Forum about the Whale system. It sounds like you don't have to clean the box as often, but it will require you to have access to it for some cleaning. The Whale sump box also requires it to be vented, just like our current system. My hunch is the Admiral on our boat will still get a faint whiff of a sour sump box and I will still be cleaning it once a quarter. The other observation from the Trawler thread is the Whale system might be noisy and the "Gulper" pump takes a while to get the grey water out of the tank. In the Trawler thread it is mentioned that the Gulper pumps water out in "small gulps". The person said "...50 gulps would not be unexpected to empty my tank." Here is a link to the Trawler thread: "Whale Pump Problem"

After reading this, I'm not sure the Whale system is the panacea. Our existing system when clean, is nice and quite and pumps the grey water overboard quickly and efficiently. The only things I would change in the grey water system is to have the galley sink drain go directly overboard (a very popular modification to the Sundancers) and to relocate the sump box. When my sump pump fails, my thought is replace it with a newer box and sump pump and relocate it forward enough so I can actually see what I am doing.

 

[Shoyrtt]

New SeaDek flooring

That looks great! Hopefully Sea Dek has the patterns now for the flybridge. When I did my flooring three years ago, they only had the cockpit and swim platform patterns.

 

[LMBoat]

I will agree that the existing shower sump box is not bad. The only issue is access. If it were in a better spot, it would be great. It is large, that eliminates the pump re-cycling from a bad ck valve. Actually, i don't think mine has one, as it is not needed due to the size of the box. Water flowing back into the box is not enough to activate the float switch.

One thing people overlook is that there is a hose that goes from the sump to the bilge under the stairs in the aft cabin. If the sump pump or float switch fail, water will flow out this hose in that that bilge and pump it overboard, and that bilge has an alarm, so you will hear it if the sump has stopped working. In other words, you can continue to use the sinks/showers if the sump fails, and fix the sump when convenient

Regarding the galley sink drain, mine drains into the main drain. Came that way from the factory.

Just my .02.....

 

[MarginCall]

T

Hi Guys,

Cheap, non-wired solution for bow speakers. Thoughts?

So, the JBL flip 5s allow for connection of up to 100 speakers.

Thinking 3x Flip 5s on bicycle mounts for the bow. Removable, transferable, and if you haven't heard these they sound great. Could put two on the bow stair hand rails and another up on the most forward part of the rail.

Compared to adding a third Amp and figuring out wiring this seems like a less expensive 'easy' button for bow sound.


TXEsign Portable Speaker Mount for Bike/Golf Cart/Boat Railing, Adjustable Strap Bike Speaker Holder Speaker Attachment for JBL Charge 4/JBL Charge 5/JBL Flip 5/JBL Flip 6/UE Boom 3/Wingman View Golf https://a.co/d/dQr70sk

JBL FLIP 5, Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker, White, 3.6 x 3.6 x 8.5 https://a.co/d/4ljNTGC

Here’s how I solved the forward music problem. Use an older gem Bazooka g3 partybar. Bluetooth and really fills the bow with sound. Pricier but I already had it. Used quick fist to secure it to the rails. Bazooka now has battery powered marine tubes. Been seeing them on a lot of the higher end dinghy’s

 

[Forrestkk]

New SeaDek flooring

Well, that looks fantastic!

 

[Forrestkk]

The weatherman lied to me today, said 65 and cloudy and it is 76 and sunny. Ughh, so I am faux boating sitting on the boat at my dock.

That said, starting to get down to the real little details to fix.

What the heck used to be here. Assuming it was to secure the door to the swim platform open??

 

[Forrestkk]

T

Here’s how I solved the forward music problem. Use an older gem Bazooka g3 partybar. Bluetooth and really fills the bow with sound. Pricier but I already had it. Used quick fist to secure it to the rails. Bazooka now has battery powered marine tubes. Been seeing them on a lot of the higher end dinghy’s

View attachment 154141View attachment 154142

Like those mounts a lot, we're they part of the speaker bar?