Speakers on Pontoon Canopy?

I am looking to upgrade the sound system on my 25' pontoon. One of the things I want to do is somehow mount some decent speakers on the canopy. Ideally they would be on some kind of swivel so they could face forward or backward depending on where we are (on the boat / in the water at the sand bar, etc...). I visited a local pontoon dealer in Mpls who treated me like I was from another planet. I also talked to a wakeboard dealer about using speakers from a wakeboard tower and they didn't think the canopy frame could hold the weight of the speakers, plus once they are mounted, they are there to stay - no swivel or removing.
I'm not looking for Rock Concert size sound, but the speakers in the benches (which I'll be upgrading as well) just seem to muffle the sound and we sure can't hear anything when we are out in the water (off the boat).
I believe the channel on the canopy frame is about 1/2 - 3/4" square. Boat is still in storage, but I hope to be getting it out soon.
I can't be the first person to come up with this concept. The tower speakers on wakeboard boats have been around for years. Ideas anyone? Thanks in advance for the help...

Re: Speakers on Pontoon Canopy?

I wouldn't want moveable speakers. Anything adjustable or moveable is bound to shake loose due to the constant motion and pounding on a boat.
When you say canopy are you talking something fixed or a bimini top? If it's bimini top I would abandon plans of mounting anything to it.
As for equipment, try Crutchfield, they are excellent and I think their website has specific marine section. Maybe they have something that will work for you. I would just mount two sets of speakers, one set facing each direction.

Re: Speakers on Pontoon Canopy?

Thanks for the reply.
Yes - the 'canopy' I refer to is the bimini or sun-shade or whatever the technical term is. It folds up and down for going under bridges, etc... but has the aluminum frame that is quite sturdy.
Still hoping somebody else has other ideas / something they have seen or done. I will check out Crutchfield as well.

Re: Speakers on Pontoon Canopy?

I would think adding speakers to the bimini will make it wobble side to side more. Adding weigh high up like that and going over waves will just ruin the mounting points of the bimini. Unless you can find small lightweight speaker which usually means terrible sounding.
What about adding some swivel speakers to the pontoon railings that swivel and can be removed if needed. If you mount 2 sets, one on the bow and one on the stern you can face them any direction you want. many options with a pontoon for speakers, pictures of your setup might help other come up with ideas.

Re: Speakers on Pontoon Canopy?

How about using a small set of outdoor satellite speakers? Like the ones used in home surround sound systems. They usually use a swivel mount of some kind with a 1/4-20 bolt. You could use a RAM mount to make it easily adjustable for when your off the boat.

Re: Speakers on Pontoon Canopy?

Good ideas on the mounting to the railing - never thought of that. I did check out the outdoor speakers today that people may put on their deck. That's an option too, but would need an amp and the guy said they will really drain the battery if we are sitting out and not running - which we do quite a bit. That just means I'll need a third battery on board for a spare. I should be able to get pics of the boat in the next couple weeks (still lots of snow in the part of MN where our cabin is and ice won't be out for quite a while at this rate).

Re: Speakers on Pontoon Canopy?

The RAM mount suggestion gave me an idea. What about using RAM mounts to mount REMOVABLE speakers. Put them up on the biminni top (and drape the wires out of the way) while floating or at the sand bar and take them down and stow them while underway. Yeah, kinda a pain in the *****, but solves the weight problem.

Todd