Here is the finished install of the EZ-Steer linkage system between the 260 rudder post and my Mercury Bigfoot 9.9 motor. The picture was taken from the borading platform above the ladder with the engine tilted out of the watre.

The rod is a two piece system that is supposed to self-adjust based on the tension in the two screws (white capped objects just under yello wlabel in picture). The factory tension on these screws is not enough to handle the weight of my motor, so I will be adjusting them more tightly my trip down to the boat with an allen wrench set.

The rudder post mount attaches via a clam-shell (two semi-circular metal pieces) secured via two nuts and bolts. The motor mount attached via two metal screw-straps. The screw straps were a pain because I had to attach it while staddling the motor (glad nobody has pictures of this).

The rod has a swiveling ball-like mechanism that attaches to the quick release socket on each mount. I believe that once I have it all set up, I will be disonnecting the rudder side each time I raise the motor.

All in all the installation was pretty simple and I hope it greatly improves my maneuverability around the dock. It should also help me out quite a bit, should I have rudder failure agin.

EZ-Steer Installed on 260

Here is how I chose to install my stereo system on our 260.

First, I removed the smoke detector from its factory location (yes, it will be reinstalled) and mounted the stereo into the stereo cover that I purchased at West Marine. I mounted the stereo cover on the head liner by drilling pilot holes and using self-tapping screws.

Then I attached two 90 degree metal brackets to each of the speakers with a rubber gasket in between to reduce vibration. The speakers were mounted to the headliner in the same manner as the stereo. I chose these speakers because I wanted something that could be externally mountable and they proved to be a pretty good fit for the mounting location I wanted.

I used a metal wire to route the speaker wire up to the acccess panel just behind the table cabin light. I cut a small cutout in the same panel and routed the stereo wires through this cutout to connect to the stero wires and pulled power off the light.

The stereo has a small credit card sized remote that works well from the cockpit and from the rear berth. The speakers seem to do a pretty good job in this less than ideal acoustical environment. The stereo is XM ready, as soon as I get my IP bus cable, I will be wiring it so that I can transport my XM receiver from my Honda Accord to the boat when needed.

Stero Install

As you can see from this picture, what I liked abou this speaker is that it is not as tall as most of the other externally mounted speakers. This allows part of the speaker to be above and in front of the channel that I mounted it on - thus reducing the exposed surface of the speaker cabinet.

Speaker Mounted

It is AM-FM-CD-XM Ready. It has a small credit card sized remote and has all the power I wanted for the sailboat.

Pioneer DEH-P250 Stereo

These are the externally mountable speakers that I chose for the 260. They are curved which serves to spread out the sound according to Bose propaganda. I liked them because they offered a reduced profile over many of the other externally mountable speakers that I saw while shopping.

Bose 161 Speakers