PDQ OWNERS FORUM

I am looking to change the horn on the boat. When I blow the horn, people look for a dink, not a boat our size. I would be interested in what has been used and the number of trumpets,etc. Not trying to blow my own horn, but as Rodney Dangerfield said " I want a little respect", on SF Bay.

I am too ashamed to even blow it. I carry a cheap air horn on the bridge at all times. I have a "Stebel" horn on my motorcycle that puts out a good 140 decibels but hooking it up would be a problem. You need to have a line directly to the battery and use the horn button to activate a relay.

I installed a dual air horn under the flybridge "brow", on the port side. I cut a hole in the the horizontal plastic under the brow and above the windshield for the end of the trumpets. The trumpets are not visible unless you get down on the deck and look up. They came with a relay. I took 12vdc power from the instrument connections within the brow, and installed a horn button on the flybridge dashboard.

I threw away the horn furnished with the boat and used the holes in the mast spreader to mount a deck light.

--Wally Gilliam MV Gadzooks!

Wally

Is there any reason that a replacement horn could not be placed where the existing horn is and use the present wiring?

Depends on the amp draw. If it draws more than the existing wiring can handle, you can fry the wire. Most loud horns require a relay. A heavy wire connects the relay to the battery and the horn and your current switch wire activates the relay.

Ross:

I did not consider mounting the new dual horns on the mast. I thought the original single trumpet was unsightly enough sort of dangling there, and two would be worse. And of course, there is the power/wire size consideration mentioned by Ron. I avoided dealing with that problem by mounting the new horn under the flybridge "brow", where there is heavier 12 v wiring to service flybridge instruments. Actually, undersize wire would probably work alright, as the horn power would be on only for brief periods of a second or so.

The tricky part of the installation was tailoring a short piece of 2 x 10 lumber to mount the horns so they stuck down at the proper angle. There are probably easier ways to accomplish the same thing but, after all, I'm an amateur.

I used the wiring for the original horn to power a decklight.

Changed my whimpy horn today with a Two trumpet, 125 db, 12 volt horn manufactured by Viking Horns. Mounting holes lined up great with original holes...easy hook up and sounds like a real TRUCK HORN.

Bought on sale from Amazon for $79. Down from $139. All stainless steel and made for marine.

I just had the horn buttons replaced... it totally changed the horn sound from a whimpy bleat to an ear blasting honk.