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We wanted to be able to watch TV and movies both at the dock and on the hook, so we added a 24-inch 12-volt HDTV/DVD combo to our 1985 C30 Pretty Girl. We put it behind the covered door on the starboard side of the main salon. The TV comes with a 12-volt transformer that plugs into a 110 outlet. You can either cut the cord from the transformer or get the appropriately sized barrel plug from an electronics store. We drilled two small holes in the space so we could run the power and antenna wire in the space behind the seat backs over to the electrical panel over the nav station. The TV power was connected to a fuse block and the antenna ran under the quarter berth to the port side coming. To mount the TV, I got the appropriate size VESA mount. After glassing a small 5x5x1 piece of wood to the hull we screwed the wall portion of the mount to that and the TV portion to the back of the TV. An HDMI cable runs to a panel mount connector in the space over the hanging locker so we can use an Apple TV or BluRay player.

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For an antenna connection, we modified a dual 12 volt power connector to have an F series coaxial female adapter to replace one of the 12 volt connectors. The cable from the HDTV runs to here and connects to the back side of this connector.

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For an antenna, we attach our antenna to our telescoping boat hook as a mast and lash it to the stern rail and/or Bimini frame. Weve had great results using an inexpensive Winegard Freevision Outdoor HDTV Antenna. We can either lower the hook and antenna when we go sailing or unlash it and stow it below.

We have since added a length of PVC tubing that fits the handle of the boat hook. The tubing is semi-permantly lashed to the stern rail. Now we can easily setup or takedown the antenna without having to lash it each time. A Turks Head on the handle keeps it off the deck and also keeps it from turning if there is a breeze.