Stereo Wiring Harness

[TeagueBag]

Recently bought a 97 Malibu Sunsetter Lx, feel like I got a fairly decent deal on the boat at $6800. It has the HDS leak, which I wasn’t aware of until I got it home. I have already made the shaft log for it, I plan on installing it once I know the season is slowing down, or a poor weather week. I am just curious if the stereo is supposed to have a wiring harness adapter, or is it always hard wired directly into the harness itself. If it’s not hard wired directly, any suggestions on a wiring harness adapter? 

P.S. 

I have learned a lot from this page and really appreciate everyone on here. There is a lot of knowledgeable people aboard the Malibu Crew!

[Eagleboy99]

What brand of stereo?  They all have plugs, but the older boats did not use EIA standard wire colours.

[TeagueBag]

It’s a dual stereo (definitely a cheap one) I want to replace it. Before I cut it out, I would like to add a harness to the boat wiring to make it easier for future replacements. That way you can just wire in the new stereo to harness adapter and then it’s just plug and play.