Adding a Flybridge to a Houseboat

How to go about adding a flybridge to our houseboat. We just purchased a 2000, 35x10 Myacht Houseboat, and added a swim deck to the rear, and rails to the roof.

It has twin outboard 50HP Mercury 4 stroke engines. Because the helm is inside we were wanting to add a flybridge to the roof. We have no idea where start, what type of controls etc....

We are located in North Central WV. Very limited in people who do this type of work. Looking forward to installing one very soon!

Thank you, Lytle.


Reply - Answer
Well Lytle, you're not alone when it comes to wanting a flybridge. It's a great place to navigate from, and the view is excellent from above.

For starters, here's a quick list of what you'll need to get going..., and then you may have to decide if you want to tackle this project, or leave it to someone who can do it for you.

1) You will need a flybridge "u-shaped" helm station for the roof. This is where you'll install the steering and controls etc...

2) Take a moment to decide what kind of navigating information that you want or need from the flybridge. Do you want a VHF radio, Depth Sounder, GPS Chartplotter, Binoculars, Spotlight etc... You get the idea, do you want a duplicate second helm to navigate from.

3) You will need to find a location to cut a hole for the pipe that will pass all the cables and wires from the lower station to upper station.

4) You will want to choose your control box (for shifters & throttles) to operate your outboards from the flybridge.

5) A set of gauges to monitor things like RPM, Volts, Oil pressure, Water temperature, Depth Sounder, Trim & Tilt, and whatever information that you want or need.

6) Decide whether you want a bimini covered, uncovered, or enclosed flybridge. This way you can drive in nice weather only, or in any type of weather conditions.

As you can see, there's lots of things to consider before drilling holes. Hopefully some of our readers will share and post comments about their houseboat flybridge experiences.


IAN - from www.all-about-houseboats.com