Fiberglass Houseboat Flybridges - do I custom build one, or buy a fly bridge?

by Jimmy
(Chattanooga, TN)

Fiberglass Houseboat Flybridges for House Boats.

Looking at fiberglass houseboat flybridges, and do I custom build one, or do I buy a fly bridge already built? I'm looking to put a flybridge console on a 42' 1975 Gibson houseboat, and the boat has a 12' beam with 9' between walls below.

I can do the work to build it, but I'm wondering if it is worth the labor and materials for me to build a custom one, or simply easier to buy one. Any suggestions on where to find one, or do I need to build it.

Any suggestions are appreciated, Jimmy.




Reply - Answer
Well Jimmy, welcome to the houseboat forums, and I can understand you're desire to have an upper flybridge helm.

Once you taste driving from the upper helm up above, you will likely only drive below should the weather get windy or rainy.

Now whether to build it or buy it, that depends on your skill level. If you calculate the time, materials, and the appearance of the finished product, you will have a much more professional looking fly-bridge if you purchase it ready made from a marine fiberglass products manufacturer.

You have two choices to purchase from that I can think of:

Fiberglass Concepts at www.fiberglassconceptsinc.com/flybridges.html

Gibson Houseboats at www.gibsonboats.com/

Possibly some of our readers will have some ideas or tips on building one, or they can give some recommendations on where to purchase ready made flybridges.

If you want, you can post a free Want Ad in our Houseboat Classified Ad section, you can post it in the Flea Market section. This way you may be able to get a used one from someone out there.


Lastly, hopefully some of our readers will share and post comments about their houseboat flybridge building or buying experiences. Feel free to use the "Click here to post comments." link found near the bottom of this page.


Thanks again for sharing, IAN - from www.all-about-houseboats.com

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