Bridge Removal for Trawler

[tangle]

I am trying to arrange shipment of a 40 ft trawler by truck and I am told the bridge must come off or the height will cost more in permits than the boat is worth! I am not sure if the bridge even comes off (waiting for confirmation from current owner) as I have seen the boat but am now far away from it and I did not look at that aspect when I was there. I have searched the threads here with no luck. Feasability? I am a hands on kind of guy and am not too worried about doing it but would really like to see photos of how its done prior to commiting myself to the job as opposed to getting someone to do it...

[GordMay]

Yes, flybridge removal (usually for transport) is quite common. They all come off; just as they all went on.
Start looking for fastenings (usually screws on power boats) at the coachhou8se flybridge interface.
Remove them.
Break the caulk line; hoping that it’s not sealed fastened with a polyurethane, like 5200.
Lift.
Done.

[tangle]

you make it sound so simple! what about the steering and electronics...packing for shipment...special tools? My experience is that there are almost never any easy solutions or quick jobs...

[fishwife]

Perhaps it's not feasible but delivering it by sea may be a better idea. Just make sure you have parts for things like the water pumps, get a few friends together and enjoy the trip.

P.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by tangle

there are almost never any easy solutions or quick jobs...

Right.
Given the specific information you've provided, generalities are all anyone could offer.

[tangle]

hope this works...if seeing a pic will help here is the url to the listing of the boat. I have checked out several forms of shipping including Dockwise Sea yacht transfer also. the cost is prohibitive. I can do it by truck for about a quarter of the price of ocean transit. going to tacomaYacht Search

[CarlF]

About this time last year a boat arrived by truck at my boatyard. The flybridge had been removed in transit -- by a bridge. It would have been quite a neat job too except that the snagged wiring and hydraulic steering pulled apart the lower helm too.

Carl

[tangle]

Thanks Carl...that inspires me...

[AnchorageGuy]

IF the past owner has not fiberglassed the flybridge, it is removable via a series of bolts accesable under the bridge and through inspection plates strategically located. With these boats, no two are alike. There will most probably be no wiring harnesses and you will need to map and label the wiring coming from a wire chase from the main cabin. The steering hydraulics will have to be disconnected and drained, the connections at the flybridge will need to be undone as will the throttle and shift cable. Usually the wiring is run to a series of connection strips, so that might help, but it all depends on what the owner did as far as add ons. Once everything is disconnected, a crain or perhaps even the travel lift can be used to lift the bridge off. I have done this a whole bunch of times and it is very time consuming. Once you get the boat to the destination you reassemble everything and find out how many things you forgot to label. WG