Flying Bridge Removal for Shipping?

[David Rive]

My Ocean Alexander 38 is for sale. An interested potential buyer would want to ship the boat to the west coast, and wants to know if the flying bridge can be removed to facilitate shipping. I suspect the answer is yes but don't know for sure. Has anyone been through this process? Any insight or advice would be really appreciated. Thanks.

David

 

[capn_billl]

The shipping company will definitely charge extra for that. They are the ones to ask this question to.

 

[markpierce]

Flying bridges!!

 

[CaptTom]

The point, I think, is that there's a huge benefit in having the same crew who has to re-install the bridge, be the one who takes it off. I think the reasons are obvious.

C'mon Mark. Come over to the dark side. Replace those sails with a nice flybridge

 

[markpierce]

...

C'mon Mark. Come over to the dark side. Replace those sails with a nice flybridge

Have tabernacle, will travel.

 

[David Rive]

The shipping company will definitely charge extra for that. They are the ones to ask this question to.

Just to be clear, what I need to know about are the mechanical implications of trying to remove the flying bridge. I would certainly expect it add to the shipping cost if the FB were a separate "piece".

David

 

[BandB]

It's a moderately hard, somewhat easy job and it's done all the time. The key is to get someone experienced in so doing. Ideally same people reinstall who remove but that's not always possible. Still it would be worthwhile to fly the person going to put it back on at least to observe the removal. If that's not possible then make sure lots of photos are made during removal and make sure all hardware accompanies the boat.

There are several excellent boat transport companies who handle these all the time and can advise the buyer in detail how it's done.

If I was advising the buyer, I'd advise them to make sure they were taking the full cost of shipping and of removing and replacing the bridge into consideration when buying. It is seldom that it makes sense buying an older boat to ship across country or countries but occasionally it does.

 

[Hawgwash]

David;
Movers for what you want are not plentiful.

Depending on the boat and bridge, it could involve one or two trucks and I would start with http://www.andrewstrucking.com/ for brain picking, quote and general information.

Then I would talk to http://www.torontoyachtsales.com/because they are in ON and BC and may be able to do a back haul and save you some shekels.

I would also talk to http://www.uship.com/ca/boat-transport/and http://www.cardinalboatmovers.com/

Try calling the big boat boys in TO and find out who they use.

You didn’t say the age or style (model) of the OA, so I can’t help with re & re advice. Not that difficult though, in most cases. Not cheap though, in many.

If the buyer is serious, get him totally involved in the process and making the major decisions so he can’t blame you, if things go sideways.

Also, might be an easier haul from Thunder Bay if you can get her there on her own bottom. Just a thought.

PM through my profile if you need anything else.

 

[Ken E.]

The point, I think, is that there's a huge benefit in having the same crew who has to re-install the bridge, be the one who takes it off. I think the reasons are obvious.

Amen to this concept.....otherwise, you are asking for a bunch of fingerpointing if things aren't right after reinstallation. Yes, it's done all the time, but still a lot of opportunity for problems with......steering, throttles and gears, electrical, antennas, plumbing, water leaks. I put my boat on a ship to move it from Mexico to PNW to avoid this, although that's not to say that you can't have a good result. Try to talk to some recent customers if you can.

 

[David Rive]

Great advice. Thanks everybody.

 

[Gordon J]

I am confused about what the op really is asking. I have an oa 456 with a fly bridge and there is no way it could be removed without using a chain saw.

Gordon

 

[BandB]

I am confused about what the op really is asking. I have an oa 456 with a fly bridge and there is no way it could be removed without using a chain saw.

Gordon

That is very unusual then. Flybridges are built separately and then attached. It's generally just finding how attached and undoing it. Now, there are some that would be very difficult.

The builder can tell you the best way to do it. Just look at all the boats with flybridges built in the US and shipped across country.

 

[MichaelB1969]

Try giving Associated Boat Transport (http://www.associatedboat.com/) a call. They just transported my boat from Seattle to San Francisco and did a great job. The bridge was going to be removed but they were able to get the height below 16', which enabled me to keep the bridge on.

They do transport boats with bridges removed all the time, and they pickup from Canada and go all over North America for delivery.

However, they don't remove the bridge. Typically the boatyard would do the removal. For my boat, it was probably going to run an extra $4K to $6K for the bridge removal. Total to have it shipped was $6,900, so that would have raised it to around $11K - $13K. This is because you obviously pay on both ends (removal and re-installation).

But as others have said, people do it all the time.

Good luck!
Mike

 

[markpierce]

Oh, the horror! Cut up my boat?

 

[GFC]

Oh, the horror! Cut up my boat?

Aw don't be such a wussie. All boats should experience the joy of being topless a few times during their life....

 

[oldhatt]

Helpful discussion. Thank you. M.

 

[Tolly Roger]

Several Years ago now this Tollycraft 48 was trucked from LA to the Portland area. Note how the flybridge fits on the forward deck. If you look closely you might see the damage on the flybridge from a fire that the boat was in while in the water. I believe this was an insurance/auction purchase. These pictures are not mine.... I saved from the blog the guy had on the project. Not sure what the final result of the restoration is.