Flybridge Enclosure Looking For Ideas?

[Brian Degulis]

I'm thinking about enclosing the bridge on our 61MY. I've already got a hard top (although it wasn't built with any enclosure in mind) The problem is I don't want to do canvas and isenglass. So what other way is there? Anyone ever seen one done in solid plastic or glass?

Brian

 

[StratPlan61]

Brian, it's a great idea and I have thought about it often. Trouble is I have seen a few nice custom enclosures on Viking MY (raised decks) and some CC raised decks MYs, but everytime I see an enclosed flying bridge on a flush deck MY it looks 'boxy' and 'top heavy'. At some point I will go the stratoglass/EZ2CY type sides on my FB trying to get something a little more weather/wind proof.
At least you already have a hardtop, thats half the solution. Good luck and keep us updated with pics!!

 

[Pascal]

Lexan?

i used that for the sides on my old express (37)... I've seen a few MYs or YFs with lexan to enclose the aft deck.

how to install it depends on the hard top. It's a little more tricky for the front since you will want them to open, isenglass may still be the best option there

 

[trogers]

I have a differing opinion on enclusures. Shortly after buying my previous boat I had a very nice enclosure made by a fellow in Coco. Years ago now. In the 9 years I had the boat I think I had the enclosure up 4 times. When the weather gets cold/unpleasant, I go below and run from the pilot house. When the weather is nice, I prefer to enjoy it. AFTER I shelled out the money for the enclosure I came to view it as a half of something. Since I'm of the general opinion that half way is the wrong way I (eventually) came to this opinion/realization.

Now in deference to your quesiton, the points that I will offer is that on my previous enclosure, the eisenglass windows, or rather the portion that rolled up were too large. It took two people to roll them up. Had I been willing to re-do the enclosure I would have done it with smaller roll-up portions so that I could more easily handle it by myself. I also had a (slightly) tinted eisenglass. I did appreciate that in the Florida sun.

 

[REBrueckner]

Brian, what don't you like about soft enclosures? In florida if you can't largely open whatever enclosure you select I'd be afraid of too much heat. So my simple answer is leave it open...no enclosure. Also, you need to consider hurricane preparations and arrangements.

Here in NY/NE my soft enclosure is ideal. When I've been away from early May to late October,cruising full time, the early and late periods can be COLD and I ALWAYS run from the flybridge...curtains down. I unzip a corner so my previous Yorkie could "snoot" scents...Even more so on my trips to Maine where early waters are in the forties. But in july august heat, I leave them mostly UP.

What I personally never liked about soft enclosures was the "roll up" with straps.... a pain!!! instead I arranged thing so I could unzip windows and then button the windows UP (open) to the underside of the hardtop..in the open position....no scratching on the eisenglass, no problems in cold weather, and really,really fast...So if you arrange on a soft enclosure for zippers in locations where you can "button up" it's a nice arrangement.

 

[the kuz]

Brian, check out a boat enclosure with EZ2C. Hard, does not fog or scratch easily, but won't roll up, so you have to fold and hang to top to open. It's much easier to make an enclosure if you use canvas (sunbrella) to attach plastic to the boat/top. Weak link is always the zippers - get the best you can - use only what you need to open up and use other types of fasteners to attach where you can. There are some new types of zippers out that will last 5+ years (more if in a spot out of the sun). Be sure to sew with one of the new "lifetime" threads that will out last the sunbrella. Done right it will last and look good for 10+ years, but you will most likely have to replace zippers once over that lifetime. Regards, Bob K

 

[Beckytek]

I replaced my isenglass with clear acrylic last year and love it. It is so clear you wouldn't even know you had an enclosure. When it gets hot I just remove a panel and put away somewhere below. My rear enclosure has isenglass panels, but I only have that portion installed in early spring and late fall. Ron

 

[stormchaser]

instead I arranged thing so I could unzip windows and then button the windows UP (open) to the underside of the hardtop..in the open position....no scratching on the eisenglass, no problems in cold weather, and really,really fast...So if you arrange on a soft enclosure for zippers in locations where you can "button up" it's a nice arrangement.

Yup, that's what I have on Saraswati, using EZ2C. It really works great. And when properly cleaned...it is CRYSTAL clear.

 

[Brian Degulis]

I replaced my isenglass with clear acrylic last year and love it. It is so clear you wouldn't even know you had an enclosure. When it gets hot I just remove a panel and put away somewhere below. My rear enclosure has isenglass panels, but I only have that portion installed in early spring and late fall. Ron

That sounds like exactly what I'm looking for do you have any pics of that?

 

[Brian Degulis]

Brian, it's a great idea and I have thought about it often. Trouble is I have seen a few nice custom enclosures on Viking MY (raised decks) and some CC raised decks MYs, but everytime I see an enclosed flying bridge on a flush deck MY it looks 'boxy' and 'top heavy'. At some point I will go the stratoglass/EZ2CY type sides on my FB trying to get something a little more weather/wind proof.
At least you already have a hardtop, thats half the solution. Good luck and keep us updated with pics!!

I agree about the boxy look of an enclosed bridge on a MY. I even made up some profile drawings of some diffrent ideas I had but couldn't come up with anything I liked. So what I'm looking to do is create a weather tight enclosure than can be climate controlled without changing the look of the boat to much. I'm thinking off solid Lexan with a scratch resistant finish put in between the fly bridge and hard top with a minimum of framing and a removable front window.

Here's a pic of the boat any ideas would be apreciated. Canvas and isenglas is definetly not what I'm looking for.

 

[Fanfare]

I used Lexan in my front windshield a few years ago and had to remove it due to excessive scratching from washing the salt off (gently, at that). It was on its way to looking frosted. Fortunately it was only the center pane and not all three. That was at least 15 years ago, and perhaps Lexan has gotten better. I had installed a Clear-View spinning window in place of the wiper and the glass kept cracking around the holes. I thought if it was bullet proof Lexan would work.

 

[Brian Degulis]

You can get Lexan and some other plastics with a "Mar Guard" scratch resistant UV finish. We use it on our commercial boats and you treat it just like glass and it holds up. It's billed as having the same scratch resistance as glass I don't think that's realy true but it's close.

Brian

 

[labrador]

15 years ago lexan which is a trade name for polycarbonate, didn't have either UV coatings or was not co-extruded with a UV layer. I have many a greenhouse out there that had to have the panels replaced. Now however the UV is either of the above and holds up very well. Estimated life 20+ yrs. If co-extruded it will yellow about 3% immediatly however will maintain that clarity for at least 15 yrs.

 

[solanderi]

FWIW,

In my humble opinion I would NOT consider a hard plastic sheet in front of the helm for the following reason. I had a sheet of EZ2CY installed in front of the helm on my 45C to the tune of 1200 dollars. It flew off in a moderate breeze and almost took my head off. In my dealing with the local Miami dealer as well as the VP of Sales and Development (who treated me like an as*hole) I would prefer to refer to the product that failed on my Hatteras only as EZ2CYNOT.

One April day in Miami, the NOAA forecast was SE winds 10-15 knots, seas 2-4 feet. It was a beautiful morning and the panel was in the up position. While motoring out of Gov't Cut the entire EZ2CYNOT helm panel was swept over my shoulder in a nano-second of time. The boat does not top 19 knots and we were nowhere near full throttle. That's abnormal. We were very lucky that this panel did not severely lacerate, injure or eject someone from the bridge.

I initally was interested in getting another panel installed because I thought it was a failed "install" that led to the near catastrophe. So I approached the the local dealer who I stopped talking to after his top-ten list of why the panel failed included Act of God.

So I went up the chain to the VP of Sales and Marketing. I sent him pictures of the install and he said that the install was solid but they could offer to replace it at half-off. My position is that their product is unsafe even if it is half price. Also, if the EZ2CYNOT failed miserably in these conditions, I can't imagine how dangerous that sheet of shiny, clear, hard, plastic could become in real weather when you need it the most. It did look nice at the dock and would be great for non-occupied spaces IMHO. I realized that the hard plastic in front of the helmsman is dangerous at any speed and I am now sporting a rollable clear protection which, if it fails, will not decapitate anyone. This is my experience with this product and may differ from yours.....but common sense supports not putting a hard plastic window between you and mother nature.

I am happy to exchange specific dealer names etc to whomever is interested via PM's.

 

[Beckytek]

Sorry, Brian no pictures. Will have to wait til spring. I bought 4x8x.060 sheets for $37 each and used the old panels for my pattern. I got wildly different prices for the acrylic, as much as $200 per sheet. I glued the acrylic to the Sunbrella fabric. Ron

 

[krush]

Holy greenhouse batman--you best set aside a couple tons of cooling!


Since it seems that you are basically trying to make a greenhouse, why not look at the materials that porch/patio enclosures, greenhouses, and sunrooms are made out of?

Why not use tempered glass? I know weight that high is an issue, but glass may not be too heavy.

 

[thoward]

See if you can take a look at a Southport CC removable windscreen. It was a very thin clear semi-ridged plastic sewen like it was eisenglass. My guess is it was some form of really thin Lexan as I would think acrylic would crack. Anyhow it is much clearer than eisenglass. I am actually thinking about replacing the side pannels on my CC with the same.

Edit: It may be the ez2cy product that they use....

 

[Brian Degulis]

Just to clear things up a little I'm not talking about solid plastic somehow attached to canvas. I'm talking about no canvas at all. In other words a minimum amount of framing to position and hold 1/4" or 3/8 clear plastic. From the underside of the hard top all the way down to the top edge of the flybridge. Three front windows and either one very large or two large on the sides. The frame work would be permantly attached as in part of the boat. the lexan or other plastic would be installed like a fixed window a sealed permanant installation. The opening windows would be removable panels with there own frames and a means to fit them into the main frame work as to be weather tight yet removable.

I want to keep the frame work as light as possible so as not to change the look of the boat to much. So kinda like an enclosed bridge but not realy I have seen it done but never took a good look to see how it was done.

Yeah Krush holy greenhouse is right I thought of that I guess I could use a light tink on the side windows to cut that down a bit? Glass wouldn't work the areas are to large and the cuts to fit the top edge of the bridge are to complex. I'm comfortable with plastic as long as it's scratch resistant and UV protected.

 

[gflane]

I am looking to do something different on my 53 fbmy ..... I have seen more than a few versions of "hard aft enclosures". And I have heard about the Sunbrella with rigid panels and zippers.
What are the owners' opinions / experiences etc. (not int. in wild guesses)
I've redone my isenglas twice in 20-years at $5,000 a pop (I think). Zippers redone inbetween, of course!
In LI it is often too hot outside to leave the roll-ups open and then it gets way too cold and you want everything air tight back there so you can use that wonderful aft space.

How about pictures from those of you who love their aft encl.?

 

[Walter P]

Brian,

I plan to do a hard enclosure on my bridge also. I actually went over the plans with the engineer at Alum 2000 in Penna. (Bob). Before we tackle the project, I need to have a proper hardtop made up. The problem is that I have not seen any aftermarket hardtops that I felt were complimentary to my boat. From your photograph, it looks like yours was meant to be. Did you do it or was it on the boat? The HT must be done before anything can be properly laid out. Our design would keep the look of the venturi windshield with 3 panels from the top of the venturi to the hardtop, about a foot aft of the leading edge thereby creating an "eyebrow" to match the lower station. The center windshield is to be an opener and the sides will be sliders. The use of real glass at least for the windshield will permit the use of wipers and washers I plan to keep Isenglass on the aft of the bridge, at least for now.

Figure out your cubic footage for HVAC and add 50%, depending on where you will have the boat.

Walt