ohiohatteras said:
.... to save a few bucks, I figured I could re-install the bridge when it gets here myself.....
Anybody else have any $.02?
Thanks
I ended up with a "hybrid" plan when Misty was brought from New Bedford, MA to my little inland ocean north of Atlanta.
Trucking was going to be extremely expensive all the way from New Bedford, so my broker hooked me up with a local captain from SC and for $150/day plus expenses, he drove the boat down to SC where I had a transom door put in, and the boat broken down for shipment. It took three days to come down the coast, so two transient marina nights, and about 500 gallons of fuel. It was then trucked from Myrtle Beach for only $1500.
I flew the crew in that dismantled the boat, which turned out to be a great idea. Their familiarity with the boat saved many hours putting her back together, and they were salt water guys so I didn't have to twist their arms to do things "right" like heat shrinking electrical connections and sealing the screw holes for the bridge. The also understood their own labeling "system" which made it easier to find things. I think I saved more in time savings and quality of work than I spent on their motel, meals and beers (after hours). The best part was they allowed me to assist, and didn't charge extra for the priveledge!
What I learned is that depending on the systems that are up there, putting a fly bridge back together is not as easy as it sounds. You'll need yard help to reset it with a crane or lift, which is indeed the easy part. Then there's all the "stuff" to hook back up.
In my case, this included radar, two GPS units and a separate PC based chart plotter. A LORAN unit, two VHF radios, hailer, two sonars, a standard depth sounder, stereo, autopilot, flow scans, all the standard guages, nav lights, other lighting, etc. I have dual stations, so a good bit of redundant wire which ads to complexity. I think we cut a mile of wire out of the boat while re-assembling her. Fortunately, there were minimal "spare parts" when we were through.
If you do take such a project on yourself, I would strongly suggest you be there when it's dismantled, and take a ton of pictures before and during the work. Rather than disconnecting wires from switches, I like to cut them an inch or two back from the switch or terminal block, then label both sides of the cut. I think it makes them easier to match up as you can visually match the colors, guage and condition of the wires. For crimped fittings, I used the ones that come with shrink tube and sealing glue in them. They're expensive, but much quicker than using shrink tubing (which isn't cheap) over standard connectors. Also, spend the money for one of those ratcheting crimpers, and a real wire stripper! For toys with connectors, like radar and sonar, you pretty much have to cut the connector off and re-solder them. Taking good notes on colors to each pin is critical, especially if the equipment is older.
All told, it was about 10K to get her from New Bedford to my slip including transport, yard fees, break down and re-assembly. The price I paid for the boat and lack of options in my local area made this a no-brainer.
From what I hear, It's waaay less expensive and faster to truck it up here......
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