Fly Bridge vs. Express

[perfectscore]

i love them both, but there is nothin better then being on a big bad fb sportfish, one with big cockpit etc...best of all worlds. if equipped with full time capt, it blows the express away by far.

[Split Bill]

I'd vote for the FB unless you expect to fish often with 2 people. One of the unmentioned favorite parts of my current 33 FB is hanging out with folks in the bridge on the ride home. Nothing more social than 5 guys chilling up there on the ride in, and you can still see where you're going and what's in front of you.

[teddyp]

The problem with people that run express boats is that they never go in the tower. They always say they can see fine from the lower station but thats not so. They are the ones that always post about a "mystery bite". I can't run a boat unless I can clearly see the baits and see fish come up on them. Unless you’re in the tower you're just driving around in my opinion. One of the best boats for short handed fishing in the 45 Liberty.

[Sea Witch]

I have a small flybridge and I love the visibility while running. I often fish short handed (2 or 3 guys) and with the cockpit controls have no problem boating fish. I have also run many express boats and I like being closer to the pit for jigging and other inshore fishing but being in the tower is not always a blast especially if it is crappy. Having a full compliment of electronics, better shade and Release helm chairs make the bridge boat the choice IMO.

[TheBigI]

Fly Bridge for all the reasons mentioned. It seems a lot of people especially those that don't have much experience with sportfish boats see an express as being more fishy, which gets me everytime. The same people that see a Center Console as a better fishing boat. IMO a flybridge is a better fishing boat. The reason people buy expresses is because people think they look cool, and or maybe the capt. likes to fight fish or do alot of drifting bottom fishing

[N2theBlue]

Don't forget you can also run more lines off a flybridge than an express too. The last two times I've been to Oregon Inlet as many lines were run from the bridge as from the pit.

That said, my next boat will probably be an express with a tower since i fish a lot shorthanded, and so my dad will be able to drive some (he's handicapped and no way he could climb stairs or a ladder to a bridge or tower)

[Chummin]

FB without a doubt!!

[Patudo]

My personal view is that the express config works best from say 28 to maybe 32-34 feet. I really love the lines and layout of the Palm Beach expresses, the Gamefisherman 30, the Gamefisher charter boat in Costa Rica, the 34 owned by SF.com member Titlewave34 and so on. Any bigger and the extra weather protection you get in the cabin and on the bridge of a flybridge boat IMO offers significantly more "boat" for the same length and becomes my preference. A tower can be installed on a FB if the extra height for spotting really is needed, and short handed fishing can be made easier with the installation of cockpit controls - also some smaller FB boats with lower bridges are fairly easy to get from the bridge to the pit in any case.

[Shortfin]

Fished on a 45 Cabo Express for several years and it def has it's upsides some that are already mentioned

Children on board is a big one and or newbies when fishing from a bridge boat and at the helm i sometimes here the salon door open or close and wonder was that some one entering or exiting ? then you take that look around the pit and or in the wake ,camera's are a great tool in the salon for body counts.
On the express you are always with in an eyeshot from the helm unless they are in a bunk room or the head .

when on the troll or drift in rough water the Express takes far less effort to stay upright.much lower center of gravity at the helm level

Bridge boat you have to be locked on to something , due to the height of the pendulum effect not bad for day trips but for overnighting when on radar watch you are close to your crew and better to keep an eye on the other watch keepers,just in case you have a dozer !!!

Overall visibilty i would have to go with convertibles especially when steaming on snotty days ,express boats are way more prone to errant spray all the way up to blue water deluges.

on the express we never had any visibilty problems when fishing because at min we had a man on the hardtop for watching the baits and or in the tower if conditions allowed.