When Was the First Flybridge Built

I'm sure someones great granddad stuck something up there, but I pulled this up for you. The 1930’s saw boats from Wheeler, Sparkman & Stephens, and Elco commissioned by adventurous anglers along the East Coast to design and/or build boats exclusively for fishing. In 1934 Wheeler built a 38-footer that would become one of the 20th century’s most famous vessels, Ernest Hemingway’s Pilar. Later in the decade the builder would finish the 42-footer Sport II for a Florida charter captain. Images of both models show fish-friendly features, such as a spartan, pipe-frame flying bridge for spotting tuna, swordfish, and marlin and cockpits with fighting chairs bolted into the soles. Both Sport II and Parrot, a Sparkman & Stephens-designed 60-footer that worked the waters off Montauk, New York, were also equipped with outriggers

Until the advent of the modern motor yacht with its wheelhouse, all bridges were "flying bridges." What we now call a flying bridge or monkey island is where the binnacle and wheel were located. Until modern electronics came along the bridge watch needed to know the wind and smells and needed to be able to hear the echos of their whistle.

A better question might be when did the watch move into a little house?

From about 1938 til the mid-40's people were just concerned about coming home alive, then priorities shifted to getting a home and making a family. After that it was the Korean War. From what I've heard around the mid to late 1950's some of the guys who weren't the gray flanel suit types started setting up charter fishing businesses. I'd say about then for comercial interests. Except for the Richie Riches people mostly only bought small boats for personal use so I'd say they stayed mostly for charter until the late 70's and into the 80's. Stupid money only became common in the late 80' and 90's. Before that people who had money usually worked too hard for too long to have time for toys like these. They also remembered what it was like to have none so rarely wasted it on big, expensive toys. They were thrilled if their one car could be a Cadi. It wasn't really until the 90's that stupid people with no memories met large amounts of money (baby boomers). Combine that with fiberglass and bingo.
You may have noticed that starting in the 90's the flybridge began going back indoors with hard tops and EZ2CY. Now they're starting to go back outdoors above what was the flybridge. Then came Bernie Madoff. We may yet be back to rowing skiffs before you know it.