smoolie671

I am by no means an expert on this subject, however I would like to propose that there may have been an alternative to the "bucket boot". Perhaps they simply used a form of gaiters, either buttoned or buckled down the outside of the leg. There would have been a strap/ belt that would have been just beneath the knee to help hold them up. I know that Cutthroat island is a poor choice for historical acuracy, but if you look closely at the scene where the Morningstar is pulling up her anchor you can pause the dvd and clearly see the some of the men wearing gaiters. Now at first glance these look for all the world like the typical "pirate boots", but they are proper gaiters, of a form. I understand that it is quite possible that if gaiters were worn that there may be little evidence of the practice due to the fact that the gaiters would likely not have survived as long as a leather boot would have. Using the shoes that we know were common in the gaop, and combining them with over the knee gaiters from the same time frame, you get a very piratical look that looks strikingly like a bucket boot. For myself I have decided to go with this approach in my outfit. Not to mention they are cooler and far easier to get on and off. I have received many compliments on my "boots". Not one person caught on that they were gaiters. P.S. Keep in mind that these are not the skin tight version that are seen in some period military drawings.

If anyone is interested, Morningstar is for sale. Just e-mail me at smoolie671@yahoo.com Here is the website. ulyscustomplunder.itgo.com

Is there some historical method of securin yer hat to yer person such as a small leather rope or such that would keep yer prized noggin cover from blowin out to sea whilst standin on the deck? Seriously, has anyone thought about this? I know I have heard a few people say to just push it down hard, but if a stiff breeze get under it, it's gonna go flyin.

My next ship That eye build will be named "DIRTY RITA". A play on words, so to speak. Think of Montizuma and his horrible revenge!

Oh and she does fit in my garage with exactly 4 and a half inches to spare! Course I had to remove the bowsprit, figurehead, and her stern lanterns.... and the tongue of the trailer.....and let the air out of the tires........ok, I had to put her in crooked too...

We just moved to Vero Beach Florida back in September 08 from Boise Idaho. I have not been able to get her wet yet. I was in the process of building new, more functional masts in ID when my shop was broken into. The buggers stole my generator, all of my tools and my Hern Iron Works cannon. I had nothing to continue construction of the vessel. That was the last straw, we made up our minds and got the hell out of Dodge! During the trip down to FL, the hull developed a hairline crack along the starboard side of the hull, probably from bouncing along the I-10 in Louisiana. The freeway there is horrible! It's like mini ramps one right after the other for miles and miles. Up down slam, up down slam, up down slam, etc... So now I have to repair the crack and redo the hull paint, cut the new masts, sew the sails, register her, and then dunk her. At the rate I'm going, it won't be till sometime next year. Did I mention they stole my cannon!!!!!! Filthy b@$t@rd$....

Well, lets see if this works....... Ok, can't seem to post a picture from "my pictures" here. Only thing I think I can do is is post the link to my site. Visit My Website Post some pictures of the replica you built. I'd love to see it!

The Morningstar is still alive and well. She is named the Nakalay junk, and still does tours. The company used to promote her as the ship that stared in cutthraot island, but now seems to have distanced themselves from that "honor". She actually played both parts, the reaper first then repainted and redressed as the Morningstar. The battle scenes that you see where done in a tank with two separate ships custom built for the movie. When you see the reaper explode, it was only the "set" ship, not the real ship. I kind of have a wee bit of an obsession with the ship. So much so that I built a 24 ft functioning semi-replica. I can also make similar vessels for anyone who might have a piratical itch, and need a ship of their own.

Your quite welcome Iron Bess. I hope it's not going to be a legal issue with them. I would hate for it to become so. I have no idea if the creator of the model has to have some kind of permission from Disney even if he is just giving it away. In case it ever does, I'll be filing a copy away in a safe place with the rest of my loot.

I found this while aimlessly wandering the net. Looks like a right fine bit of work. And free to boot! http://uhu02.way-nifty.com/blogpapercraft_ver2/bp/index.html

I was just curious to know if the fact that it was an inland sea had any bearing on the design of the vessels used. Or if they suffered from the lack of innovation due to the builders not being able to see an example of different ships from other areas of the world.

I suppose the GAoP would be as good a place as any to start. I'm having a difficult time finding much of anything in the way of visual representation on the type of ships used.

Can anyone here shed any light on pirates that operated in the Caspian sea. I'm most interested the type of vessels that were generally used by mariners. Where they square rigged or of the lateen rigged variety?

Actually Gary, the ships used in Cutthroat island were pinisi ships completely retrofitted to represent proper ships of the period. The "Morningstar" was restored back to its former state after the movie was filmed and as I understand it is still in service under the name Nakalay Junk as a day cruise vessel. Although their website no longer seems to use her movie history as the Morningstar as a promotion anymore. As for the Reaper, What you see in the movie is what you really get. She was desimated for real for the sake of the ending. I have a handful of pictures that show the Reaper being built from a surplus pinisi. So far I can't locate any pictures of the pinisi used for the Morningstar before her makeover. In all fairness though, The Morningstar and The Reaper were also replicated as "barges" for the close shots of the battle. I'm pretty sure that was done at the same tank that Titanic was filmed in. It was a pure mistake that I finally found what type of vessel was used for their hulls. If anyone is interested I can get you the pics.

I hate to tell ya mate, but you'll be hard pressed to find a pic of much of anything from that movie on the internet. I'm building a "sort of" 4 man sailboat replica of the Morningstar from said flick, and I had to do a bunch of screen captures off of my dvd just so I could get a good look at her. It's sad that so many people hated, and to this day still hate this movie. They have even cut it to shreds on your typical "more shallow than a pool of spit" entertainment shows that air today. So most people that have never seen it have already formed a negative opinion about it.