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A Pirate Parade Float In the Making!!!


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I just plundered what is to become our parade float on Ebay for a whopping $27.51 for the hull you see below and the trailer! You'll have to use your imagination here quite a bit, but picture this humble little wreck below painted black with red trim, and the guild name on the back, painters canvas sails on a PVC mast, remove the winshield, strip the inside down, add a poop deck with a railing to the back.... It's gonna be quite a project to convert it, but it should be fun. If anyone has any suggestions I could use lots of ideas and advice!!

i-1_B.JPG

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

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OOOOooooooooooooooooo!!!

And a figurehead!!! :)

What a project but what a wonderous idea! Have you a projected finish date lass?

:ph34r:

Well, you may not realize it but your looking at the remains of what was once a very handsome woman!

IronBessSigBWIGT.gif

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Bess, I saw a figurehead on Ebay the other day made of resin that would be great, but it was a male pirate and it was a bit pricey. I like the traditional female figureheads. But I agree, a figurehead is a must.... and when I find one or figure out how to jerry rig something to look like a figurehead, I'll name it Iron Bess since it was your idea! I am planning to have it done for our December 7th event, the San Jose Holiday Parade.... that reminds me, I'd better let 'em know we've got a float now!!!

Royaliste lad... I shoulda know'd ye would be fixin' t' blow holes in me pathetic wee li'l land shark before I get her already poor n' battered li'l self home!!

Sheesh... on the way up the hill, Bob was tryin' t convince me to keep the trailer, haul it to your place then tug it out beyond the Gate and let you pirates have a field day sinkin' her!! Men!! Always wantin' t' play with their cannons!!!!! :ph34r:

But I like the other ideas!

And picture this... once the cosmetics have been applied, imagine the 7C's pirates being floated down the parade route waving their cutlasses at the innocent bystanders, with the sound track from POTC blaring from the speakers... a fog machine wafting white mist over her bow!

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

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Oooooo yeah!!! I like both those ideas of the swivel and the latex copy of the figurehead... wonder if a latex copy of a cannon would be do-able also?!!

Bob came up with a great idea on the sails- I had been thinking of going with canvas tarps, but the problem is that they would block the view looking from the front as the pirate ship approaches in a parade. His great idea is to get red bedsheets and shread them... just have tattered red sails hanging from the spars, "Black Pearl style!!" this will eliminate wind resistance, allow a clear view of the pirates on deck and give us a good, rogue pirate look.

Ah, me little land shark will be a fine site sailin' down the city streets when we are through with her beauty treatment!!! :)

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

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On the latex figurehead- If that would that be done by protecting the original figurehead with Saran wrap or similar thin plastic and painting over it with liquid latex- would it work to use the resulting latex as a mold and make a resin figurehead copy?

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

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Yeah, just looks, as they won't let us fire into the crowds, darn it!! :ph34r: I think the most we could do in a parade would be to make it smoke- that would be great if you and Raul could come up with something!! Thanks for all this help and enthusiasm for the project!!

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

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And maybe.... as a change of pace aside from the latex figurehead you could have a wee slot for a *live* player.

Oft times you could shimmy a soul into the front with the proper supports and have your *figurehead* addressing and waving to the crowds as well!

Some haunted ship, huh?? :ph34r:

Well, you may not realize it but your looking at the remains of what was once a very handsome woman!

IronBessSigBWIGT.gif

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The fog machines are cheap to buy- about $30 for the machine on ebay (more than I paid for the whole boat/trailer! *snicker*) and about $12 for a bottle of fog fluid. The Pirates of Emerson run one off a generator in the back of their hearse, but I'm wondering if we could use a cigarette lighter adapter and an extension cord set up maybe? But that's further down the road.

I just got off the phone with the seller and we will pick up the boat and trailer on Sept 13th. :ph34r: It was given as a donation for resell, has all the DMV paper work and to the best of the seller's knowledge the trailer is in sound working condition.

I just took a look at the photo and since we'll be towing the boat on the trailer in the parades, it doesn't look I could do a live figurehead (although that would be way cool!) because of the position of the winch on the trailer. (see below) I think we're going to have to position the figurehead very low on the bow to clear the trailer bar and have the bowsprit above that...

i-1_B.JPG

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

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And maybe....  as a change of pace aside from the latex figurehead you could have a wee slot for a *live* player.

Oft times you could shimmy a soul into the front with the proper supports and have your *figurehead* addressing and waving to the crowds as well!

Some haunted ship, huh??  :ph34r:

Considering females figureheads are usually bare breasted it should be a crowd favorite with the men! :ph34r:

Red Maria

The Soul of Indecency

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She's pretty! And she seems to have quite a bit of potential..

If I can't offer advice, can I offer a bottle of something in honor of when she's finished?

Or...perhaps a suggestion or two for names...? :ph34r:

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful. Hate me because I am robbing you, tossing you overboard, and stealing your ship!"

-the only thing more dangerous than her.. is her needle-

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For cannons on the port and starboard, you can use simple steel or PVC pipe. Inside, install a few fire extinguishers with the exhaust point into the pipe. It works well.

Too bad you can't fire real cannon in a parade. We've done it up here in the Northwest and it's a kick when between the buildings of a downtown.

A nice ship to convert. I'd relocate the winch on the front to a lower point so you can have a figure head. And build up the back to a deck higher for the aft quarters. It makes good storage and you can put the captain up there during the parade.

Check out the seafairpirates.com site and see their WWII DUKW redo - it's much bigger than your vessel but some of the details may work on a smaller scale...

-- Hurricane

-- Hurricane

______________________________________________________________________

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  • Captain of The Pyrates of the Coast
  • Author of "Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Year Before the Mast" (Published in Fall 2011)
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  • Fomenter of Mutiny
  • Bon Vivant & Roustabout
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"I was screwed. I readied my confession and the sobbing pleas not to tell my wife. But as I turned, no one was in the bed. The room was empty. The naked girl was gone, like magic."

"Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Years Before the Mast" - Amazon.com

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Loved the fire extinguisher idea and developed a less pricey alternative... We just acquired an air compressor from me Ma-In-Law today and were thinking we could do a fine job o' blastin' parade crowds with flour and the air compressor!

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

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