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A Pirate Parade Float In the Making!!!


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Ahoy me hearties! Here is the latest update on the Additionally, I have also found a ship's wheel, which I hope to have mounted on a post for the kids to play with at Ojai and for picture-taking. I also located a crows nest- which is a wine keg planter, made out of extremely light-weight foam. The masts, yardarm (cross-piece) and bowsprit (pole out the front) will be black 4" PVC piping.

Ahoy!

I am glad I ran across your post. I am having a Pirate themed halloween party. We will have two ships (2 long, large cardboard boxes painted brown) for a battle at sea (foam balls for cannon balls) and I was wondering how I was going to make the masts. I had some old condiut that I was going to drive into the ground and attach the sails to that...short of welding another piece of condiut to the mast for the boom, I didn't know how I was going to pull it off. Your idea of using black PVC is great. I hope you don't mind if I borrow it. :blink:

~Tori

Like any unmanned ship, a novice sailor will eventually steer into the wind and then in circles.

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If you have any difficulty finding black PVC in such a short period of time remember, white PVC with Krylon never fails.

Pushing the limits means getting out of my comfort zone and giving more when I don't think I have any left.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here is the latest on the Land Shark:

The aft (back) cabin is almost done. The framing is finished and most of the plywood is up, so it's actually starting to vaguely resemble a pirate ship. The 4-pane windows are installed on both sides of the aft cabin and I have two more to add to the back of the cabin. After we add the plywood to the top and a slanted face to the front to deflect wind on the freeway, we're about done with the back.

Then we start to work on creating the elevated front deck, which will be about 1'-6" off the hull. That one will probably be the most difficult part of the whole thing. So far it's gone quite well, with relatively few problems. Lookin' nice and sturdy.

After that the PVC mast goes up, PVC bowsprit, the rails on the top of the aft cabin and the front deck, the ship's wheel is already done and ready to be installed and we'll make the casting from the Royaliste's figurehead, and the PVC cannons.

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

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Yeah I was just thinking now would be a good time for one. Still looks like an old boat on a trailer, but you can see the pirate ship just begining to take shape. I get home after dark, but I'll see if I can get a decent photo tonight.

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

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Looks grand, but, might interject another thought for a moment please. I noticed in one of your first posts that you stated you thought about using the PotC soundtrack for the float. AHHH, remember Disney has been suing people for copyright infringements. If me memory serves me correctly, I believe they even went so far as suing a daycare center for having Mickey Mouse painted on there walls. Soooo, if you are thinking about using the sound track, ask for permission me dear.

Lady Cassandra Seahawke

Captain of SIREN'S RESURRECTION,

Her fleet JAGUAR'S SPIRIT, ROARING LION , SEA WITCH AND RED VIXEN

For she, her captains and their crews are....

...Amazon by Blood...

...... Warrior by Nature......

............Pirate by Trade............

If'n ye hear ta Trill ye sure to know tat yer end be near...

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OK here's a crummy after-dark photo of me humble lil Land Shark... you'll still have to use a lot of imagination to visualize this when it's all done, but this should give you a pretty good idea of the shape of the back cabin. There will be a rail around the top also. We'll build up the front this weekend and should have another photo of the progress at the end of the weekend. The forward deck will follow the curve of the hull, but won't rise up as high as the back cabin. You can just baaaaaaaaarely see where we're headed in this photo though and it's gonna take one heck of a lot of black paint to pull this off, LOL

(Gads... my back yard looks like the Salty Sue's Home for Wayward Boats!)

LandShark3.jpg

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

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not bad, actually looks like you got a nice start on it.

Lady Cassandra Seahawke

Captain of SIREN'S RESURRECTION,

Her fleet JAGUAR'S SPIRIT, ROARING LION , SEA WITCH AND RED VIXEN

For she, her captains and their crews are....

...Amazon by Blood...

...... Warrior by Nature......

............Pirate by Trade............

If'n ye hear ta Trill ye sure to know tat yer end be near...

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Hey I just found blue metalic fringe skirting in 30" x 14' lengths to add a nice finishing touch when it's all done- $7.25 for each 14' length. 4 of those should wrap around the trailer nicely and give a nice rippling effect like water. :)

55047-B.jpg

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

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Quill, if it's possible, you may want to lay some face-up on the trailer, too, to throw a rippling reflection on the sides of the Rover as she 'sails'.

(or would that be a glaring distraction to the sailors?)

Rumors of my death were right on the money.

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What've ye thought about fer the mast? Fer the Sea Ghost, we used a thick piece of PVC pipe, mounted on a shaved 4x4 plank. Then we scored the plastic with a mire brush and dry brushed it ter give it a wooden look.

If ye'd like pictures, I can email them to ya ter show you the results.

-Redd

REDD.jpg

YARRR! The Oktober be silent now! Just call me "REDD!"

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As I just stumbled on this post today, I have some advice from way back on the first page. If you can't shoot, or even throw candy, what about shooting grafiti over th' crowd's heads? It's lightweight paper, and unless they'd consider it litering, it would be really cool.

Next, instead of tattered sails, why not just have them furled? You throw a couple of bedsheets up on the yard, and there you go. You can even furl them loosely, so it lookes more like the sail has been cast of and is in its gear. You'd get the classic Disney sail kind of look (see link).

http://www.shop-fast-easy-toys.com/cgi-per...-locale-uk.html

Also, I didn't realize they had so many figureheads on ebay!!! I just searched for 'figurehead', and found between 10-15! When I finally get my boat, I'll know where to go.

Good luck on this, it's looking good so far!

Don't forget a plank!

0307270009.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Coastie :ph34r:

She was bigger and faster when under full sail

With a gale on the beam and the seas o'er the rail

sml_gallery_27_597_266212.jpg

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Wow... surprised that the repros have come down in price so much since I checked a while ago. I'm gonna try to get a good casting of Royaliste's though, since I'm partial to her. :ph34r:

I may go with the unfurled sails, I had considered it and was going to try it before I shreaded the sails. I just wasnt sure how it would look with a bedsheet- maybe canvas drop cloth instead, eh? That might do the trick and I already have one now that I think of it!!

Unlike the Carnaval parade we did where I dumped buckets filled with confetti on the crowd, the SJ parade is really touchy about this. We are cleared to have choreographed swordfighters and our pirate with the whip, but they don't like the idea of anything coming out of the cannons, not even baking flour. So I may go with a fog machine or smoke pots in them or sparklers on the touch holes. We also can't fire the flintlocks due to the fact that there are animals in the parade who might shy at the noise. I think smoke is the way to go.

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

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Anyone have any clue how big this is? I'd like to get one for my daughter. I bought as playschool one for her a few years ago but she's lost the parts and outgrown that one maybe this one is the age she needs.

Pushing the limits means getting out of my comfort zone and giving more when I don't think I have any left.

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Hey Rue. Here's an Idea for your cannons. I build air cannons for my different DJ shows. Launching confetti etc. There are several versions that can be done.

One is a PVC tube stepped down and connected by a hose to a coke Co2 cannister. Another is a five galon air tank with a solinoid used as a release valve. And last you can make a "swivel gun" using a simple ball valve. Now hooked up to Co2 or compressed air. They make a hell of a racket. Also someone posted up about fire extenguishers. Great idea for the shooting effect you'l get.

--------------

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty well preserved piece without an even a kiss your hand, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, smelling of powder, shouting ARRRG!!"

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Anyone have any clue how big this is? I'd like to get one for my daughter. I bought as playschool one for her a few years ago but she's lost the parts and outgrown that one maybe this one is the age she needs.

If that doesn't go in time for the holidays...try FAO Schwartz...I think I saw a Hummer (serious) :)

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