Jump to content

Sail to Tent


Hawk the QM

Recommended Posts

Hello All,

I'm trying to gather enough information to build a tent out of a piece of sail. Now my nautical knowledge is limited, so I don't know where to begin. I don't need anything fancy and using a couple poles and some rope, I would like to build a little shelter.

I don't want to buy a civil war tent because too many are in use and it just does not seem very piraty to me. What I'm asking for is what type of sail material should be used. I'm thinking about the size of a standard wall tent but the shape is going to be whatever works. I like the idea of a tent made out of some pieces scavenged from some shipwreck.

Any advice? All is appreciated. I did a search on the forums but only came up with sutler tents (I retired from Civil War and apparently people still don't like Confederates.)

The Quartermaster

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's no easy answer to your question....

But if you check any of the following existing threads on the pub you will see various ideas and suggestions....

Getting Tentage ready for PiP

GAoP Encampment

A Seaman's Camp

The Mercury, 1720 Careening Camp

Creating the 1720 Late GAoP careening camp

Period Camping

And here is a pic of what I am using.... With a link to the incomplete set of instructions I wrote on making it.... Patrick Hand wrote something similar, but completed his, and did it better.

l_dcfc4a726e7aa335700bce635293f04c.jpg

My INCOMPLETE instructions for making a Tarp/Sail Tent

Michael_banner.jpg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank You Sir. I was looking at other posts about these encampments but non the of the links worked. I was very happy to see yours did =)

Now, for a bit o' reading.

Just for reference purposes, the links should probably work if you remove the "/forums" from the URL.

Good luck with the tent, mate, and let's see some pictures along the way!

I've got the heart of a pirate, just not the garb...
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I'm sure it will be talked about heavily throughout the linked threads I just want to mention the simple diamond tent. This is by far the easiest and most basic tent and an appropiate piece of canvas (albeit cotton) can be picked up inexpensively as a painters dropcloth. If you rag it out a bit and sew patches here or there you'll have a very quick (maybe an hour or two of work to get the material in to that salvaged condition) and cheap period shelter that you can set up in minutes. The only downside is a lack of privacy but a seaman used to living in close quarters with other men wont be concerned about the privacy.

http://www.wizzywigweb.com/longshot/diamond.htm

Ropework_Header.jpg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...

We ourselves at Louisbourg a couple of years ago used a small sail and spar and crossed long oars to build an A-frame tent, by wrapping the after-end of the sail around the rear oars, and quickly whip-stitching up the back. It left an open face [which in cold, cold Louisbourg is not that comfortable] but it kept out water like a charm despite the open end. It was low [the oars were not that long], so no standing up inside, but it had a most nautical and improvised look, and much impressed the many army reenactors who watched us set it up....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fer funsies... I made a sail (yeah and all handsewn, but that's just because I'm weird)

OK... It's "period"(Kinda) , but it is a pain to set-up.... if I were do do it again, I'd cheat and make one edge at 90 degrees... It would set-up soooo much easier......

If we were in TWILL... we would have to argue if it was 100% correct...but for most of what we do... minor cheating works more efficiently.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

One thing I did when I got ready to build all the tents for my encampment was talk to my local boy scout troupe. There are a number of badges and project hours they can get by building a wedge or diamond tent. We did it for three mondays in a row and the kids loved it. It also helped out a lot since I was still very immobile at that point with my back surgery

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...
&ev=PageView&cd%5Bitem_id%5D=13229&cd%5Bitem_name%5D=Sail+to+Tent&cd%5Bitem_type%5D=topic&cd%5Bcategory_name%5D=Crafting Kit"/>