Building a Pirate boat

['Beer Belly' Bellamy]

As I have decided to become a pirate the question arose how I could get myself a ship. Unfortunately I live far away from any sea, so only a boat would be suitable, because I have to somehow transport it over land.

As you can't - at least in the middle of south Germany - just walk to the next pirate boat seller around the corner, I have to build such a boat by myself.

To still get it on a trailer such a boat should not be to big, so I made a design (all the members of the "Mercury" will recognise the design, because Mr. Brands "Gullah" was the inspiration for my longboat https://pyracy.com/index.php/topic/19074-draughts-of-the-mercury-and-smallboats/?hl=gullah#entry413342) with a hull length of about 26' (ca. 8 meters) - this is somehow about the maximum length allowed to transport on German streets. The designing process is still in progress, but somehow I got stuck in making the plans. So I begun to make a 1:10 model.

While building I got some whole different measures at the model than I have detected within the plans. But I can see this happen in real. But only according to my boat building abilities.

The boat is still very silent future music. Money, a place to build and the whole pirate project is still in limbo. But playing with that in my head makes really fun

Edited June 16, 2015 by 'Beer Belly' Bellamy

[BCarp]

I like the concept. I'd go with the much-simpler "sprit-sail rig", if I were you. It greatly reduces the amount of rigging required (both standing and running rigging), is easy to manage, and correct for boats of the period. And perhaps a boat not quite so large? The typical 18 ft. jolly-boat might make more sense.

An example of sprit-rig:

['Beer Belly' Bellamy]

You are totally right Mr. Carb and thank you for the advice!

But

I am approaching this from the viewpoint of an "Art Director", but not as an usual Hollywood Art Director (with a big fee and lots of Dollars to spend on a set and not a deep knowlege of the content - I don't mean it bad there are guys making really good stuff) but a hopefully true to the matter guy who have to "sell the picture" to an audience.

Germany is according to pirates a Third World Country and South Germany in special is to far from any shores away to get a real feeling for maritime stuff.

If I would show up with a typical 18 ft. jolly-boat dressed and behaving like a pirate, the audience would just laugh and would probably think "hey what a funny dressed guy with an ordinary fishermans boat. But the pirates over the Seven Hills at the Seven Dwarfs Place have a way different looking ship!"

I don't want to be another Jack Sparrow - God forbid (I don't want to be bad toward all those Jacks out there I really like them, but this will not be my way ) - but I try to walk the middle line between an entertaining type of pirate and an educating Living Historian. And to be honest I am still a boy who want's to have his own pirate ship (although it's only a big boat).

Living History in Germany is a real hard marketplace if you are not doing the Middle Ages thing, which is often more like a "Punch-and-Judy show" than real Living History (you call this "Ren Fair" I believe?) or just playing soldiers in the American Civil War or the Napoleonic era, doing more a kind of "encounter group" for demilitarised Germans than educating an interested audience about the real life back then.

The boat I am planning to build should serve as an eye-catcher without being a fairy tale swimming fancy swashbuckling thing. It have to serve as a substitute for a real pirate ship, which I couldn't handle this way (build and store it on land and transporting it on a trailer etc.).

[William Brand]

It's looking fantastic and I look forward to the finished boat!

['Beer Belly' Bellamy]

Thank you Mr. Brand!

I had a hard time planking the hull, because on some locations there occured gaps between frames and the planking up to 9 mm (which would be 3.54" at the big "model"). I am still searching the reason for that. Such should not happen when I am building the big one.

Pictures will follow, as soon as I have the time to format and uploading them.

[Jib]

Looks amazing! What part of Germany do you hail from?

['Beer Belly' Bellamy]

I am hailing from the middle of South Germany. A city called Ulm at the border between Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria and next to it's Bavarian twin city Neu-Ulm (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulm).

['Beer Belly' Bellamy]

Text will follow!

[madPete]

wow!

['Beer Belly' Bellamy]

You may have noticed, I did some "upgrades" that a normal longboat hadn't. No. 1 I added a "beakhead" ("Galion" in German), because I am a fancy pirate (or at least I want to be one). And No. 2 I added "Rüstbänke" (I couldn't find a translation, the planks outboards, were you fix the shrouds). I know normal longboats did not have them either, but I thought they would be an improvment, as the "thingies" to go aloft (didn't find a translation either). Because the boat, compared to a merchantman even a sloop, has a lower freeboard, an me pirates need something to get easier on the prize's deck when comming alongside.

This is an interpretation of what have could been done as improvements. I know this surley wouldn't happen back then, because why improve a boat, when you could easily just "upgrade" by keeping a bigger prize till you are able to catch an even bigger one and so stepping up the "career ladder"

But in my case things (the boat) will not get bigger even if I stay succesful.

I also did some improvements to the mast and the rigging, pictures will follow.

['Beer Belly' Bellamy]

Two nights ago I spontaneously made the decision to change the angle of the bowsprit. I know that this is not very authentic, but it was a decision from the perspective of the Art Director in me.

Two hearts are beating in my chest - the heart of wannabe Mr. "A" (for authentic) and the heart of pretending Mr. "H" (for Hollywood). As the boat is not meant to "perform" in an museum enviroment (because there is no museum which would match the theme in my area of the globe) it was easier for Mr. "H" to win the decision process.

Now there's more space for a figurehead (also not "A" for a boat, but I would like a figurehead so badly) and the possibility to attach a spritsail (square-rigged), which makes it even more pirate-esque.

And the boat has also a name now: the "Rummy Wench" - I hope the translation is as funny as this name would be in German.

Is "Rummy Wench" funny and not to offensive for a native English speaking person?

I would like to know your oppinions! In German "Rummy Wench" could be understand all between "a funny/weird maid" up to (if you are a man of poor manners) "an alcohol addicted prostitute", the ambiguity makes the name even more funny and the imagination of the figurehead even more fantastic. Would you agree?

A beer loving captain who is commanding a "Rummy Wench" is really funny, isn't it?

[William Brand]

Each new addition makes it better and better. It's a great build.

[Jas. Hook]

Rummy Wench - I thought Nixe or Loreley would be more suitable.

['Beer Belly' Bellamy]

Thank you Mr. Brand!

And good point Mr. Hook! But "Nixe" or "Loreley" would be to excentric for a pirate boat, don't you think?

I would like to just blend in the bretheren and not to have to explain such an alien name (and the stories behind them) for english accustomed ears

By the way. Not far from my home town there is a small town called "Blaubeueren" and there is a here well known tale about a "Nixe", the "schöne Lau" (the "pretty Lau"):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blautopf#Legends

And there are "Donauweibla" (="little Danube females") who are "Nixens" too to the River Danube.

But I also think that these tales and figures are of later origin than 1715 or at least their level of broader publicity, seems to me that they are from the 1800's.