Thread: How do I make a pirate sail and crows nest?

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Due to some horrible water damage from this years hurricane ( pink foam board props are like irreversible sponges ) I am going to recycle props from a few years ago using a pirate theme. Last time they were all on the ground or coming into the ground. his year I want to make a sail with crows nest and the pirates wheel. How do I make the pole the sails sit on? PVC pipe what size? how do you keep the pole upright? I don't want it falling in the wind etc. any advice?

one more thing, I plan on making the captains wheel turn a bit. any ideas on how to do that without a wiper motor? maybe hide a man that osculates behind it maybe that will turn it a bit both ways?

posted are some pirates coming out of the ground a couple Halloweens ago. the grey captain is Model magic, the lit in red corpse is cheap pre-made store find I posted as 15 dollar prop the pirate with the sword through its body coming out of the ground is paper mache clay ( not happy with ) and the figure impaled in spike is all sculpted from pink foam painted. and lastly the skeleton on torture wheel is a skeleton parts dressed up the wheel is actually cardboard with wood toned cabinet liner paper on it touched up to look like its made from wood ( didnt last too long afterwords )

I used plastic drain pipe for the mast, with PVC pipe booms. The crows nest was 1" x 2" pine, cut at 22 degree angles and nailed tothether for the frame. I used plaster lathe pieces around that frame and painted them all. This was a quick build and I didn't spend a lot of time making wood grain effects. This was our neighborhood scarecrow contest entry about 4 years ago.

The total height to the top of the mast was 20 feet, with the weight of a bucky near the top. I drove two 6 foot metal fence posts into the ground and attached the drain pipe to that. I also ran two guide ropes to heavy stakes in the ground to keep it upright. It stayed up over a month, through wind and rain. Of course, the tattered sail helps lower wind resistance. The sail was a white shower curtain with beige rope shaped rings that fit over the PVC. The outside rings were secured with screws.





I built the animated ships wheel using a rotisserie motor from Walmart. The reciprocating linkage is easy enough to build following plans on the internet. This photo shows the linkage a bit.

I need to start taking progress photos of my props, as most are only used one year and recycled or tossed.



Eric

^^ a lot of what he said. The other option is the "vent motor" that a lot of ppl use for their slow moving props (search for "breathing grave" and you should find a prop that uses this motor and contact information where to get one). They are slow enough to do what you want with the helm and any 12VDC wall wart that you can get from goodwill will work to power them. Although if you are totally against powering it at all, you could definately go the "fishing line and a guy to pull it" route.

As for the mast and jib, 2"-2 1/2" thin wall PVC would probably work great. Drill holes and use cotter pins to assemble vice gluing them together for breakdown and storage reasons. The sail can be made out of burlap, an old sheet or cheese cloth if you really want a light weight REALLY weathered look. As for keeping it erect (heh heh) I agree with the fence post or "rebar and hose clamp" method. The crows nest could also be the thin wall PVC, just put a "X" connector where you want it for support, use foam or really thin plywood (sealed after the fact) like Luan (for weight concerns) and build it as Wolfbeard said.

Good luck!!

dK

Wow some great pics here (btw love your pirates eyes and teeth Jollygorilla). I have yet to do my pirates theme so am curious how people have done their mast & crow nests (crows nest already bought). I thought I'd either use PVC pipe or see if I could pick up one of the carpet rolls that they use to wrap carpeting around. Figured that would be free if I can get one. Plenty of carpet stores and places like Home Depot that carry carpet to check out.

great advise .