[Cloe]

Wondering if anyone that's done a Pirate theme with a crows nest might have any ideas that worked for them. I've been mulling over how to attach a crow's nest to a pvc pipe. I have a Lowe's barrel planter that I plan on using with a lightweight torso but am unsure how to steady it to the pole. I drilled a hole in the bottom for the pipe and thought of using a connector to keep it from falling straight down but haven't quite figured out how to steady it. I'm quite the novice so an intricate metal brace is out of my league but if anyone has any ideas or experience with this I'd appreciate it.

 

[matrixmom]

Well hubby took a tomato basket (those lightweight wood baskets they use for fruit) and cut a hole on the bottom to fit over the pvc. Drill a hole from one side of the pvc to the other and put a wooden dowel thru it or another piece that will fit thru that hole. Then zip tie the basket on the bottom to the perpendicular dowel or pvc so it won't spin around. He just cut little holes thru the basket where the zip ties went.
Whoever invented zip ties is a genius IMO.
Hope this helps!

 

[krnlmustrd]

I built a sunken pirate mast for my koi pond. I used a laundry basket painted brown for the crow's nest. (Not my idea but I don't remember where I saw that). I used a 4-way pvc connector to attach all the pipes together. And the basket slides down the top pole and rests on the connector.

 

[Cloe]

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried to find those baskets like they use in store displays when I was trying to come up with barrel ideas with no luck. I agree about the zip ties lol. I also thought about a laundry basket but was afraid it wouldn't be sturdy enough to hold a figure (who's wearing one of the shirts you so kindly sent, Matrixmom). I'm thinking I might try your idea about the dowel and maybe drill a couple small holes in the planter to attach it through the pole and again to the pipes on the mast. Here's hoping Mother Nature doesn't throw all kinds of evil wind at me next month!

 

[matrixmom]

I found the baskets at goodwill.

 

[Wolfbeard]

I built mine from a $10 bundle of plaster lathe from Home Depot. The crows nest frame frame is made up of pieces of 1x2 cut at a 22.5% angle and screwed together. The plaster lathe was just nailed to the frame. It all attached to a couple of 10' long plastic drain pipes (lighter than pvc!) Under the crows nest, you can see the 1x2 supports that were screwed to the pipe. The top of the mast was 20' tall.

This was a fast and relatively inexpensive crows nest option.

Eric