PIRATE SHIP - page two .
And here is the ship outside the workshop for the first time to try slotting the masts, lamps, and figurehead into position. Still problems to be ironed out, like the front sail for instance, but we're getting there.

Dimensions are... Length 25 feet, Height of main mast 14 feet, Width 4 feet. .

And below is the finished Pirate Ship. I was very impressed with the Producer of the pageant who, in spite of all he had to think about on the day, still managed to go down to the shore in the early hours to gather seaweed, which we hung over the anchors etc. Note the "lady" figurehead. and the cut out seagull on the Starboard lantern.

TIP I cut out the anchors from 9mm ply, sealed them then covered them with PVA glue. Before the glue was dry I sprinkled sawdust over it. This gave a nice rough texture which, when painted, looked like rusted iron.

The sails are diliberately tattered. For two reasons. Firstly it enabled me to only have part sails which meant the spectators could see the pirate on board. Secondly, full sails would have caught the wind and the thing might have, litterally, started to sail away from the pullers.

When I was working on making and painting the figure head, it dawned on me that, because this was not a three dimensional item, I could have two different elements, one either side. So below is a photo of the Producer, John McNally, admiring the obverse side from the lady. I had decided that the name of the vessel should be Kraken (A mythical sea monster) so it seemed appropriate to have an octopus type beastie depicted. By bringing the tentacles onto the 3D hull this also gave it more depth.

TIP I painted octopus with acrylics but the main hull was painted with Dulux household emulsion paints.

And, finally, below, is a photo of the Ship in the pageant parade.