Cannon Deck

[Rickk]

I made a "cannon deck" for my "deck cannon".

The flag is Blackbeard's (one of his, he actually flew a second one in the Barbados - he didn't like people from the Barbados).











Rick

[thelionspaw]

Really neat. How do you move and store all of this? Tough to roll?

rc

[Cat Whisperer]

Really neat. How do you move and store all of this? Tough to roll?

rc

It is cool!   One could easly use a fork lift!

[Rickk]

Move? Store?   
       

It's sitting right where it sits all the time.
       


My wife won't let me keep it in the living room, and getting it there would take way too much effort anyway.
   
The gun weighs in at many hundreds of pounds. When it does need to get moved, a tow rope is wrapped around the front axle and I hook it up to my tractor. I do have a small trailer project for it penciled in on my "endless to-do list".

The only difference is now it's sitting up off the dirt and I won't be hitting the wheels with the weed wacker any more.

When not in use, a plastic folding table sits over the gun to keep the majority of the rain and snow off of it.

[Rickk]

I was just thinking I should have titled this thread "Obama selling off pieces of the USS Constitution on EBay to help balance the budget".

[GGaskill]

I think you should add some corner braces so the recoil doesn't pull over the side of the ship.

[Rickk]

The walls and the floors each have a four 4x4s in them. The wall 4x4's and the floor 4x4's each have a 3/8 x 8 lag bolt going thru the joint to hold it together.

Also, on each side of the inner two 4x4's and the inside of the two outer ones, is nailed a L-shaped steel corner reinforcment (6 total) over the joints.

Finally, notice the tongue and groove construction. It's not obvious in the picture, but the lowest wall board on the inside wall is tongue and grooved into the top of the floor board that it sits on.

The wall is pretty solid.

[KABAR2]

Well it's a good start..... you have a cannon  the start of the deck a flag and maybe a powder monkey I spy holding the flag,

I don't know how many Spanish Gallons you get in your neck of the woods but it's a good start 

[RocklockI]

i like it , you could put removable tires on it and wheel it .

i've been thinking of making a platform ....if i had a navel gun i would do it like that do it would way .

proly just some simple and plane .

[Cat Whisperer]

Well it's a good start.....  

YUP.   We're waiting for the rest of the ship now.   

[Rickk]

The "powder monkey" holding the flag wants the rest of the ship too, or at least 3 more gun ports (with guns of course). I'll let him negotiate with momma first to let me spend the money 

[thelionspaw]

Make him his own deck section with a swivel gun on a rail.  It's only money and they're only young and impressionable now.  They slip their lines and drift before you realize it.

rc



 

[Ex 49'er]

Give the Powder Monkey a bucket and mop and let him swab the deck.   

[Cannoneer]

Rickk,

 I really like the decking and bulwark you made for your gun; have you fired it from the deck yet?

What was the brand of that super-duper paint you used on the tube, and has it lived up to your expectations, has any chipping or rust occured?

Tropico was active yesterday, I saw his name, but he didn't make a post to explain what the symbols in Blackbeard's flag meant, and I'm certainly not going to encroach on our resident pyrate's territory, so how about you clue us in.

[Rickk]

Hi Boom J

I havn't fired from the deck yet. The stain was still drying when I took the pictures.

On this particular barrel I used epoxy based spraypaint ("appliance epoxy"). With an occational wax job (Boeshield), it has held up very well. However, since I did this barrel I learned about POR-15 and would use that instead if I was doing it all over again. I have painted a number of often abused outdoors things with POR15 in the last two years and the stuff takes all sorts of abuse without any chipping or fading to date. I know Tropico likes POR15 as well. It is somewhat on the expensive side, pretty much has to be brushed on instead of spraying, and requires a multi-step (4 steps) ocess, but the results I believe are worth it.

As far as the meaning of the flag, each pirate's flag was composed of different combinations of a small number of  items (from memory - skull, bones, heart, sword, hourglass, spear) . Colors were only black, white, and occationally red. There was generally no writing on the flag, with the exception of 6 letters on Blackbeard's "alternate flag"

Here is a link to a good explaination of the purpose and meanign of pirate flags:

http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/pirate-flags.htm

[Cannoneer]

POR15: Thanks Rickk; for the life of me, I couldn't recall the name.


On the pirate flag question, I'll admit it was a subterfuge; I was trying to get Tropico to break his silence, but it obviously didn't work.

All the pirate's flags had one simple psychological purpose, and that was to scare the hell out of their intended victims. The symbols used, each conveyed a meaning: One of Blackbeard's flags (Rick's) had a devil-horned skeleton holding an hourglass in one hand, and a spear/arrow in the other, that was poking at a bleeding (three drops of blood) heart. The skeleton signified death, the devil's horns meant that the pirates had already sold their souls to devil, so don't count on them showing any compunctions about butchering every man jack of them, the hourglass told them that their time had come and/or that they had little time left to make the decision to surrender, the spear stabbing the heart signified that if they didn't give up their ship that when the pirates took their ship, (no quarter would be given) every man in the crew would be murdered. According to some of the books I've read, historians think this psychological warfare may have worked like a charm, as there are many records of merchant ships raising the white flag before so much as a drop of blood was spilled.

[Tropico]

Hi folks ., Sort down and out lately !  POR 15 is AWESOME !!! like a glass resin coat of paint ., bullet proof !

Hi BOOMJ !  Blackbeards skeleton is that of satan. ( note the horns on the skull )  the stabbing of the heart is the spilling of the blood if you do not surrender ., and usually some blood letting anyway ! the hour glass means your time is running out.   

[KABAR2]

Hi Boom J

  The stain was still drying when I took the pictures.

 

Arrrrrr!!!! Ye Land lubber! Ye never "Stain" thee deck with any thing but BLOOD!!!

Now get Thee Powder Monkey of yours on his hands and knees holystoning thee deck!   

[Cannoneer]

Hi folks ., Sort down and out lately !

Tropico,

It's good to have you back making a post, and I hope your neck begins to feel better, so just hang in there, things will turn around.