forts from sea

[Terry C.]

Well, with all this talk of sailboats and no cannons, I'm going to do the honorable thing and post the pic of Fort Clinch, taken from the beach, with the Rodmans at the ready...



Of course, this being the 21st Century and all (or so some people say) sometimes modern things tend to intrude on our historic discourse...















How would you like to take that li'l boat out for an afternoon, Gary? 

[RocklockI]

Oh that would be cool !  slinky big boomer ! gone for 2 months .......

gotta see those Rodmans !

Believe ME we will have a deck gun ...... in a swivel type mount proly !

I've been thinking the Krupp maybe just the thing .... precussion fired and all ! I'm not too wild about lighing off my own sails with ejected flaming fuse .

Gary

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

Thanks for those pics Terry!  That would have been really cool to see when I was there!

Gary - I've shot plenty of quickmatch fused cannons on decks and not had a problem with the sails.  When I was first getting into this hobby a more experienced shooter gave me some newspaper to shoot as wadding, and after shooting it, we noticed a small hole in the tent nearby, which kept expanding to about 1.5ft diameter!   Quickmatch or prime I don't have a problem with, but certainly no more newsprint!

[RocklockI]

Tropico ! dubbing now        ..........       U der mn? ......... weB coming 2c U2mn !

many 1 inch balls for you as ballast of course . 


 

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

Adding another to the list of potential sites - I forgot about Egmont Key, an island off the coast of Fort Desoto is home to the ruins of a fort/battery, and also has a lighthouse.  You can also find some of the largest, most pristine shells around, if it's still anything like it was when I was there last.

[seacoastartillery]

     I saw a likely mounting position for a swivel gun just before I hauled Gary's 'Ship' from the shipyard to his house in Longmont, Colorado yesterday.  I think it's a winch, a hard rubber thing that revolves around a central pin and ratchet mechanism.  A long time ago I saw one of these used as a mount for a Yacht Race starting cannon (BL 10 Ga.)  A traverse limiting plate with two bronze pins could be adapted to limit the gun's 360 deg traverse to maybe, 60 degs.  Anybody know about these?

     Also We are looking for more points of interest for a sailboat voyage in, maybe the Spring of 2012 after the Captain (Pugwash) and crew, me (Sponge) and Mike (Porkchop) learn all the nautical stuff we need to stay afloat and how to navigate.  THANK YOU gulfcoastblackpowder!  We are making a map with all those you mentioned.  Has anybody been to Fort Massachusetts?  Wondering what ordnance it has today, if any.  On Shiprock Island in the Gulf near Alabama, it is small, but very cool looking, as I recall from an Artilleryman Magazine article.    Come on fellas, Gary's boat looks much larger in front of his house than it did in the boatyard, kind of like a beached Whale, it needs something other than size to get some respect; it needs swivel guns, Port and Starboard!!  How to mount?    How.....to.....Mount??

Tracy and Mike

[Double D]

I would think Gary should set sail for Houston right now and rescue Zulu...I seen flooding in Houston before...bad enough that some people have their homes set on poles so they float when the water comes up....Elevation 13 feet, water table 12 feet 9 inches...basements flood during high tide.

[RocklockI]

well we spent a good two hours or so yesterday learning all about the ship ! It looked kinda small next to the the bigger boats ......



Now in my front yard it blots out the sun at certain angles ....!


here she is sitting in front of my yard looking looking the Bismark !.....and a little in my nieghbors yard .....

darned insurance man says I have to have a swivel gun on board ,




Seagoing Tater38's

Gary

[Soot]

it needs swivel guns, Port and Starboard!!  How to mount?    How.....to.....Mount??

RGB sells winch mount guns, click here.
You could probable cutoff a winch handle to make your own mount quick and easy.

[carronader]

Surely all you gotta do is alter the ' spike ' of the swivel to fit the winch..............should be a snap to you guys.

[Zulu]

I would think Gary should set sail for Houston right now and rescue Zulu...I seen flooding in Houston before...bad enough that some people have their homes set on poles so they float when the water comes up....Elevation 13 feet, water table 12 feet 9 inches...basements flood during high tide.

No rescue needed here.  I've been out of town for a week and missed the rain.  No problems on the home front.  No basements in Houston.  Water table too high.
Zulu

[GGaskill]

   

Maybe a bow pivot and a stern pivot?   

[Soot]

Another way to mount a swivel gun would be to use a deck plate for a seat post like this.

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

Fort Massachusetts does appear to have something in the way of ordnance:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/FortMass20020410.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Massachusetts_(Mississippi)

Two 19th-century 15-inch Rodman cannons are at Gulf Islands National Seashore.
http://www.nps.gov/guis/historyculture/fort-massachusetts.htm

It does look cool.  Definitely should be added to the list!

I'm all for cannon mounted on the ship, though keep in mind - all boats are vulnerable at the stern, so there should be something there.  That's not to say that you shouldn't have the deck/swivel mount on the sides and bow, but a good captain knows to cover his tail end.  Besides, with the three of you equipping a boat, it should be very well armed.  You can always make another cannon while you're pretending to be landlubbers, but once you set sail, each one is of utmost value.  Of course, don't forget to stock up on firecrackers and fox balls!

[GGaskill]

All right, me hearties (or is that hardies), about all I know about the Arkansas River is that Christo wants to cover 42 miles of it with silver cloth, and that its waters ultimately reach the Gulf.  So could you sail down the river to the Gulf to avoid buying gas?  I doubt you could sail back upriver but an interesting idea anyway.

Well, now I know more and it looks like you would have to go to eastern Oklahoma to find navigable waters.  Too bad.

[RocklockI]

Last night Deanna and I enjoyed our 30th wedding anniversary at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park .

Tomorrow is the first shake down cruise for    "Wego"   .

The new (old used) Nissan 8 hp motor ran fine today on the trailer , so hopfully that wont be an isuse.

Those forts are getting closer everyday . 

[Double D]

Last night Deanna and I enjoyed our 30th wedding anniversary at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park .

Tomorrow is the first shake down cruise for    "Wego"   .

The new (old used) Nissan 8 hp motor ran fine today on the trailer , so hopfully that wont be an isuse.

Those forts are getting closer everyday . 

Motor?  I thought you got a sail boat?

[Zulu]

Last night Deanna and I enjoyed our 30th wedding anniversary at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park .

Tomorrow is the first shake down cruise for    "Wego"   .

The new (old used) Nissan 8 hp motor ran fine today on the trailer , so hopfully that wont be an isuse.

Those forts are getting closer everyday .  

Motor?  I thought you got a sail boat?

Shakedown cruise?  Is Deanna going too or is it just for the "old salts"?
Zulu

[RocklockI]

She says she wants to go . Fine by me , but I told her nobody gets to just sit there .

You want to go ,you are part of the crew . no whinning .

Gary

[Zulu]

She says she wants to go . Fine by me , but I told her nobody gets to just sit there .

You want to go ,you are part of the crew . no whinning .

Gary

When do we leave?
Zulu

[GGaskill]

You want to go ,you are part of the crew

Proper attitude; in an emergency, you need all the help you can get.

[dan610324]

OOOOOHHHH   WOW WOW

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BOTH OF YOU .

why didnt you tell me   
then I at least could have sent the both of you some flowers .

[Double D]

30 years!!! Wow, newly weds!! Congratualtions!!!  88 years for us today

[Cannoneer]

30 years!!! Wow, newly weds!! Congratualtions!!!  88 years for us today

Eighty-eight?

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

Congratulations Gary!  Definitely a good idea to have her come along.  Women are good luck on boats, right?  Besides, if you're going to circumnavigate the globe on that boat, you don't want Mrs. Lorenz to be left by herself to celebrate your 31st anniversary while you're still making your way along the coast of India!

[Swampman]

Ft. Morgan and Ft. Gains look pretty cool from the ferry that runs between them.

[Double D]

30 years!!! Wow, newly weds!! Congratualtions!!!  88 years for us today

Eighty-eight?

Yep 88.  I've been married to her for 44 years and she's been married to me for 44.  44 plus 44 equals 88.

[seacoastartillery]

    From Swampman:

"Ft. Morgan and Ft. Gains look pretty cool from the ferry that runs between them."

    Mike and I agree with Swampman completely.  We have seen them both from that ferry and explored them too.  In fact Fort Morgan is our second favorite fort, only eclipsed by Fort Pulaski on Cockspur Island in the Savannah River where it reaches Tybee Island and the Atlantic Ocean.  They both were sites of very significant events during the Civil War.

    What we would like to do is see the Southern held forts, Morgan and Gains as Admiral Farragut, lashed to the rigging of his flagship, Hartford, saw them in 1864 when his naval flotilla executed a forced passage between them, precipitating the Battle of Mobile Bay.  At least we won't have to worry about hitting any torpedoes (naval mines) in 2012, the kind that caused the skipper of the Brooklyn, the leader of the van, to become twitterpated and his ship, stalled and caused the sinking of the Federal Monitor Tecumseh with a loss of almost all hands. 

Tracy and Mike

[RocklockI]

Cannons

Todays 'Wego's' shake down went very well . Only person fell in the water ....me , while trying to load the boat back onto the trailer . Sideways uncordinated ,mouth open ......boooosh . Tasted like 2 stoke .......

We found a few things that to be fixed or at least understood....better .
The old motor ran great no problems .

A couple of wild jibes as the wind was very good 12 knotts and steady , She points high into the wind and seems sound and capable .

She'll do what we want to do . 

Reefed she's docile in the wind . I never had roller jib reefing B4 it's nice .

Learning ....always learning .

Gary

Two beers later the two stroke belly was OK !



 

[Cannoneer]

30 years!!! Wow, newly weds!! Congratualtions!!!  88 years for us today

Eighty-eight?

Yep 88.  I've been married to her for 44 years and she's been married to me for 44.  44 plus 44 equals 88.

When am I going to learn not to take the bait on these casts?