I have a problem. I don't seem to be able to do things simple. It started with wanting to build a play set for my daughter. As I began pricing them out, I kept thinking I know I can build one better for how much this was costing. Then I thought about doing something different. I got the idea to build a pirate ship. I started the research and design in Google Sketch-up. Then my wife called me one day and suggested I take a look at some plans she found online. I went and took a look, and the dimensions were very similar to what I had designed. It included CAD drawings and an parts list. Here is where you can get the plans and see what I started from. Pirate ship playhouse plans.
Well I started out with some minor tweaks, like putting it on pier blocks with horseshoes brackets to make it a little more solid on the foundation. So July 24th we broke ground, and this is where I got after the first day of work.
The Lower Deck
July 26th - The lower deck began to take shape. Now my wife began getting excited, because she could see where I was going with the ship. Here is the end of day 2.
The Hull
July 28th - The hull begins to take shape. This is where my modifications to the plans from Pirate Ship Playhouse Plans begin. I say begin, because there are some major divergences from the plans I bought. I decided that a 3 foot tall lower deck wouldn't be a lot of fun, and I would have a lot of head bonks from the kids. My daughter is already 46 inches, so I changed the lower deck to 4 feet high for more head clearance.
The Poop Deck
After almost a month of trying to find time to work on the ship again I got back to it on August 18th. Though my wife hates the name of this, a little research showed the following: "In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or "aft", part of the superstructure of a ship." Found on Wikipedia here. This was the first time I realized that this ship was going to be tall. The poop deck ends up being about 7 and 1/2 feet off the ground.
Siding the Hull
August 25th - I started getting really excited at this point, as what was in my head began to take shape on the ground. It was exciting to see wood begin to look like a boat.
Continuing to side
August 30th - The siding continues, and the railings begin to take shape. This is where the plans I purchased and the rest of the ship completely diverge. I changed up the railings, making them taller, because I was worried about how short they were in the plans. I also wanted to make them a little more decorative, so I added the spindles.
Mast, siding, and railings
Sept 1st - The mast went up. A 16 foot mast, which still has an additional 6 feet to go on top, went up today. This was the second time I had to call upon my wife to help. I got the mast up on the deck, but as I tried to stand it up, I realized that this is way to heavy for me. If I lost control it would break something, most likely me. I also added a bench to the poop deck which I bumped out off the back.
Finished Siding
Sept 10th - I finished the majority of the siding today. There are still a few little things to tidy up on, but it is looking like a ship. The swing set arm also went in today. My daughter was quite excited when she saw this addition.
Finishing touches and the fire pole
Sept 23rd - The finishing touches went in, including a crows nest (which I ended up removing, because my wife and I became concerned with the height, and we worried about someone falling out.) The railings are completed, and we are just about ready for paint. I added in the fire pole, and had to wait to do anything else while all the neighborhood kids that my daughter had gathered up took turns sliding down the pole.
Painting begins
Oct 5th - After carefully picking colors, we began to paint. It is beginning to look really cool.
Painting Complete
Oct 10th - Finished painting the boat and trim today. It looks awesome, and from the street it really looks like a ghost ship. I will have to take one from out there and add it.
Crows nest, skeleton and flag
Oct 13th - The finishing touches begin. I added in the new crows nest (inaccessible to kids) with a skeleton. He has a lantern in his hand with a solar powered LED lantern in his hand. It looks pretty cool at night, but I need to add some reflective foil to help make it brighter. The pirate flag has also been added, and has already been hoisted and lowered at least 30 times. I used a pink pirate flag, that says "Pirate Princess" on it. I am sure when my son commandeers the ship in a about 5 years, he will take down the flag and fly the standard Jolly Roger flag, but I had to compromise with my daughter who wanted to paint the whole ship pink and call it, "The Pink Pearl".
The Figurehead
I have attached the figurehead of the ship. It is somewhat patterned after the Queen Anne's Revenge, which is Blackbeard's ship. On the Queen Anne's Revenge the skeleton has a spear and a challis. We opted for a sword in his hands.
Halloween Night
We decked out the ship for Halloween, and plan to keep adding to it each year. We had a lot of fun with playing Pirates of the Caribbean music and playing with the fog machine. We had a lot of fun.
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