Pirate LEGO Hulls

[Norrington]

Well, I was wondering if you put pricks in the holes in the hulls could they float?

If so could you take pictures, and could you see how big of a ship It could support? I want to try this and make a 26 gun frigate (They're all custom cannons I'll post later), with 5 hull secions and one gun deck mayb 2, but not very high to reduce height and weight, so do you think it could float? Richie Dulin, scince your going to destroy that british looking ship to rebuild it could you put the bricks in the holes in the hulls and test that before you destroy it? I want to find out if it works before i start building ths ship, so when it's built I can put it in my pool when I go to florida soon. Or in the lake this summer in front of my house this summer...

[Scouty]

Absolutely nothing will make a pure lego ship float, ever. The only option is hot glue or some kind of sealent. Even if the hull is completely sealed IT WILL NOT FLOAT!!! It is to unBALANCED. You'll need a weighted keel. They have some lego keels, but they go at 2-5 dollars each. Even with all the sealents in the hulls and the keels THE WIEGHT IS GOING TO BRING THE SHIP TO DAVY JONE'S LOCKER!!!!!! I've tried sealing a hull, just two parts (front + back) and even that didn't stay. So, I must conclude, NOTHING can make a lego hulled ship float, unless it's with those 4+ hulls...other wise...nothing. Sorry. :-( .

[Capn Frank]

Commodore?

Warning!! Don't put your MOC's near water. 8-o Pirateships don't belong in water *n*

You might lose some bricks or something. Or worse, Mini-figs. :'-(

If you are going to put your MOC's in water, be very very very very very very very careful.

Mr. P

[Norrington]

Actully, I built a full-blown pirate ship once for fun and didn't plug up holes, it was massive, and I built it just to sink it. It tiped on it side and started sinking, then and men I hadn't secured started floating up, along with capsized rowboats, just like a REAL ship wreck! Though it was an Uber long time ago. LOL it was funny.

"20 brave and able seamen and seamonkeys met their end that day... but were 'rescued' from the bottom and pressganged into my Royal Navy, and the the ship was recovered, to be sent out in combat missions, but would otherwise be in drydock."

2 months later the ship was sunk in the sea of pool and was recoerved, but deemed highly unsea worthy after sinking 2 times (Duh :S ) and was destroyed by the Dpt. Of Public Saftey

Anyway Phred, I never put Legos in the lake, and If I did it'd be beached, but with the tide up enough to make it look like it's at sea.

[Scouty]

Also, pools have clorene and junk...you DON'T want THAT near the Lego!

[Capn Frank]

...

Anyway Phred, I never put Legos in the lake, and If I did it'd be beached, but with the tide up enough to make it look like it's at sea.

that's good

sorry for the panic attack earlier,

i got a little worried :)

Mr. P

[Berry Syedow]

Certainly if a LEGO ship were even able to support its own weight in water, wouldn't the cut off at the hull have a serious effect on the balance of the ship? (like ImperialScout mentioned) When I cleaned a few of my bricks in the tub along with the DOS' two hull parts I remember being surprised that the hull parts wouldn't sink (in the upright position). After about 45 minutes of soaking in the tub, both hull pieces had finally sunken into the depths of Davy Jone's Locker...

[Mister Phes]

Also, pools have clorene and junk...you DON'T want THAT near the Lego!

The bath tub it is then!

Certainly if a LEGO ship were even able to support its own weight in water, wouldn't the cut off at the hull have a serious effect on the balance of the ship?

The 4+ Red Beard's Pirate ship floats and it has a "cut off" hull, so... :S

[Berry Syedow]

The 4+ Red Beard's Pirate ship floats and it has a "cut off" hull, so... :S

Hmm, maybe there is a use for the +4 pirate hull after all! ;-) If anyone could take a picture of their +4 pirate hull in the tub, I'd be most thankful! And perhaps someone with a +4 pirate hull could explain why it floats so well?

[SkaForHire]

Hmm, maybe there is a use for the +4 pirate hull after all! ;-) If anyone could take a picture of their +4 pirate hull in the tub, I'd be most thankful! And perhaps someone with a +4 pirate hull could explain why it floats so well?

my bathtub is too dirty for pictures ... or else i would go float a 5 mid section 4+ hull lol...

[Mister Phes]

Hmm, maybe there is a use for the +4 pirate hull after all! ;-) If anyone could take a picture of their +4 pirate hull in the tub, I'd be most thankful! And perhaps someone with a +4 pirate hull could explain why it floats so well?

Do you really think anyone here is going to provide irrefutable evidence that they own one of these 4+ ships? X-D

[Legeaux]

Well, I was wondering if you put pricks in the holes in the hulls could they float?

If so could you take pictures, and could you see how big of a ship It could support? I want to try this and make a 26 gun frigate (They're all custom cannons I'll post later), with 5 hull secions and one gun deck mayb 2, but not very high to reduce height and weight, so do you think it could float? Richie Dulin, scince your going to destroy that british looking ship to rebuild it could you put the bricks in the holes in the hulls and test that before you destroy it?

:o

Well, I could, I guess, but I'm not going too.

I think the real issue is not going to be the holes in the hulls, it's going to be a combination of the 'waterline cut-off' of the Lego hulls that has been mentioned, and also the weight and height of the superstructure and rigging.

She'd capsize first, then sink, in my estimation.

What I can report though, is that I took my 7906 Fireboat out for a run in a swimming pool (salt water) on the weekend. It wasn't hugely stable, but was great fun. She does sit low in the water - but is a lot more stable (if lower) with the motor attached.

The motor is surprisingly effective, and the rudder quite good for steering.

I had some spots of salt appear on the bricks when she'd dried off, but a quick rinse under fresh water solved that.

I plan to have a go at a tall ship superstructure and rig for the 7906 hull. I think it should be possible to come up with something acceptable, but I also think that it will be too heavy to float - or at the very least the centre of gravity will be too high.

If you want a floating pirate ship, I think you'll need to base it on the Captain Redbeard hull (or the Durmstrang one, possibly), and you'll need to work very carefully to keep the topsides light.

[Mister Phes]

I think the real issue is not going to be the holes in the hulls, it's going to be a combination of the 'waterline cut-off' of the Lego hulls that has been mentioned, and also the weight and height of the superstructure and rigging.

She'd capsize first, then sink, in my estimation.

So what if slopes were used to build a keel which would add to the height and weight of the hull. Would that make any difference?

[Legeaux]

So what if slopes were used to build a keel which would add to the height and weight of the hull. Would that make any difference?

If you could get the enough weight low enough, you might stop it capsizing before it sinks.

A brick built hull, or a brick supplemented hull, is going to be a leaky proposition. If someone were to attempt it, I'd suggest filling the hull with expanded styrofoam. The water will still get in, but won't be able to fill the hull. (Just cut the foam to size, or use bean bag beans or similar).

If you have a look at a full hull drawing of a pirate era (or later) vessel, you'll see that there is a *lot* of volume below the waterline.

[Norrington]

Interesting... Lol about playing with the ship in the pool. I remember when I built small what I now know to be sloops, nd playing "Kraken" In the pool...

[Mister Phes]

So Mr Norrington, since this was your idea are you going to attempt to MOD a hull to make it float?

[Norrington]

Perhaps Lord Phes... I was just going to stick bricks in the slots where the holes are, so now I might hot glue the holes, put the bricks in, the glue the hulls together with hot glue, then go over with electrical tape to (Hopefully) make it watertight, and then make a custom brick built keel then attach it to the bottom... I think...I think I am going to do this with a complete RBR hull (Not the whole ship) that I just ordered (for the sake of having extra hlls to experiment with), because the red is allmost to FUGLY for anything but the underwater portion of line-of-battle ship, but as lego ships cut off at the waterline, its useless... ALso, does anyone know if Hot glue could make something watertight, or does it just become rubbbery in water?

[Mister Phes]

Yes, do some experimenting and see what you come up with!

If possible don't forget to take pictures so we can see what you're up to.

[Capn Frank]

Perhaps Lord Phes... I was just going to stick bricks in the slots where the holes are, so now I might hot glue the holes, put the bricks in, the glue the hulls together with hot glue, then go over with electrical tape to (Hopefully) make it watertight, and then make a custom brick built keel then attach it to the bottom... I think...I think I am going to do this with a complete RBR hull (Not the whole ship) that I just ordered (for the sake of having extra hlls to experiment with), because the red is allmost to FUGLY for anything but the underwater portion of line-of-battle ship, but as lego ships cut off at the waterline, its useless... ALso, does anyone know if Hot glue could make something watertight, or does it just become rubbbery in water?

you should try tape and plastic wrap before glueing :-$

Just have the plastic wrap taped to the exterior of your vessel

P

Edit:

Would you attempt to modify a hull to make it float, Mister Phred?

No I wouldn't Mr. P,

but if i were, I'd try it with plastic wrap and tape first to see if it's feasible before gluing any bricks. ;-)

[Mister Phes]

Would you attempt to modify a hull to make it float, Mister Phred?

[Bonaparte]

This is really a funny topic :-D :-D

I would never attempt to make my Lego ships float.

[Scouty]

Hot Glue can be used as a sealent...but you have to make sure it's sealed...when I tried it...some areas didn't get completely sealed. Make sure you smush the hot glue around for a better chance :capn: .

[Legeaux]

Hot Glue can be used as a sealent...but you have to make sure it's sealed...when I tried it...some areas didn't get completely sealed. Make sure you smush the hot glue around for a better chance :capn: .

You may be better off using a product intended as a sealant, rather than hot glue. A silicon based sealant is likely to be safe with ABS, can be worked quite well, and is fairly easy to remove from plastic (once you realise that not matter how well sealed, it's not going to float well enough for you ;-)).

[Scouty]

I used hot glue because it is easy to remove, and it does work as a sealent...and is rather cheap X-D . I've used it once for a tank and it worked quite well. I even used it to make an underwater camera case....those two failed....only so slightly by few leaks, and my fading intrest to go back to them X-D !!

[Legeaux]

I used hot glue because it is easy to remove, and it does work as a sealent...and is rather cheap X-D . I've used it once for a tank and it worked quite well. I even used it to make an underwater camera case....those two failed....only so slightly by few leaks, and my fading intrest to go back to them X-D !!

Cool then! I've never used hot glue with Lego... but if it's not damaging, and is easy to remove from Lego, I think I might try it sometime. (I don't think you can beat hot glue for speed of cure combined with removability).