Instead of Writing Something Funny, I Made a Pirate Ship With My 7-Year-Old

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Pirate ship, side view

Pirate ship, side view

Hi, everyone.

Yesterday, I had a lot of stuff on my to-do list. One of those things was to write a funny Dumb Runner article to share today. But I wasn’t feeling very funny, and my 7-year-old son, Henry, wanted me to help him make a pirate ship. He’s into pirates lately.

So I stepped away from my computer and helped him make a pirate ship.

REAR VIEW

REAR VIEW

The body of the ship is a cardboard box that held furnace filters. I removed one side, then used part of that piece, folded, to help form the bow. The mast is a length of thin bamboo that I scavenged from our shed, plus strips of cardboard. The wheel (also cardboard) really turns!

mast close-up

mast close-up

The sail is a piece of paper—repurposed packing material. It was crumpled up tight, so when I flattened it the effect was really nice. I decided to attach the sail to the spar* with string, which I thought would look cooler. The Jolly Roger flag is from Henry.

* That horizontal cross-bar thing is called a spar. Little something I learned.

the plank

the plank

It wouldn’t be a pirate ship without a plank, so we made one. It’s removable. No one has walked it… yet.

name

name

Henry christened the ship The Skull Buccaneer.

henry’s new sword

henry’s new sword

Henry’s previous cardboard sword was in pretty sorry shape. So while we were at it, I made him a new, much sturdier one. I cut a length of cardboard and then creased and folded it lengthwise, inserted a guard, and taped it tight with packing tape. Then I used spray adhesive to glue aluminum foil over the “blade” and wrapped the handle with black shoestring, ending with black electrical tape.

Now that’s a blade befitting a pirate ship captain!

The ship is a work in progress. Still to come: A toilet-paper-tube cannon and, maybe, a boxy “cabin” at the ship’s stern. Henry has said no to a crow’s nest, but I’m pushing for one.

I’ll keep you posted.

Working on this project, for me, was a welcome diversion. It made me happy.

I hope reading about it did the same for you.

Be well.