Spudguns on the high seas

[D_Hall]

Hah, yeah but you would need a hell of a cannon to penetrate the hull of a ship like that.

To penetrate the hull of a ship. Yes.

Alas, our pirates tend to stage assults from what amount to little more than motor boats. "Ship" does not even begin to apply.

[McCoytheGreater]

Alas, our pirates tend to stage assults from what amount to little more than motor boats. "Ship" does not even begin to apply.

The special that aired showed the pirates used those cheapy fiberglass boats. Good for boat building, bad for projectile repelling.

[psycix]

Ideal targets for any well-built spudgun.

[velocity3x]

At high velocity wouldn't the golfball pretty much disintegrate on contact with such a dense target (i.e. the ship's hull). Or would it actually make it through the hull at a supersonic speed? Anyone know? I guess there's only one way to find out for sure.....

Golf Balls at high velocity do not disintegrate on impact. A golf ball at supersonic speed definitely will not penetrate a heavy steel hull of a ship however....they will certainly penetrate "soft targets".

[POLAND_SPUD]

@velocity
what about accuracy at longer ranges?

I guess you'd need ammo with higher sectional density, such as steel ball bearings, basically something that isn't as much slowed down by air friction as GBs... in most situations your target won't be 10 or 20 meters away but up to 100 meters or more

[velocity3x]

@velocity
what about accuracy at longer ranges?

IMO...golf balls are only good for cheap fun and nothing more however they can provide a serious punch.

[jeepkahn]

Ummm.... Were those shots from 100ft(') or 100in(") ???

I'm guessing 100ft, so you might want to edit your photo tags...

[Brian the brain]

Are we really discussing the best way to sink a ship?!?!?!?!

What if they get funny ideas?
We might have sparked their interest..I know of some members that have tried to contact them..

*shouting at the treehuggers*

THIS IS ALL HYPOTHETICAL!!!
We are against voilence and piracy.
Do not damage other people's property..

Oh..but we do love whales..

Okay..continue

[jeepkahn]

Are we really discussing the best way to sink a ship?!?!?!?!

What if they get funny ideas?
We might have sparked their interest..I know of some members that have tried to contact them..

*shouting at the treehuggers*

THIS IS ALL HYPOTHETICAL!!!
We are against voilence and piracy.
Do not damage other people's property..

Oh..but we do love whales..

Okay..continue

We are discussing suitable backstop materiels, and ...um... trying to figure out the most environmentally friendly method of scuttling Pirate ships...er...I um mean... abandoned vessels, yeah thats it, abandoned vessels, for use as artificial reefs to provide habitat for sea animals...

Yeah, we don't want to frighten the poor fish by using explosives to sink "artificial reefs", yeah we want to use 'taters, or nontoxic golfballs...

[McCoytheGreater]

Oh..but we do love whales..

Yeah we do! Their oil/blubber is great!

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

A golf ball at supersonic speed definitely will not penetrate a heavy steel hull of a ship however....they will certainly penetrate "soft targets".

Has the movie been released yet?

[D_Hall]

in most situations your target won't be 10 or 20 meters away but up to 100 meters or more

Whether or not you can ID a pirate attack (and presumably start shooting) at 100 m, is largely irrelevant. What IS relevant, is that to get aboard your ship, they DO have to be within 10 or 20 meters.

Basically the pirates are climbing aboard at the fantail. OK, so how far off the water is the fantail? MAYBE 20 feet? Voila... You're basically guarenteed that the bad guys will have to be within 20 feet of a very specific part of the ship.

Suddenly 10-20 meters is totally doable. You'd likely want to harden your location, but that's easy. Point is don't expose yourself or let them know you plan on shooting back until you see the proverbial whites of their eyes. And then put a hole in the bottom of their boat.

[POLAND_SPUD]

well yeah but if they are just 20 meters away you might as well use a water cannon

but probably you are right that you won't be sure that it's a pirate attack until they are really close

[D_Hall]

well yeah but if they are just 20 meters away you might as well use a water cannon

Except that water cannons don't force them to stop/disengage. They're just a way to frustrate the bad guys until such time as they (hopefully) get bored and move on to other targets. Punching holes in a boat forces the boat captain to disengage.

[rp181]

modify a water jet cutter for long range