The project began when FC1 Bryan Wells acquired a boat trailer off Craigslist to use as the base for the LCS parade float he envisioned. The trailer, like almost all of the parts Wells used, were picked up or borrowed from Craigslist, junk piles and garbage bins.
This is a bow shot of the parade float coming together. The shipÕs structure is made of metal pipes and planks from discarded wooden pallets. From this, Wells and ET1 Jody Voss added particleboard sheets to fashion the hull.
They painted the hull with leftover haze gray paint and carved a window for the command and control room inside.
The stern has a crawl through space to get to the command and control room inside, which has enough room for a person to stand in. The shipÕs quarters are guarded by action figures manning fake machine guns.
LCS 25 is ready for parade action, complete with a rotating gun turret that fires confetti, a 1MC that can blast out ÒAnchors Aweigh,Ó and a whirling ÒradarÓ at the top of the mast that spins on a treadmill motor.
The homemade LCS wowed paradegoers and landed its builders on the local TV news. Manning the parade float on Wednesday were, from left, ET1 Kirk Vivian, FC1 Bryan Wells, and ET1 Jody Voss.
