Mr. Stump,
Does your cannon barrel have trunions? If so, you can either have
a wooden naval carriage or a deck yoke mount (as in a swivel gun)
fabricated from Cannon Mania in Connecticut. They are, by far,
THE LARGEST dealers in both new and antique signal cannons. Visit
their web page at
http://www.cannon-mania.com and you'll see what
I mean. It won't be cheap, however. I crew on Tom Hempton's CD30K
"Tanqueray" out of Glen Cove, NY and I usually bring along my 10GA
signal cannon which I've had equipped with a bronze winch mount.
The cannon is mounted to a mahogany board, and the bronze casting
is screwed to the underside of the board. It has a square bronze
shaft that fits a standard winch perfectly. We use it as the evening
gun and, of course, to initiate cocktail hour. I got it from
Berkley George, who markets several beautiful 10GA cannons (including
his coveted Herreshoff) as "Ye Olde Cannon Maker", also in CT.
Not to worry about the Coast Guard. The ATF has classified black
powder signal cannons as "signaling devices"; hence, they are legal
in most states.
Regards,
Rich Reynolds
Turret Captain
S/V Tanqueray
P.S. When are you folks going to schedule a "West Central" Long
Island Sound weekend rendezvous? I'll bring my cannon!
rjreynol@usgs.gov