Brief:
As soon as I saw Dick Stafford's 'Boot Hill' rocket, me hearties, I had t' build one. Well, blow me down! It is a fun rocket, and I want t' give all due acknowledgments t' Dick! That said, I made one modification t' Boot Hill that employs rubber bands t' pull open t' coffin lid, me hearties, instead o' usin' ejection gases t' push it open. Arrr! T' ejection charge gases are now used t' burn through a thread that is holdin' t' coffin lid closed.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• Wood coffin, purchased from Michaels
• 3 Wood gravestones, purchased from Michaels
• 6" long BT-50 tube
• Spent 24 mm engine
• Small engine hook
• 7 Screw eyes, me hearties, #214
• 2 Small rubber bands
• Thin cotton thread
• 18" shock cord
• 18" parachute

I started by constructin' an engine mount on one end o' t' body tube. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I put a small slit 2 3/4 inches from t' end t' accommodate t' engine hook. Blimey! Blimey! I fastened it t' t' tube by spreadin' CA along a rectangle centered on t' engine hook and 1/4 inch on either side, matey, and 1/2 inch from t' bottom. Arrr! I then put a same size piece o' maskin' tape over t' CA and let dry. Aye aye! Blimey! For t' engine block, I used a 1/4-inch slice o' a spent 24mm engine and glued it just above t' engine hook. Ahoy! Blimey! I then glued t' bottom half o' t' spent engine t' t' opposite end o' t' body tube such that t' clay nozzle was flush with t' now top-end o' t' body tube and let dry. Aye aye! (This be done t' give some extra support t' t' end that would take t' ejection gases and give more surface area t' attach t' t' coffin.) I drilled four 1/4-inch holes through t' top end o' body tube just under t' clay nozzle about 1 inch from t' end. Avast! Blimey! I then filled in t' hole o' t' nozzle with 5-minute epoxy. Aye aye! When that be set, I scuffed up both t' end o' t' body tube and t' hardened epoxy with 120 grit sandpaper and attached it t' t' bottom end o' t' coffin with 5 minute epoxy, centerin' it on t' body half o' t' coffin such that it would nay interfere with t' lid opening.

To attach t' gravestone fins t' t' body tube, matey, me hearties, I first sanded t' bottom end o' t' gravestones t' give them a flat surface for attachin' t' t' body tube. Aye aye! I then glued t' fins t' t' bottom end o' t' body tube usin' wood glue and filleted.

T' openin' mechanism was constructed by screwin' four screw deadlights on either end o' t' two coffin hinges as shown in t' figure. T' screw deadlights on t' lid were screwed in on t' right side o' t' lid. T' screw deadlights on t' body o' t' coffin were screwed in on t' back. T' rubber band is looped through one o' screw deadlights and kept loose until launch. T' lockin' mechanism was constructed by screwin' t' same size screw deadlights on t' inside o' t' coffin just above t' latch on both t' lid and body o' t' coffin. Begad! I also drilled a 1/16-inch hole through t' bottom o' t' coffin at t' right aft end. Finally I screwed an screw eye on t' inside o' t' coffin at t' top and attached an 18" shock cord.

Finishing:
I put three coats o' Sandin' Sealer on t' outside o' t' coffin, sandin' with 400 grit sandpaper betwixt each coat. Begad! I then primed everythin' (except for t' 3 gravestone fins) with 2 coats o' Krylon white primer and sanded with 400 grit sandpaper. Blimey! For t' coffin, matey, arrr, I used Rustoleum Painter's Touch Black Gloss and gave it two coats. Arrr! For t' body tube I used Ceracoat Acrylic Paint Dolphin Gray that pretty much matched t' color o' t' gravestones and gave them three coats. Ahoy! And finally I decorated with some Halloween stickers purchased at Michael's.

I tried both Krylon's Crystal Clear Gloss and Rustoleum's Crystal Clear Gloss on a test gravestone but both seem t' cause t' paint on it t' run brown. Ya scallywag! So I decided t' leave as is.

Flight and Recovery:
I made two rockets, me bucko, one for me daughter and one for myself, and we launched them at a recent CMASS launch.

To prepare for launch, matey, I first attached an 18" parachute with a swivel t' t' shock cord, folded and placed it in t' back o' t' coffin. Avast! I then cut a 24 inch piece o' thread, shiver me timbers, looped it through t' internal eye hook on t' coffin lid, then passed it through t' eye hook on t' coffin body and finally through t' hole at t' bottom o' t' coffin and out. Avast! Aye aye! I closed t' coffin door and latched it. I then passed t' thread through t' body tube usin' 2 opposin' 1/4-inch holes, pulled tightly and taped t' thread t' t' body tube with a small piece o' maskin' tape. Begad! Ya scallywag! I inserted a C11-3 engine and off t' t' launch pad.

Once t' rocket be on t' pad and alligator clips attached, arrr, I looped t' two rubber bands over their opposin' screw deadlights and opened t' coffin latch.

Upon launch t' rocket reached about 150 t' 200 ft. Ahoy! T' ejection charge burned through t' thread and I could see t' coffin door open and parachute deploy. T' rocket came down safely! My daughter and I next had a drag race with each o' our coffin rockets, shiver me timbers, which was also successful. Begad! Both coffin doors opened at apogee; t' parachutes unfurled and each landed safely. My daughter next attempted t' launch hers with a rather large skeleton inside, but that didn't go so well.

Summary:
PROs: This really is a fun rocket for Halloween. Begad! Aye aye! It is easy t' build and allows itself t' imaginative decorations and all kinds o' scary things that can pop out o' t' coffin. All thanks t' Dick.

CONs: T' lockin' mechanism I employed here works well with an empty coffin or small things placed inside, ya bilge rat, me hearties, me hearties, but anythin' large prevents t' thread from releasin' t' coffin lid. Blimey! Perhaps a mechanism that ties t' door shut from t' outside would work better for larger "payloads".