# Saltwater suit



## Bornes (Jan 15, 2012)

Hey all. I'm new so sorry if this is a bit weird.

I'm in the US Navy and on a unique position where we do something called a "crossing the line" ceremony, also known as a shellback ceremony or wog day nearly every year. If you're interested in what it entails, google or wikipedia explains it pretty well.

Anyway, shellbacks wear costumes that are usually pirate related. During the ceremony, everyone gets covered in seawater, so most people handmake their costumes from scrap and trash them afterward. 
Last year, I bought an expensive pirate costume instead and everyone loved it. I managed to keep to somewhat okay-looking by washing it with freshwater almost immediately after the ceremony, but things could've gone better...

Next ceremony,  I'd like some type of fursuit-inspired costume.
My questions, though, are these:
Are there any better materials to use in preparation for loads of saltwater?
What species you think would be cool for this unique situation?
Who may be willing to make or design such a suit?
How much something like this would cost(in comparison to a "normal" fursuit)?

Thanks for your help. =)

PS: I'm not new to costuming or fursuiting. While I never owned my first real fursuit(a partial) until recently, I've been keeping an eye on the community for quite some time as a lurker (and I go out in 'normal' costume irl fairly often). I've never participated in the furry/fursuit community until now.

EDIT:
Got hold of a computer temporarily, and have fixed any typos thus far in the thread. God typing on a phone is horrible, but it's really all I have at the moment.

EDIT2:
Okay since I have the computer, may as well grab some links and stuff.
What I'd like is something that is not only fursuit-inspired (so basically "a creature" ) but also theatrically inspired, which is at this point what I think would work best and survive the longest. It also allows freedom of movement and all that jazz. The only example I have of that is Qarrezel's Garbonzo. Obviously something made with those materials would not work in seawater, but the idea and style is what I'd like to inspire this 'suit': warrior, freedom of movement, not much fur.

As far as species goes, I was looking for ideas of like, what the beast could be modeled after. At first I wanted something like Davy Jones's octobeard from PotC but this would not save well and would not be good for the general spirit of the ceremony (basically I'd end up upstaging somebody I shouldn't).

So now I am thinking of something like Davy Jones's or King Neptune's guard/soldier/etc. However, some of my main concerns there were that I do not know if a tail would be feasible to make, and if it was, how much it would get in the way of my activities(marine animal tails seem way more complicated/bigger than canine/feline ones). As well as if I did not have a mask, what sort of make-up would stay after being turreted with seawater for a good hour or more? And then how would that make-up wash off when I wanted it to?
So maybe a resin half-mask or an old-style mask of somekind....

Really I am just brainstorming here-- I hope this helps clarify what I am looking for. If something like this is not possible then I'd be a little disappointed but I'll realize that's just the way it is and move on. I just wear costumes; I've never tried to make one before, so I don't know how the intricacies of it all work.

*EDIT3:
Okay, to simplify this by A LOT--
I need a "fursuit"-inspired costume that would be possible to swim in.*
I don't actually swim in it, but I get hit with enough water at such a constant rate that any other sort of costume probably wouldn't work.


----------



## dinosaurdammit (Jan 15, 2012)

I dunno what salt water would do but I imagine that you should maybe go with something durable like fleece? Because fur tends to break or fall out if it gets too wet and I imagine with saltwater it would damage the pile (the fur). Id go with something aquatic. Maybe an alligator or something of that nature. But you run into the problem of mold because you will have a fursuit head that has moisture in it and that is never good.


----------



## Bornes (Jan 15, 2012)

You bring up good points. I was thinking of partials or something that was moreso theatrical than "fursuity" if that makes sense. My problems there though were that I didn't know what species to base outfits around or what cloth/material to use. I was thinking something pirates of the Caribbean davy jones inspired but I never got very far with anything remotely original ideas.

Also, I apologize for awkward typos. I'm on a phone with crappy touch and navigation.


----------



## Fay V (Jan 15, 2012)

You might want to consider a partial. head, tail, feet, hands. Less to worry about and you can make the rest of the outfit scrap stuff. 
As for species...sea otter.


----------



## dinosaurdammit (Jan 15, 2012)

OH OH OH DO GREY FLEECE AND DO A HAMMER HEAD >:3 or a bonnet shark i love those little guys ;~;


----------



## Bornes (Jan 15, 2012)

Before this gets out of hand, please know I'd be commissioning this, not making it. So please keep this in mind?  xP


----------



## Fay V (Jan 15, 2012)

You'd have to look at some makers. it all depends on what your price range is. Once you have a range you can start discussing things like felt vs fur and so on. I'm not sure how much of a difference the salt water thing will make to price, but you should probably shy away from the big name makers because it will cost a lot of cash. 
I also don't recommend beastcub, I don't think her work would hold together for being sprayed with salt water. 

So did you have any budget in mind? keep in mind a full suit can be up to 2k-4k from big names, however you should at least cover materials and some work so a 100 suit is really unlikely.


----------



## dinosaurdammit (Jan 15, 2012)

Id go with a maker who would do a resin mask as foam holds moisture


----------



## Brazen (Jan 15, 2012)

Those Somalian pirates won't know what to think.


----------



## Bornes (Jan 15, 2012)

I do not have a price range because I don't know what I want yet, if it is possible, or even if it's worth it. Currently I'm playing with half-mask or no-mask ideas and concentrating on outfit, similar to stage costume creatures-- which I know clockwork creature has done in the past(I'm specifically thinking of this one which is theatrical-styled). 
I don't think it'd be worth it on my end to commission her, I just mention it as it's the only example I can think of at the moment.

Right now I'd say nothing over 200usd but price isn't a huge factor for me(I've a lot of disposable income). Moreso practicality is my issue-- if I only wear it once or twice, then I'll only pay about $200. But if it's a suit that would work well out in normal conditions (and not just wog day, so I can wear it elsewhere) then I would gladly pay much more.


----------



## DarrylWolf (Jan 15, 2012)

They make those buccaneer suits from "acrap"- well, the sailors go through a lot of hazing before they get accepted and I can understand why they'd want to trash them afterwards.

As for your other question, you could put some trash bags around the parts of the fursuit you don't want to get wet and wear an animal hat, usually available at children's clothing or party stores anywhere.


----------



## Bornes (Jan 15, 2012)

I meant to say "scrap".  Wearing a trashbag on the suit would be dumb. The reason I am here is to figure out how to get a costume made specifically for wog day.
I've already been through it twice as a shellback. I'd like my third time to be epic.

As I previously stated, I'm in a unique position as my ship crosses the equator nearly every year. I've gone through this ceremony more times than most sailors do in their entire career. I know what to expect and I would really like to take advantage of my multiple "once in a lifetime" experiences. =3

EDIT:
I added much more detail to the first post.


----------



## Cult (Jan 15, 2012)

You could have a sheep or Kraken fursuit.


----------



## Bornes (Jan 15, 2012)

Sheep like the mammal?
Are you joking?
If you're not... How would that work? I'd imagine something covered in wool would take _days_ to dry.


----------



## Calico-Feathers (Jan 15, 2012)

If you're worried about it drying just get a fan. Or toss it in the dryer. As long as the air fluff setting works properly on your dryer it won't harm the faux fur at all (note that I said *air fluff*; it's the only setting that doesn't use heat). And it's not only okay but recommended to wash foam heads. I actually recall a post on the LJ fursuit community about using a washer and dryer to clean foam heads. Every single part of a "traditional" fursuit can be properly washed and dried without harm coming to any of it. However I'm not sure on whether salt water would affect it. :\ My suggestion there is to get a hold of some scraps of high-quality faux fur and some foam and give it a salt water dunk, dry it and see how it turns out.

http://fursuit.livejournal.com/4151169.html
http://fursuit.livejournal.com/4937402.html


----------



## Bornes (Jan 18, 2012)

Unfortunately, I have no access to a dryer or a washer for this costume so it would have to live with being drenched in freshwater and hung to dry. 

I mean, I could wash it eventually. But it could be up to 2 months later.


----------



## Dyluck (Jan 18, 2012)

you should definitely just be a shark. i can't see how else any kind of fursuit could possibly be considered appropriate for an event like that.


----------



## clicketyclack (Jan 18, 2012)

You could start with a zentai suit that way it wouldn't be very expensive and if it got trashed it wouldn't be a big deal. http://www.milanoo.com/Catsuits-Zentai-c314
Then, you could as has been suggested do a shark or other sea-creature. (There's also loads of these on ebay) They also make them without the face covered up, which would probably be better for what you're doing. Then, you could paint the stomach of the suit white or something and all you'd have to do is get a mask. You could easily use pieces from last year's pirate costume to jazz it up and construct fins out of some sort of foam or sculpy and paint them. ....But I suppose you're probably on a boat and may not have access to that stuff.

Since what you're looking for is closer to a normal costume then a fursuit you could probably look for help/someone to commission on the cosplay.com forums.

Good luck!


----------



## Bornes (Jan 19, 2012)

What to make it out of, though?


----------



## Grae Sparrowkin (Jan 19, 2012)

Again, everyone has been saying fleece with a resin mask.

A) Fleece is harder to ruin than pile-fur.
B) Resin won't cause as much mold (Hopefully)
C) unless you are going to take a super-beating with the water this wog, go with a latex prosthetic on your face. You could be a fish or octopus that way too. 


Good luck to all of your polywogs this year!


----------



## Bornes (Jan 20, 2012)

clicketyclack said:


> You could start with a zentai suit that way it wouldn't be very expensive and if it got trashed it wouldn't be a big deal. http://www.milanoo.com/Catsuits-Zentai-c314


  Holy crap, that's an amazing suggestion. I didn't know those even existed but it's an amazing idea. Thank you. 





			
				Grae Sparrowkin said:
			
		

> Again, everyone has been saying fleece with a resin mask.


 Yes, everyone was saying fleece but I was thinking any type of fur at all wouldn't last so I was a bit confused... Thank you for the clarification, though.


----------

