Halloween is a wonderful occasion for a party. When you have a boat, Halloween can be even more fun.
After all, you can take your Halloween festivities onto the water. Not only can you dress yourself in your favorite costume, but you can decorate your boat. What’s more, you can incorporate your boat into the Halloween party whether you’re on the water or not.
What follows are some of our favorite tips and tricks for making the most of your Halloween with a boat experience. Before you read this, however, be warned. It’s really fun.
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Halloween On the Water
Around the United States, many towns and cities host Halloween boat parades. Many of these events allow you and your boat to participate. You’ll likely just need to register in advance and follow some basic instructions.
This year, many parades are scheduled for the Saturday before Halloween, October 26. If you plan to take part, you’re likely going to want to dress the part. The options for creating a boat costume these days are endless.
Here are a few fundamentals:
1.Lighting and Spooky Music: many modern LED lighting setups can be controlled by your smartphone. Not only can you set (and change the color of the lights), but many varieties allow you to sync the light display to music. Taking this approach, you can crank some Halloween-inspired tunes and have your boat’s light display
pulsate to the music.
2.The tried-and-true smoke machine: On most occasions, smoke on a boat is not a good sign. Halloween, however, is not most occasions. Outfitting your cockpit or bow with a smoke machine is a great way to impart ambiance and spookiness to your boat decoration. When you combine the smoke with dancing, color-changing LEDs, and some spooky music, you’re really onto something.
There are plenty of options for smoke/ fog machines. Many will set you back between $35 and $50. Before choosing the right option for you, ensure that it can be powered by batteries or that you have the ability to run it off of your boat’s battery system.
3.Physical Decorations to Your Boat: How you’ll decorate your boat depends on the theme you’re going for (more on themes later). But here are a few great options.
a. The Growling Cowling: this is a great option for getting the kids involved. Just get some big pieces of white paper and tape them over portions of your engine cover (if you plan on using the boat while doing this, make sure not to block the air vents and other necessary inflows or outflows!). Then, let the kids draw their best monster eyes and sharp teeth. The growling cowling might just become a family Halloween tradition. Using blue painters’ tape is a good bet for avoiding residue.
b. A Livewell (or cooler) Full of Candy: Sure, you might normally keep a trip’s worth of live bait in your well, but what better place to stock the supplies for all the trick or treaters….
Land-based Boat Halloween
Even if there’s no Halloween water festivities in your area, your boat can still make an appearance. After all, what better platform for a party than something that sits on a trailer, has comfortable seats, can play spooky music and be outfitted with a smoke machine?
Well before the trick or treaters start arriving, pull your boat and trailer into your front yard. Depending on your setup, this could be the end of the driveway near the street or in the yard closer to your house.
Your boat will be the centerpiece of your Halloween display. Crank the tunes, get the LEDs bouncing with the music, crank the fog machine, and fill a cooler with candy for the trick-or-treaters and maybe another cooler full of something for you and your friends.
To round out the experience, here’s a few nautical-themed costume ideas for you. After all, you don’t want your boat to be more festive than you are!
1. Pirates: nothing says Halloween on the water quite like a good pirate costume. You can take this any number of directions—there were men and lady pirates, you can go eye patch, parrot on the shoulder, awesome pirate hat and sword, you name it.
The best part? If you’re a pirate, your boat automatically becomes a pirate ship!
2. Moby Dick and Captain Ahab: Up for a whale of a time? Dress yourself like Captain Ahab and turn your boat into the great white whale. That’s right, Moby Dick himself.
3. Polynesian Explorer: Want to turn your Halloween into a tropical experience while giving a nod to one of history’s best and most accomplished seafaring traditions? Dress yourself up like a Polynesian Explorer… There are lots of costume options and once you’re dressed up, you’ll definitely be ready for a party.
4. Looking for something a bit closer to home? Why not dress as your favorite Yamaha pro-team angler? This approach might even result in some extra luck next time you’re out fishing.
Back to Blue Life
After all, you can take your Halloween festivities onto the water. Not only can you dress yourself in your favorite costume, but you can decorate your boat. What’s more, you can incorporate your boat into the Halloween party whether you’re on the water or not.
What follows are some of our favorite tips and tricks for making the most of your Halloween with a boat experience. Before you read this, however, be warned. It’s really fun.
Halloween On the Water
Around the United States, many towns and cities host Halloween boat parades. Many of these events allow you and your boat to participate. You’ll likely just need to register in advance and follow some basic instructions.
This year, many parades are scheduled for the Saturday before Halloween, October 26. If you plan to take part, you’re likely going to want to dress the part. The options for creating a boat costume these days are endless.
Here are a few fundamentals:
1.Lighting and Spooky Music: many modern LED lighting setups can be controlled by your smartphone. Not only can you set (and change the color of the lights), but many varieties allow you to sync the light display to music. Taking this approach, you can crank some Halloween-inspired tunes and have your boat’s light display
pulsate to the music.
2.The tried-and-true smoke machine: On most occasions, smoke on a boat is not a good sign. Halloween, however, is not most occasions. Outfitting your cockpit or bow with a smoke machine is a great way to impart ambiance and spookiness to your boat decoration. When you combine the smoke with dancing, color-changing LEDs, and some spooky music, you’re really onto something.
There are plenty of options for smoke/ fog machines. Many will set you back between $35 and $50. Before choosing the right option for you, ensure that it can be powered by batteries or that you have the ability to run it off of your boat’s battery system.
3.Physical Decorations to Your Boat: How you’ll decorate your boat depends on the theme you’re going for (more on themes later). But here are a few great options.
a. The Growling Cowling: this is a great option for getting the kids involved. Just get some big pieces of white paper and tape them over portions of your engine cover (if you plan on using the boat while doing this, make sure not to block the air vents and other necessary inflows or outflows!). Then, let the kids draw their best monster eyes and sharp teeth. The growling cowling might just become a family Halloween tradition. Using blue painters’ tape is a good bet for avoiding residue.
b. A Livewell (or cooler) Full of Candy: Sure, you might normally keep a trip’s worth of live bait in your well, but what better place to stock the supplies for all the trick or treaters….
Land-based Boat Halloween
Even if there’s no Halloween water festivities in your area, your boat can still make an appearance. After all, what better platform for a party than something that sits on a trailer, has comfortable seats, can play spooky music and be outfitted with a smoke machine?
Well before the trick or treaters start arriving, pull your boat and trailer into your front yard. Depending on your setup, this could be the end of the driveway near the street or in the yard closer to your house.
Your boat will be the centerpiece of your Halloween display. Crank the tunes, get the LEDs bouncing with the music, crank the fog machine, and fill a cooler with candy for the trick-or-treaters and maybe another cooler full of something for you and your friends.
To round out the experience, here’s a few nautical-themed costume ideas for you. After all, you don’t want your boat to be more festive than you are!
1. Pirates: nothing says Halloween on the water quite like a good pirate costume. You can take this any number of directions—there were men and lady pirates, you can go eye patch, parrot on the shoulder, awesome pirate hat and sword, you name it.
The best part? If you’re a pirate, your boat automatically becomes a pirate ship!
2. Moby Dick and Captain Ahab: Up for a whale of a time? Dress yourself like Captain Ahab and turn your boat into the great white whale. That’s right, Moby Dick himself.
3. Polynesian Explorer: Want to turn your Halloween into a tropical experience while giving a nod to one of history’s best and most accomplished seafaring traditions? Dress yourself up like a Polynesian Explorer… There are lots of costume options and once you’re dressed up, you’ll definitely be ready for a party.
4. Looking for something a bit closer to home? Why not dress as your favorite Yamaha pro-team angler? This approach might even result in some extra luck next time you’re out fishing.
Back to Blue Life
