How to Build a Flagpole For Your Camp
Show your colors by building a flagpole for your camp. It’s easy if you have the pioneering skills.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- Two 15 to 20-foot spars about 4 inches in diameter
- Four anchors
- Mallet
- Rope
- Flag
WHAT YOU’LL DO
Step One: Choose a spot for your flagpole, and lay both spars along the ground parallel with each other, with about a 4-5-foot overlap. The thickest, heaviest end of the biggest spar should be the bottom of the pole. The smallest spar will be the top of the pole.
Attach the two spars to each other by tying a clove hitch near the bottom of the smallest spar, and then wrapping the rope around both spars as tight as you can 15-20 times, then ending with a clove hitch around both spars. This is a round lashing.
Repeat the process at the top of the biggest spar.
Step Two: Attach two lengths of rope to the middle section of both spars with a lark’s head knot. These are the ropes that will hold your pole up.
Step Three: Attach a flag to your pole with a series of square knots. Raise your pole and lay the attached ropes out in a perimeter around the pole. Install anchors into the ground with the mallet at the bottom of each rope.
Step Four: Attach ropes to anchors with a taut-line hitch.
Step Five: Step back and salute the flag.
My guy line ropes are only half long enough. I can’t use a lark’s head as illustrated in the video. Would a clove hitch be an adequate substitute?
You can use a prussic to tie a pulley or biner to the top and run a line through it, you can raise and lower the flag instead of using the square or reef knots to attach the flag in one position.
“that’s great because I’m a new scout and I might use it on upcoming camping trips thanks new backpacker.”
cool and interesting way to make a flagpole
This works fine, and it’s nice to see it in video. For my kids, all Cub Scouts, those stablizing ropes are deadly. We solved that by using a very short flagpole. It doesn’t go up 10 feet, and it’s dug into the ground and tamped down. And the flag is small. Everything’s undersized, but it keeps wind issues to a minimum and allows my scouts to do our pack ceremonies. Also, we put metal eyelets on the top and bottom of the pole so the rope can raise and lower the flag. We dig it back up again when we leave and place the grass, etc. back in the “hole,” and take apart our pole for the next trip, using it until the poles (cut sweetgum) rot.
What flag is permitted to fly higher than the United States Flag on a flag pole? When four flags are flying, how are they displayed on a flag pole–United States Flag, State Flag, County Flag and Chaplain’s Flag? How is the United States Flag displayed at the United Nations Conference Center which is located on United States soil like in New York City, New York?
Only one “flag” is aloud to fly above the US Flag. That is the chaplin’s pennet during religious services onboard US Navy ships. Flags of other sovreign nations fly at the same height. Check in the Webelos Handbook under the Citizens Activity Badge for other ways to properly display “Old Glory” and check with your local VFW Post they publish a great pamphlet on flag etiquet
It works in wind up to 18.63 mph. Any breeze above that, and you’re out of luck.
I agree with SPL, does it work in the wind or will it fall over?