He’s sent a cartoon cat, a swan, a crocodile, a duck and a turkey sailing out onto Hamilton Harbour — all in the name of festive fun.

It’s anyone’s guess what animal extravaganza Bill Pitman has lined up for this year’s Christmas Boat Parade.

But whatever idea floats his boat this time around, there’s no doubting the Paget man has become a firm fixture in the seasonal spectacle.

Next month’s event — on December 9 — will be his ninth.

And he has yet to miss a year since it all started back in 1998.

Bill’s intricate holiday-themed designs grow from PVC pipes, which are then draped in lights and placed on a frame on his boat.

Past entries have included Sylvester the cartoon cat; a 35-foot high ‘Big Mouth Billy Bass’, inspired by the infamous singing fish, and a ‘crocodile rock’ crocodile — the jaw snapping open and shut to the strains of Elton John’s hit song.

Last year saw him send out a 15-foot tall turkey decked with 1,700 watts of lights.

Its eyes blinked and moved, its wings flapped and its mouth gave out a loud gobbling sound. It also carried a sign... urging spectators to eat fish.

These ambitious and striking creations, one of which was painted by local artist Patricia Branco in 2005, have helped Bill, 48, secure a host of prizes from judges over the years.

“Every year I learn something new and add it to my next design,” he told The Royal Gazette. “I draw the blueprint on a computer and determine what animation it will have and what I will need to illuminate it. My wife dreads November and December as the house becomes boat parade central. But once you’re out on the water, it’s like a carnival. You have friends on the boat and it’s a lot of fun.”

He said he got the boat design bug from his dad Reggie, who always entered a float in the Easter Parade back in the 60s and who Bill recalls spent hours planning and building his latest creation.

Bill is staying tight-lipped over what spectators can expect this year.

But he said he had learnt over the years that “less is more” when it comes to decorating his 20-foot long boat, although he also discovered that designs had to be big enough to spot from a distance.

One year some spectators mistook his swan for the Loch Ness Monster.

The Paget resident, an IT business manager, added: “The most important thing is to make the outline clear, especially if a particular design or shape is the goal and be careful not to over-light it.

“Spectators always like to see animation to make the display stand out.”

He said a few people had entered all nine parades, with a friendly rivalry developing between them over the years.

Parade organisers have issued a plea for boat owners to back the event. Ian Coles, one of the organisers, said the aim was to attract about two per cent of the Island’s 5,000 boats — about 100 vessels, although he admitted they were a long way from that total.

He urged companies, churches and clubs to float their ideas and make it a year to remember, and stressed how important the event was in attracting Christmas tourists to Bermuda.

Boats can enter on-line on www.bermudaboatparade.bm.

As in previous years, boats will sail around Hamilton Harbour.

The parade starts at 6.30 p.m. and ends with fireworks at about 8.15 p.m. Training sloop Spirit of Bermuda will lead the parade.

And what will he come up with next?