Frigate Assembly Problem

So, I separated the balloons for easy painting, but kept the pipes connected to the large balloon to serve as a handle. Now that I'm done painting I'm trying to attach the balloons, but when I do so there is a sizeable gap between the center of the frigate and the bottom of the balloon's pipes. (Pic 2)

Has anyone else had this problem? How do I go about fixing this?

In hindsight I probably shouldnt have attached the pipes to the balloon, and instead attached them to the boat. Is there a way to separate the pipes from the balloon without damaging either? They're assembled with plastic glue

Please help! I was very excited to be done with this boat and show it off