Chesapeake Bay Flattie by popeye the sailor - Midwest Products

[popeye the sailor]

  yepper!    it will also dissolve some glues as well      I was hoping that this will be a quick one,   but I'm not even at the masting stage yet.   I also need to make two sails........I haven't used the admiral's sewing machine for a while,  so that should be fun  

 

thanks for look'in in and the good word  

[cobra1951]

I also need to make two sails........I haven't used the admiral's sewing machine for a while,  so that should be fun  

 

 

 

Looks like a bit of bribery is on the cards

[popeye the sailor]

I could try to sweet talk her into doing them.........but I haven't succeeded yet.   she's pretty good about sharing her toys.

[cog]

Sharing her tools ... not yours I understand ...

[gerty]

Nice model boat you got going there Denis  - look forward to following along on another of your beautiful builds.

[popeye the sailor]

she borrows my stuff all the time Carl...........my nail clippers {used to cut light metal rod and rigging},  my x-actors {used to cut everything else}.   I wish she still did her ceramic houses.....used to have fun helping her out with them.   I laugh when she asks for something,  and I tell her they are on my table....she looks at the table and then asks...........where?!?!?!    

 

Hello Gerty....so good to see you     as with most Midwest kits,  the rigging has a few things that can be changed........the rigging diagram is really good though.   it even shows the lazy jack lines.   I was hoping that I could get 'round to tapering the mast,  boom,  and gaff yesterday,   but I spent a lot of time at the table.   I hope to get more done today.   thanks for looking in and the good word..........hope to see you resume on the W.L.B.

[popeye the sailor]

I made some progress with this build as well..........finally I have time to post it      the mast,  boom,  and gaff is tapered.  now I need to get the hardware on them.  I did get the mast somewhat done.........

 

 

 I also got the cap rails on the cockpit.

 

 

 

the hatch for the cabin  is assembled.......

 

 

...and then painted.....

 

 

I did little touch ups on the boat before the new parts are added....

 

 

the cockpit door and hatch are now in place.

 

 

 

at this point,  I made the stand for it.

 

 

it's high enough for the center board  {leeboard}.

 

 

I painted the stand when I did the gallows for the trawler.   I'll be working on the mast parts and the sails.   I should have more soon      thanks for looking in!

[popeye the sailor]

just thought I'd pop in and update everyone where I am with this build.   this is such an easy build......I should have no reason why it would give me any headaches.   I've been so intent on the trawler though,  that this poor little build has been left marooned on my other table.   I've got the sail cloth set up to draw out the sails...but so far I haven't even done that....and the admiral is beginning to ask why it's been hang'in around in the spare bedroom     I looked ahead to see how Midwest shows to make the mast hoops..........dreadful!   I will do something different in order to make them,  along with a few other small details.  I read that they instruct painting the sails with clear enamel or lacquer to stiffen it up............no,  I think diluted white glue would be a bit better.  we'll see where I go,  to further this build along.  thanks for the kind word and for look'in in  

[JPAM]

Chesapeake working boats are wonderful. There is something so simple and honest about them, they were built by watermen with no specific tools nor plans but just an idea and shape passed down through generations. here is a great documentary on the building of a Chesapeake bay deadrise. if you have not seen it before I highly recommend it. 

 

Yours sincerely. 

 

jpam 

 

[Jim Lad]

Hey, Popeye, I think you built most of this one while we were away in the U.K. and I missed it.  She looks really good, mate - a fine little model.

 

If you're still looking for mast hoop methods, I make mine from wood shavings.  just wrap the glue soaked shaving around a suitably sized dowel and allow to dry and harden ( it can be held in shape by an elastic band), then cut into thin sections.  Of course the dowel will need something around it to stop the shaving sticking to it - I usually use a bit of kitchen cling film.

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

hello Jpam,

 

welcome to MSW     I sincerely hope your enjoying  yourself here!   I agree......interesting how these boats were built.  I built my version of a Gundalow a couple of years back.   it was interesting,  the tools that Billy used to create the keel.  I got interrupted somewhere in the middle though......but no fear,  I have a you tube account.......it will be added to my watch list,  so I can watch it again later........if not here at my leisure     thanks for look'in in and the good word.....I hope to get back on it soon!

 

hello John,

 

thanks for the good word........glad to have you look'in in.  here is what they want me to do.......I hope you can read the directions .

 

 

of course,  I'm not going to do this.   did you make them for one of your builds?   I'd love to see how you made them.....sounds interesting.   I have some brown parcel paper.......I was going to wrap some around a slightly larger dowel bathed in diluted white glue........cut it up when it was dry.  I'm open to any method......let me know  

 

looks like I'll be doing reef lines again......I do'em worse than catfish whiskers    

 

thanks again!  

[Jim Lad]

Denis, sorry, but I don't have any photos of my mast hoop process, but I'll try and explain what I do.

 

Some time a go I noticed that a very nice piece of pine I was planing for a job around the house was producing very nice, even, shavings, so I saved the shavings (as we model makers do) and have used them for mast hoops ever since.  The shavings are quite thin (having come off a wood plane) and about 3/4 of an inch wide.

 

To make the hoops, I find a dowell or anything else round, for that matter, that has a diameter slightly greater than that part of the mast just above the deck where the hoops will rest on the model to use as a 'former'.  I then wrap some paper or plastic kitchen film - much wider than the wood shaving -  tightly around the 'former' and hold it in place at each end with elastic bands.  Once that's on the 'former', I simply paint a length of shaving with white wood glue and wrap it carefully around the 'former' between the two elastic bands.  This process needs to be done fairly gently to avoid splitting or cracking the shaving.  Simply wrap the glued shaving around the 'former' until you have a reasonable thickness of wood (I do this by eye), and then hold the shaving in place with another elastic band while the glue dries.

 

Once the glue has hardened, take off all the elastic bands and slide your wooden shaving tube off the 'former'.  this 'tube' can now be carefully sliced into narrow sections to use as hoops.  If your 'former' is of scrap wood, then you can use it as a cutting block to avoid crushing the tube of shaving while you cut it.  It is far easier to clean the paper of kitchen film off the inside of the individual hoops than to try to clean up the entire shaving tube in one go.

 

I hope this makes my process clear to you - if not, then just give me a yell and I'll try and clarify it.  It looks clear to me because I can see the process happening in my mind as I type this, but in might not be quite as clear to anyone trying to figure it out!  

 

John

[russ]

Your flattie is coming along. I like these small boats in large scales. This has always been a favorite of mine.

 

Russ

[popeye the sailor]

shavings!   so,  that's the secret     I thought you made them from sawdust.   I'll have to get to work with my plane and make shavings!   I'll definitely give it a try      beaver shavings?!?!?!      thanks for sharing your method.

 

thanks Russ.......this is a smaller lower level kit.  the admiral saw it and liked the looks of it.  it had been in the closet for a couple years.   I started to mess with it.......and the next thing ya know     hope to get more done soon.   I'm glad you like it  

[popeye the sailor]

having some free time now to play.........and now armed with this new information,  I took the opportunity to give it a try.  I have apiece of pine board in the closet,  that I used for a build board for the Spitfire MK 1.   going out to the garage,  I got the only plane that I have.....cheap,  but it does the job.   I ended up making quite a mess at my desk........but I was victorious!

 

 

the mast for the Flattie is 1/4 diameter.   I settled on using the plastruct plastic tubing,  I had bought for some project or another,  for the jig.   I covered it with several wraps of plastic wrap {cling wrap}.

 

 

I got chased out of the kitchen by the admiral..........she says I invade every area of the house with my crazy rantings......get out!!!!!  back at my desk,  the last bit of prep was done..........my tray,  with equal parts white glue and water.

 

 

{I really got to get a new desk}.....the admiral says she's gonna get me a metal one     {so much for Feng shui}.....anyway, I'm not sure,  but I think the problem here is that this pine board is too old and dry........I think it was part of the board that was the slip for the Nordkap  {and that was back in 2009}.  it's been in the closet ever since then....sheltered and heated {there are pipes in there}.   they were very brittle,  and with too much manipulation,  they began to shred.    I ended up with one slightly viable example.

 

 

undeterred by this,  I set off on another method I had seen.   I have quite a bit of 0.5 x 4 mm blonde strip stock,  acquired from a friend,  a while ago.   I cut some up and snuck back into the kitchen to give it a good soak.

 

 

I played with the shavings,  until they had soaked long enough to use.  I started with the diluted white glue......but it soon turned full strength,  when frustration set in.  I managed to get this far,  by this time.

 

 

once dry,  I did some sanding.   there were some loose spots that the sandpaper picked up on.......and I'd add glue and let'em set for a while longer.   what I have looks like this now........more to be done before I try to cut them up.

 

 

not being without a plan B.........I also have in the works,  the method I had mentioned earlier.   I have some brown shipping paper..........I cut a strip,  and using a second plastic round tubing,  it was rolled up with some white glue.  I didn't have to paint the entire surface with the glue........just squirt some on,  and let the rolling action spread it for me     here it is dry and ready to cut up.

 

 

if it's too thick,  I can roll some more.   since I used white glue,  I didn't have to try and protect it from sticking to the tube. 

    it should pop right out.   I do like the shaving idea.......I had a though towards getting a fresh board and try again.  if I go to Home Depot.......I then thought I could take a stroll by the saw.......maybe they'll have some shavings   the idea isn't dead John........it's too cool of an idea not to be     all of these methods have been shown and done here on the site.

 

just  do a walkabout   

[popeye the sailor]

I took the latter ideas a bit further...........slicing the wraps into slices.

 

here is the shipping paper method:

 

 

here's the rolled up 0.5 obechi  {with the way it splintered after being soaked,  it's not basswood}

 

 

using the white glue on both of these methods,  the plastic centers pop right out.   I had tapered the mast and added the eye bolts.......I had a tough time pulling the thee top eye bolts out.  they were cemented in pretty good.......I actually broke the last one and had to drill another hole.   they are a little small........they fit on the mast,  but they should be a little larger.  I figure that with the paper ones,  I can always enlarge them a bit.   either that,  I can make more,  but use a larger diameter dowel  {that I will have to cover,  'cuz it won't be plastic}.

 

still gotta make the sails........

 

 

[captainbob]

The ID of the hoop should be 1/4 to 1/2 larger than the mast depending where on the tapered mast it is.  I make my hoops the way you are doing it but I use old file folders.  The direction of wrap is 9.5 times the diameter of the dowel, this gives you three wraps around.  Wrap the dowel with waxed paper.  Taper the inside and outside edges before gluing around the dowel.  Let dry and slice.

 

Bob

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Bob.........the shipping paper is good,  but I do agree,  they are a little thick.  you can also see the indentions made by the clothes pins...something I was a bit dismayed to see.   I have tried to sand down one or two......but I think I'll make another batch,  just to see if I can get them looking better.  I cut the wood ones with a razor blade.......cuts better and cleaner than the miter saw {hand saw with the box}.   the mast is 1/4 tapered down....so,  would 5/16 be a better choice?

 

the admiral makes her own greeting cards........I'll try using a sheet of that material.........I'm sure we have old folders kicking around somewhere too  

[captainbob]

Yes, but don't forget the wax paper.  Have fun.

 

Bob

[Dee_Dee]

Popeye,

 

I have this kit on the shelf and I've been following from the beginning.  You're giving me some good ideas of how to bash the heck out of it when I build it.  On MSW 1.0, someone posted an old black and white photo of numerous Flatties that were 'beached'.  Even though it was all shades of gray, you could see that each boat had a unique paint scheme.         

 

On all of my builds, I used a dollar bill to make mast hoops and made them one by one.  It takes just one or two tries to get the hang of making them, after that, they're fairly easy to make.  On my phantom, the mast hoops range in thickness from 0.62mm - 0.90mm and on my sloup, they range from 1.2 - 1.3mm. 

 

I did a short tutorial on my MBLS build log, in post #86.  I experimented making mast hoops using high rag content paper and the inner bark from a silver birch tree,  I liked the birch bark hoops the best, because they look most realistic.

 

Dee Dee

[popeye the sailor]

I remember that build Dee Dee........2014......time flies!   there are many tutorials filtered throughout the forum......I lose track where some of them are.

     funny you should mention birch bark......that is a material  I can easily get.   I had gotten some a couple years back,  and did a rough assembly of a canoe  made of bark.....nothing fancy.   I still have it in my template box.  to me,  it's too bad this kit isn't a larger scale,  or I might have added the center board box, and opened the cabin.   it's a great kit to play with     I was planning on keeping it simple and build it quick......I knew that the rigging fittings would be my biggest focus.   I'm doing a method similar....haven't tried it using CA yet.   everything is worth a shot  

 

thanks for the suggestion and the good word  

[Jim Lad]

Looks like you're having a lot of fun with your mast hoop experiments, Popeye.

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

can't wait to see'em in my sleep John  

[hof00]

Hi Chap,

I tried with the Plane method, had all sorts of problems....

 

So, I got a large diameter dowel, (Larger than the Mast diameter), and put this in the Head Stock Chuck of my Lathe.

I put a Chuck in the Tail Stock and put a Drill in the Tail Stock Chuck. Started the Lathe and wound the Tali Stock into the Dowel.

I was left with a Dowel with a nicely centred hole or, more correctly a "Tube."

 

I then Stained the tube and used a Razor Saw and Mitre Box to cut the Tube into thin rings.

 

Here is the result on Bluenose II

Edited December 19, 2016 by hof00

[popeye the sailor]

they look great Hof.........now that my work week is done,  I can play some more      I wish I had a lathe........might made it easier to make them.

[hof00]

Hi Chap,

I managed to pick up a reasonable quality Woodworking Lathe for a couple of Hundee. (New)

Its pretty good for a variety of tasks....

 

I wish you well for the mast Hoops!!

 

Cheers....HOF.

[popeye the sailor]

just a minor update here.........the mention of birch bark got me thinking.   so yesterday,  I went out to the field and got a reasonable size piece pf bark.  I may need to soak it,  but I want to be able to separate the inner layers.  now I got this from a dead tree........does anyone think it might be better to have gotten it from a live one?

 

more news soon.

[cog]

Bark is usually as dead as a door nail, so no, I don't think it will matter

[popeye the sailor]

I took Gibbs out a short time ago........coming in I noticed that the bark is already separating.   might be an easy job after all!

[Jack12477]

I have three River Birch trees that exfoliate bark like crazy - I just peel some of it off as it sheds.