doing a flemish coil

Griffin

"Doing a Flemish Coil"

There's a potty joke in there somewhere.

I did a Flemish Coil on a sidewalk last time I was in Amsterdam....I was fined 250 Euros and banned from the Red Light District...

Realizing that it is thread-drift, I've never understood this fascination with Flemish coils, in models or in real-life.

I realize that Flemish coils are much enshrined on models of all sorts, but they are finicky beasts at the best of times.  But, they are not the sort of thing a person would ever leave on an exposed foredeck while underway.  That, and they area terrible way to stow line for immediate use, too--a proper salt "flakes" line out to run, if such is needed.  Flaked lines can be snubbed with "small stuff" to keep them corralled before need, too--the sort of thing any Bo's'un worth his Crow learns early on.

A person operating small craft learns that you might not "need" 7:1 scope for an anchor line, but, 5:1 is still a lot of rode to stow out on deck (15' [2m] anchorage wants 225' [±70m] of anchor line.  In case that number does not mean so much, it's three times the length of an 80' patrol boat--and that, before leaving some "extra" to tie off the other end of the rode,as small craft lie better to longer scope than their heavier brethren.  . 

A flemish coil is very neat and tidy, and looks very nautical and takes up bare bits of deck--all of which why such are beloved of less-salty model builders and officers of a white-washed rock frame of mind.

That being said, and the thread owing some focus, put out some double-stick tape, or tape some 3m painter's masking tape sticky-side-up on the bench.  Make up the coil, letting the stick-um help you out.  When you get the desired diameter, give it a spray of spray fixative, and flip that onto the deck where needed.  The tape lets you handle this neatly (good for pressing over deck details, like the bitter end of the line going back to its locker).  Once stuck on, the tape can be gently removed, and a shot of Dullcoat will (ought) hold it in place.

thanks guys. this may be OBE as the actual length of the anchor rope would make a huge coil. what i may do is run it from the anchor around a bit, maybe do a small coil and run the rest into the forward hatch. since it's glued tight i will drill a small hole in the hatch comming just under the hatch cover lid and run the remainder through that.

For coiled lines, I soak the thread or cord in a 1:1 mixture of white glue and water.  Then, I start the coil on a piece of Delrin plastic that I acquired.  White glue makes an extremely weak bond with Delrin. When I complete the coil I let it set for an hour or two, then can easily pop it off the Delrin.  I can then glue the coil to the ship deck with CA.

A block of Teflon would work too, instead of Delrin.

"Doing a Flemish Coil"

There's a potty joke in there somewhere.

There are many ways to do this but I'll give you my method. I start with the thinest sheet of Evergreen plastic cut into a square. I mark the center of the square with a pencil as a starting point.  Next I take the bitter end of the "line" (thread or string)  and super glue it on the sheet plastic "mark". I turn the sheet plastic and feed the line in a coil tacking it with super glue as I go. When I get to the size of flemish I want I cut the line but leave enough for one more coil turn. At this point I use a a sharp pair of scissors and trim the plastic sheet into a round shape the size of the coil.  I place the coil on the finished (painted) deck and super glue it in place. The last unglued "coil" is then tack glued in place to the deck as to hide the white edge of the plastic sheet. Be careful not to use too much super glue as it will show on the thread as a dark shiney spot  and detract from the overall appearence. However this can be touched up with a flat paint. This method allows the builder to build it "off the boat" and not get glue all over the finished deck. Plus you can make up a couple of coils and "dry fit" them on deck and decide where they look best.  On smaller models solder can be used the same way,  the fact that the solder holds it shape makes it ideal as a flemished or "faked down" piece of mooring line. Of course the solder has to be painted and doesn't posess the individual turns like real three splice rope but on a small model it isn't noticeable. Hope this helps.

Mike