Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[Garabaldy]

currently im staying at my dads house and have a nice big shed where i can work on my boats.  I am soon to be moving out into a 1bed flat in the city centre.  My question is, Is it possible for me to carry on building boats in my flat?  Anyone else in this situation?  Anyone have any advice on this? 

[malcolmfrary]

Think small.  Something 6 feet long and weighing in at 60 lb is a bit of a liability in a lift, even moreso when trying to go up stairs.

[Philipsparker]

Rent storage space. It's not building boats that is the problem, storing the results is. I rent a 20ft by 6ft container for the boats and trains and bits of old VW...

Check Yellow Pages for local storage places.

Hope this helps.
Phil

[toesupwa]

Its possible... but not easy.

I have lived with the wife in a one bed apartment with just a small balcony for a work area. It was just enough to set up a 'workmate'...

Unfortunatly, you will have to think small and only produce small boats for a while.. My fleet is 'short' with nothing over 28" long..

[SteamboatPhil]

belive it or not an ironing board makes a great work bench (even the shape is boat like) a small clamp on vice, a few hand tools and your're away (Oh and a vacucm cleaner !!!!) 

[Garabaldy]

I dont drive either which makes things worse.  I will be living on my own which  makes things easier i guess.  Im considering making the riva aquamara or somthing.  Its nice and smallish.  Renting a container is a good idea, i never thought of that!  I also wondered about maybe storing my boat in the local boatclub building but im not sure if they even do that

[SteamboatPhil]

I would go for something with out too many delicate fittings, so you can carry the boat in a largest rucksack to get it to the pond.

[Shipmate60]

I had a mate in exactly the same position as you will be.
He had 32 boats in his 1 bedroom 2nd floor flat. Ranging from an 8 foot long Prinz Eugen to smaller.
Yes he was and still is married too.
It just depends on what you want to do.
A few shelves can be used to put completed models on and as has been said before anything from wortmate to ironing board can be used. You just have to clean up a lot more!!
The choice is all yours.

Bob

[Euan Galloway]

Hello,
               When i was a student i lived in a one bed flat,no living room either,i made a drop down workboard attached to the wall
                                      it can be done ,
                                                         cheers Euan.

[Philipsparker]

For transport I'd look at wheelie suitcases before picking a prototype. They offer good protection and don't look out of place on the bus. I think you'd get a footie size model in there.

As for storing the boats at the club - do any of them offer this now ? Our clubrooms wouldn't be nearly large enough if we offered the service !

Phil

[craftysod]

I live in a 1 bedroom flat,i bought a desk with 3 drawers and a couple of shelves from argos,this lives by the window in front room.
That is my workspace,with the hoover on red alert because the other half is houseproud.
So it can be done,just not allowed to make a mess

Mark

[das boot]

Of course it can be done...I do it all the time.

I now live on my own in a small one bedroom flat, I share it with a Revell Gato, a Steve Neill U-33, a Steve Neill USS Blueback, tomorrow a Revell Missouri arrives as well, and then there's my submersible and the distinct possiblility of a Novgorod as well. Oh, and I have designs on a 1/32nd scale model of U-441.

I have a common or garden pc desk which holds my pc and is also pressed into service as a building desk, plus an ancient double school desk which everything gets stood on...tools, glues, paints, toolbox, etc. As long as I keep the lounge tidy, it doesn't look out of place. The boats are kept on top of my wardrobe in the bedroom out of harms way, except for whichever is being worked on at the time. My flat is a first floor flat, and I have no problems at all with getting a boat up/down the stairs. The 1/32nd scale U-441 may present problems, but no doubt I'll figure out a way to overcome them.

Where you live shouldn't pose a problem to you at all...I went from a three bedroom house with a workshop and a garage to my flat, and after working out what to put where, I carried on boat building...so can you!

Rich

Oh, forgot to mention that I live alone now, which does help, but I still like to keep the place clean and tidy.

[Garabaldy]

im relieved there is plenty other people in the same position as me.  I will be living alone too which deffiantly helps!  I think i will be building small from now on.  I will just sail my bigger boats when some one offers me a lift.  I think i'l get a desk set up for boat building and have a decent hoover constantly on standby

[craftysod]

Garabaldy,if you belong to a club or go to your local pond where they sail their boats,get to know the people,the boating fraternity is a friendly one,and someone might help you with transport.
( Except Rich who is coming above water to spy on us and attack with torpedoes  )
Its a case of make a bit of space ,where you can work comfortably,and in my case spot clean cos of "her indoors" but if you are living alone sod the hoovering can be done tomorrow
Mark

[Philipsparker]

More thoughts:

Visit: http://www.doubleogauge.com/journalmisc.htm and read the article "My version of the modeling workstation" which describes a small modelling workspace.

Try your local general auction. You can often pick up tatty roll top desks which would be ideal for modelling as they have drawers and the top can be lowered or rolled down to cover the mess.

Phil

[das boot]

I got my PC desk out of our local free ad paper, cost me £5. The school desk (it's ages old, very similar to the ones we had at school forty+ years ago) came out of skip.

It's not much after being used to a decent workshop with all the tools I needed, but it's better than nothing.


Rich

[das boot]

Here's my workstation, aka 'the slipway'...U-33 under construction.

See...it CAN be done!   


Rich

[ministeve]

hi the last flat i lived in had a loft hatch which i had a look through and ended up putting a section of floor down big enough to use as a small work room 8x10  that was a great work place and warm in the winter