Art Form: Model boat building

Location(s): St. Clair Shores (Macomb County)

Herman Chapman

Herman Chapman in his workshop

Herman Chapman (1927-2019) began “scratch building” exquisite replica models of Great Lakes boats since the 1980s. While his knowledge, dedication to, and artistry of model boat building was recognized throughout the Great Lakes region, he was perhaps best known for his models of Great Lakes lightships on display at the Huron Lightship Museum in Port Huron and other models at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum in Detroit.

A third-generation wood worker and former industrial electrician, Chapman learned his skills in woodworking from his father, who worked on a Great Lakes ore carrier. Chapman worked in his St. Clair Shores basement workshop where he also kept a wide assortment of materials, tools, a collection of models he made—including the PALMER, DETROIT EDISON, SOUTH AMERICAN, and the fireboat JOHN KENDALL—and plans for his next project. “The research is fun,” says Chapman, who talked with people who served aboard the vessel, takes and collects numerous photographs of every angle of the boat, and does historical research before he began making a model.

His first foray into modeling was a kit boat, operated by radio control, that he made with his son. Every boat since he made from scratch. Starting with a block of basswood, Chapman carved out the hull to exact specifications from blueprints he scaled down to a 1/8th inch-to-one-foot scale. Other parts were meticulously created from wood, wire, metal, plastic, string and other materials. With a goal of making the boat as true to what it looked like at a particular point in time, Chapman attended to the smallest of details. What made it all worthwhile, according to Chapman, was the reaction the models drew from people who know the ships. When they view his models they remember their time spent working aboard the vessel, and discover distinctive features Chapman carefully included in his models.

- LuAnne Kozma, 2006