Denny,
Try dubbing on the wire instead of the tying thread- will add weight and durability with the rope being wire cored. You won't have to cement each step unless you just want to add double-durability to it. You don't have to tie with the wire, just rope on a wire tag (on spool) and then tie off with thread at the front. When you're done, you can pinch the wire-cored body with a needle-nose and flatten it and it will keep the flat shape.

I've been experimenting with wire-based bodies and the back-wrap over the top, as has been posted recently, using your hen soft-hackles. But when I back-wrap towards the eye, I rope on the wire a very slight thin strand of ice-dub. So after i gap-wrap the wire to the front, it tease out the ice dub and have a fine halo of color over the wire core. Looks great- hope the fish like it. These are heavy and should find the bottom of deep pools quickly.