Make a Paper Boat

Looking to get crafty? Believe it or not, you can make a paper boat from a single sheet of paper in just a few minutes. Follow these steps to find out how to do it.

Steps

  1. Fold an 8 ½ in x 11 in (21.5 cm x 28 cm) sheet of paper in half along its short side. You can use ordinary white printer paper, construction paper, or origami paper. This is called folding the paper "hot dog style." Make a neat crease along the paper.
  2. Unfold the paper, rotate it 90 degrees, and fold it in half from bottom to top along its long side. This "hamburger style" fold will create a new crease in the center of the page (See the video for help). You should now have two creases along both centers (x-axis and y-axis) of the page.
  3. Flip the paper so that the fold opens toward you. Then, fold down the top corners while leaving 1-2 in (2.5-5 cm) of space at the bottom. Grab the two top corners, and fold down so that they line up with the center crease. Use the crease you made before to help line up the corners. Crease along the edges to secure the folds.
  4. Fold the bottom of the paper up against both sides. Grab the top flap at the bottom of the paper, and fold it up against the bottom of the two folded triangles. Turn the paper over, and do the same thing to the flap on that side. This will make a paper hat.
  5. Fold the bottom corners in. On one side of the paper, grab the corners of the rectangle that are sticking out over the triangle. Fold the top flap of the corner in around the edge of the triangle, then fold the bottom flap over the folded down top flap.
  6. Make the triangle into a square. Pick up the triangle, rotate it 45 degrees, then use your fingers to open up the bottom of the triangle. It should naturally start to pop into a square shape -- the bottom corners of the triangle should fold over each other and become the bottom corner of a diamond. Crease the paper along its edges so that it stays in the square shape.
  7. Fold up the bottom flaps. Arrange your paper so that the bottom points of the diamond can fold upward. Fold up one corner, aligning it with the top corner. Flip the paper over, and do the same thing to the other side.
  8. Make the triangle into a square again. Just like last time, pick up the triangle, rotate it 45 degrees, then open up the bottom of your new triangle with your fingers. The bottom corners will line up to become the bottom point of a square diamond. Crease the paper along its edges so that it stays in the square shape.
  9. Pull out the triangles on the side of the square. Start at the top of the diamond, and gently pull the two sides apart so that the seam running down the middle of the diamond opens. Crease the bottom of the folded out sides to make the boat a bit stronger.
    • You may need to pull up the triangle inside the diamond while pulling apart the two sides. Try to keep the triangle inside the diamond sticking straight up as this will be your boat's "mast."
  10. Float your boat. Fill a small tub with water and place the boat on the water. If it starts to droop a little, keep making small adjustments to keep the sides up and prevent the boat from sinking.



Tips

  • Waterproof your boat! Use a waxed paper from an art store to make your boat last longer, or color one side of the paper completely with a crayon. You can also try to make your boat out of aluminum foil.
  • Make sure you crease well. Use a ruler or a paper folder to make tight folds.
  • Be aware that the heavier the paper you use, the harder the boat will be to make.
  • If you are floating your boat on a large body of water, like a pond, you can tape string onto one end of the boat. Hold on to the other end of the string so that it doesn't float away!
  • Try to get the edges of the paper to line up.

Warnings

  • Make sure you don't have any holes, one little hole can turn into a huge rip.
  • Try not to tear the paper.

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