Children love throwing things into the water and watching them float away. I told my son that he couldn't do this with trash, like foam board, paper cups, plastic bags, etc., even if they floated fine.
Share a tutorial on how to make a catamaran sailboat with foam board, and use the household waste with your children. You can not only enjoy the fun of crafting, but also be more environmentally friendly!~
Materials needed: rope, foam board, plastic lid, plastic straw, 1/4" stick, freezer plastic bag.
Tools needed: paper cutter, scissors, hot glue gun, pencil or marker.
This boat is a catamaran, which is more stable than a single hull.
Cut several long rectangles (approximately 1.5" x 2" x 11"). Draw some parallel guide lines and cut the bottom taper of each hull.
Cut them at an angle so they are symmetrical and parallel so the boat will go straight.
Cut a pair of rudders from the plastic cover.
Cut a slot in the back of the hull and glue the rudder on.
By the way, hot glue will melt the foam, so you have to do it quickly.
It is important that the rudders are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the boat (or water).
What the rudder looks like after installation.
Use a notebook or other cardboard as a prop to cut the deck. The finished deck will measure 8" x 8" x 1.25".
Mark the centerline of the deck.
Use a triangle of foam board and glue it to the center of the deck to add a little thickness where the mast will be supported.
Glue the hulls to the sides of the deck, making sure the hulls are parallel to the deck and the hulls are parallel to each other.
Use a pencil, stick, screwdriver, drill, etc. to poke some holes in the deck along the center line.
Insert the straw into the hole and secure it with glue, being careful not to melt the foam. I installed three vertical straws so the position of the mast can be changed forward or aft, depending on the wind direction and the balance of the boat.
The last straw with a curved end is for tying the rope.
Cut the top and bottom of the freezer bag.
Rotate it 90 degrees so that the sides become the top and bottom of the sail. Fold the bag in half and cut a little notch from the top and bottom where the mast can go through.
Cut the sticks so that 2 lengths are wider than the sail and one (the mast) is 4-6" taller than the sail.
Place the sticks as shown and carve a small notch at the intersection so when you glue them together they will interlock and prevent sliding.
The head and foot beams and masts go inside the bag, with the masts coming out of the top and bottom through small holes cut out.
Hot glue them together.
Tie a rope to the mast and add a paper clip to the bottom of the mast so that if it flips over you can drag it back to shore without losing your sail.
Finally, after tying the long rope, the sailboat can be put into the water and sailed!
