Lets make a paddleboat (part 1)
This last week, I got really interested in toys that you could take to the pool. I made a couple of these boats (seen above) and they are a blast.
The only problem was that I used quite a lot of expensive tools from my wood shop and I wanted to find a way that anyone could make a working toy boat - so here we go.
You need a four dollar board that you can get at the hardware store or a hobby shop. (I bought this 1/4″ thick piece that is 2′ long and 4″ wide in the bin at Cottin’s Hardware.) and an eight dollar coping saw like the one in the picture and you are in business…
Coping saw and blades
The first step in laying out the boat is drawing a curved bow (or front end of the boat) on our new board. In my shop, I had a paint can that was about the right width but you could use anything that is near 4 inches. If you are feeling adventurous, you could also mark out a more traditional pointed bow like the boat at the top of the page.
When done, this particular boat is going to look a little like Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder.
marking bow of the boat
In part 2 of this post (coming this Saturday), we will finish marking out the pattern, cut it out, and assemble it.
August 6th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
This is a great idea for a blog! Can’t wait to see more.
August 12th, 2008 at 2:41 am
[...] Thanks for sticking with me through this project. If you have a specific project you would like me to make or if you have any questions or would like plans of this boat to print, send me an email at jim [at] makestuffwithyourkid [dot] com. I can also get you more information on the more complex boat pattern from the first post. [...]
August 14th, 2008 at 1:15 am
This is terrific! I can’t wait to make one with E. I’m eager to see what your next project is too!
March 16th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
[...] far, the most popular project on this blog has been the paddle boat project. I have received countless requests for the pattern from scout troops. One troup wrote me [...]
May 23rd, 2010 at 8:14 pm
[...] to drill some small holes, a tape measure, and a small hammer. A coping saw like we used to make the paddle boat will be handy for the last [...]