Paper Boats

BMW and I have been having fun making and floating paper boats. We have used regular printer paper, as well as news papers. 

Making paper boats is very easy. I had to look up some directions online. Once I had built the first one I was able to fold subsequent boats without the instructions.

This activity is a good way to spend quality time together and make memories. Folding and floating paper boats is very cheap entertainment! :)

We like to sail our paper boats in the kitchen sink and use marbles as cargo. We see how many marbles our boats will hold before they sink!

I have written some instructions for folding a paper boat. I have taken pictures of each step being done with a regular sheet of paper and with  a sheet of newspaper. Sorry some of the pictures turned out blurry.

At the bottom of the post there is a video with some very clear directions on how to make a paper boat.

Step 1. Fold Paper in half.

Step 2. Fold corners down to make a triangle shape.

Step 3. Fold the font bottom flap up onto the triangle shape.

Step 4. Turn paper over and fold the remaining bottom flap up on that side.

Step 5. Fold the corners of the flaps down, towards the back, at an angle.

Step 6. Fold the corners of the back flaps down, towards the front, at an angle.

Step 7. Open the triangle up at the bottom edge.

Step 8. Turn sideways and flatten into a square.

Step 9. Fold the bottom corner up to the top corner. Folding the front flap towards the front.

Step 10. Turn paper over and fold remaining bottom corner up to top corner.

Step 11. Open the triangle up at the bottom edge.

Step 12. Turn sideways and flatten into a square.

Step 13. Pull the sides away from each other. (This maybe confusing. It is hard to explain.)

Step 14. With some manipulation, shape the paper into a boat. Complete with sides and a hollow triangular center.

This video should help make the process clear: