Directions to Make a Paper Boat

Create your own paper boats.

You might think that a boat made merely of paper would get soggy and quickly sink once in the water. But a classic origami boat floats as well as any other toy boat, and you can make one from a piece of writing or origami paper within minutes. There are many variations on the folded paper boat, including sailboats, canoes and catamarans. Try the simplest paper boat design to start with.

Things You'll Need

• Rectangular piece of paper

Instructions

1. Place the piece of paper colored side up on a flat surface, positioned vertically.

2. Fold the paper in half from left to right. Crease and unfold.

3. Fold the paper in half from top to bottom, forming a non-colored horizontal rectangle.

4. Fold the top two corners down to the center crease.

5. Fold the bottom edge flap upward, creasing the fold well.

6. Flip the paper over and fold the bottom edge flap upward, creasing the fold well. The resulting folded paper looks like a pointed hat.

7. Pull the sides outward along the center creases and flatten the form to create a square shape.

8. Position the square so that the non-colored tip is pointing up and fold the bottom corner of the front layer up to the top corner.

9. Flip the paper over, and with the non-colored tip pointing up fold the bottom corner of the front layer up to the top corner. This forms a multilayered triangle.

10. Pull the sides out and flatten into a square.

11. Pull the top flaps down and out and crease the folds firmly to complete the boat shape.

References

• Origami Fun: Origami Boat Instructions
• Origami Kids: The Classic Boat--Paper Boats