How to Build a Wood Ship

Model ships range from basic to highly detailed.

Model shipbuilding can be challenging even to advanced hobbyists. Some of the oldest model ships have been found in archeological digs dating back to ancient Greece and Egypt. Modern model ships range in size from miniatures made for tabletop games to designs large enough to carry people. You can begin your personal journey into model shipbuilding with a simple sailing vessel made of pinewood.

Things You'll Need

• 8-by-2-by-2-inch pine wood block
• 6-by-6-by-0.125-inch pine sheet
• 8-by-0.25-inch dowel
• 5-by-0.25-inch dowel
• 3-by-0.125-inch dowel
• 1-by-1-foot fabric swatch
• Scroll saw
• Thread
• Sewing needle
• Finishing nails
• Hammer
• Needle-nose pliers
• Drill
• 1/4-inch drill bit
• Craft knife
• Krylon spray paint
• Marker
• White glue

Instructions

1. Make two marks on one end of the 8-by-2-by-2-inch pine wood block with the marker. Space them about 1.25 inches apart, and center the pair so that there is three-eighths of an inch of wood on either side. This will be the ship's stern.

2. Make two more marks with the marker, one on each side of the wood block about 6 inches from the ship's stern.

3. Make one mark in the center of the end opposite the stern. This will be the ship's bow.

4. Draw an outline from the stern to the side marks to the bow. Curved outlines work better than straight lines.

5. Cut out the hull shape with the scroll saw.

6. Drill a quarter-inch diameter hole about 5.5 inches from the stern. Make the hole about 1.5 inches deep. Do not drill all the way through the hull.

7. Insert the 8-by-0.25-inch dowel in the hole. Tap a finishing nail into the top of the dowel. Leave it protruding about a quarter-inch.

8. Cut out a triangle of the fabric for the ship's sail. Make one side no more than 6 inches and another side 5 inches. That should make the remaining side about 7.87 inches.

9. Place the 5-by-0.25-inch dowel against the 5-inch side of the sail to create the boom. Using the needle and thread, sew the dowel to the edge of the fabric by fashioning knotted loops every inch. Tap a finishing nail into each end of the dowel and tie down the corners of the fabric with a loop of thread around the nail. Secure all the loops with a dot of white glue.

10. Use the needle-nose pliers to bend the finishing nail opposite the longest side of the sail into a hook shape. Place the hook around the mast, then give it a final bend so the boom can move but will not become detached from the mast.

11. Create a loop of thread at the top corner of the sail. Put the loop over the nail at the top of the mast and secure it with a drop of white glue. Attach the near edge of the sail to the mast by fashioning thread loops every inch, as you did with the boom. Secure the loops with white glue.

12. Tap a finishing nail into the hull about a half-inch from the stern. Tie a 5.5-inch thread to the hull nail and to the nail at the end of the boom. The boom should be able to swing from side to side without flopping forward.

13. Cut a rudder from the 6-by-6-by-0.125-inch pine sheet. The exact shape isn't so important as long as it is about 1.5 inches from front to back so that it can steer the ship. Glue the rudder to the 3-by-0.125-inch dowel, leaving at least one inch of the dowel sticking up from the rudder.

14. Drill a one-eighth-inch wide hole in the bottom of the hull, no more than a half-inch from the stern. Insert the rudder.

15. Cut a keel from the pine sheet. The keel should be 1 inch by 3 inches. Cut a notch in the bottom of the hull, behind the mast, with the craft knife, about a quarter-inch deep by one inch long. Insert the keel and glue in place.

16. Seal all wood parts with the Krylon spray paint. Paint and decorate the boat to suit your taste.

References

• Buckskin Council; Raingutter Regatta

Resources

• Seaworthy Small Ships; Pinewood Regattas