Wooden

Mini

Yacht

THIS AUTHENTICALLY RIGGED
MODEL BOAT SAILS
ACROSS POOLS AND PONDS.
BY THOMAS MARTIN

When my son was 3 years old, I made a small bathtub boat with him, using scrap wood and a piece of dowel. It lasted much longer and got more of his attention than any dollar-store bath toy, and about six years later we decided to try building a larger boat for the pool and local ponds we fished.

Here’s the result of our experimentation: a simple and worthy pond sailer that’s rigged and scaled like a real yacht. You can build it in a weekend using readily available materials and tools.

Build Your Boat

Time: A Weekend Complexity: Easy

1. Prepare the sailcloth. It’s hard to find waterproof fabric that’s easy to cut and won’t fray. You can make your own by stretching ripstop nylon loosely over a frame or 2 hangers, and spraying it lightly (in a well-ventilated area) with polyurethane. First spray up and down, and then back and forth, until the fabric is well coated but not saturated. Let dry overnight.

2. Mark and cut the parts.

Download the project plan at makezine.com/20/ woodenboat and print it at full size. Following the plan, measure and mark the mast, jib boom, and mainsail boom lengths on the ¼" dowel. Trace the hull from the printed pattern onto the top and 2 ends of the cedar block; cut templates or use carbon paper. Draw the keel and masthead crane patterns on the brass strips, and draw the bowser (rigging clip) pattern 8 times on the thin plastic.

Cut and drill all the parts. Any fine-tooth saw will

Photography by Thomas Martin

56 Make: Volume 20