Your own fleet of little ships

Children love to float things on water, hence the popularity of ponds in parks and public gardens. Even the simple little paper boat which we were all taught to make as children can set a small boy dreaming of captaining his own ship and sailing it round the world.

The simpler the toy the more a child enjoys it. Those beautifully made miniature yachts and model ships operated by remote control, which whiz round ponds seemingly under their own steam, are really the fathers' delight.

Like the enthusiasts who spend many a happy hour building railway tracks in the spare room with all the correct switchgear, miniature railway platforms and bridges,’ the builders of model ships are mostly grown men.

They buy these expensive toys, they claim, for their sons. "They're instructive," they say proudly. But in most cases these sophisticated toys are too complicated for children to take in and manage on their own. In fact, most little boys are just allowed to help Dad, when they would be happier making and launching their own simple boats of wood or bark.

Educationalists tell us that games and toys which do little to stimulate the child's imagination or creativity are not good for them. This criticism applies fairly and squarely to model railways and model ships with their electronic equipment, leaving the child nothing to create, just something rather too complex to assemble.

So ignore the expensive yachts and motorboats which fill the windows of toy shops at seaside resorts and let your children launch their own flotillas of little boats built of wood, bark or paper which will cost nothing at all and give them hours of fun.

In a matter of minutes, with a little imagination, you can build a fast sailing ship from a piece of driftwood washed up on the shore. Push a sharp, thin stick into the wood, attach a sail made of paper or a remnant of bright cotton, and the little boat is ready for her maiden voyage.

Reeds, cardboard, shells — all come into their own. Small shells can be used as lifeboats on either side of your little ship. Even empty bottles can be turned into steampships. Corks or screw-on tops can be glued firmly to the top to make funnels; a keel of strong card or plastic provides the essential balance. But first the bottle must be well stoppered, otherwise the water will get in and sink the ship a few feet from the shore!

Here to set you off on your own boat-building program are five very simple little ships which can be made seaworthy in a very short time and are fun for children to make themselves. They can, of course, also be played with in the bath tub on a rainy day.

The raft
Using a fine saw cut up three or four 22cm (about 9in) lengths of wood, 6-13mm (about ¼-½in) thick. The number of pieces you use will depend on the width of the wood and how big you want your raft to be. We used four pieces of 6.5cm (2½in) wide wood about 6mm (¼in) thick. Use only firm pieces, and discard any which splinter during the sawing. Glue the pieces together (long sides) on with waterproof glue to make the platform of your raft. Now saw up four pieces of narrower wood to make cross pieces for the narrow ends of the raft. Off-cuts of battens are ideal for this. The two for the top should be the same width as the raft, but the two which go underneath should be a good inch longer. Glue these in position at the top and bottom of your raft, leaving the underneath ones to protrude a little at either side of the raft. You will use these later to tie on the mast.

Now make the mast from a thin round stick, about 20cm (8in) long. A thin bamboo stick used to support plants in the garden is ideal for this. With a sharp knife make one end finely pointed and cut a 2.5cm (1in) slit in the other end. Glue the sharp end and push it between two of the pieces of wood at the centre of the platform of the raft.

Using strong string run two pieces through the notch in the top of the mast and tie the four ends firmly to the protruding cross beams at the four corners of the raft. Now your mast is firmly rigged, as they say in sailing circles!

Choose a piece of strong cotton material in either a bright plain color or in a striped fabric to make the sail. It should measure about 16cm x 13cm (6½in x 5in). Glue the two narrow edges firmly round two pieces of bamboo the same thickness as the mast. These are the yard arms, and they should be longer than the sail so that they protrude at either end of it by about 2cm (¾in). To make sure that the sail stays firmly glued to the yard arms, apply the glue to the fabric and wrap it twice round the yard arms.

The yard arms are then tied to the mast with strong cotton. At the top, run the cotton through the slit at the top of the mast and make a small hole at the top of the sail near the yard arm; run the cotton through the hole and tie it back onto the mast. Make another small hole at the foot of the sail and run a piece of cotton through this, tying it firmly round the mast. The sail will now be taut and ready for use. Two small wooden discs — one slightly larger than the other — are glued together and then glued to the raft, near the foot of the mast, so the crew have something to hold on to in bad weather! Or you can lash a piece of rope round it and use it to moor your boat.

The sailing boat
Four pieces of thin dowelling or bamboo about 30cm (12in) long for the two side pieces, 22cm (9in) long for the two cross pieces, are the basis for this simple little sailing boat. Pin the four pieces of wood together to form a rectangle with 2.5cm (1in) protruding beyond each join (a little more at the stern of the boat). Tie the four joins firmly together with strong nylon thread. Two slightly thinner pieces of bamboo, about 30cm (12in) long, are pushed into the long side pieces, about 7-10cm (3-4in) in from the prow of the boat to form the twin masts.

Sharpen the masts at one end. Drill small holes into the side pieces to take the sharpened ends and glue them in.

Cut a rectangle of colored paper (use quite thick paper) to make the sail. Mark four dots where the masts will go through and push the masts through.

To make the little boat easier to steer in the water tie on two small rectangles of light wood about 6cm x 3.5cm (2½in x l½in) to the ends of the side pieces in the stern of the boat.

The bark ship
Bark, which is light and floats easily, is wonderful material for a simple little boat. You can use pieces of dead wood, easy to find in woods, or a piece of green wood which is easy to cut — pine is particularly suitable. Using a sharp knife, cut out the shape of a boat, hollowing out the inside. Work carefully, because bark is delicate material and will crumble under too much pressure.

A thin stick with a sharpened end can then be stuck in to make a mast and a paper sail attached to it. If you want to make a more long-lasting boat, use a thick piece of bark. Draw the outline of the boat on it (or make your own design) and cut away round it with a knife. Then hollow out the inside in two sections. Again the mast is a sharpened stick and the sail a triangle of stiff paper or a scrap of material.

Bottle boats are the quickest to make and will delight a young child, especially if you include a letter or a secret message.

Put some gravel or small pebbles in the bottle; make sure that the cork is firmly screwed in, but leave enough of it protruding to be able to insert a small, pointed stick to make a mast. Glue a brightly colored paper flag to the mast and your bottle boat is ready to carry its message on the high seas.

Paper boats are everybody's boats. Do you remember as a child, carefully folding paper triangles this way and that to make whole flotillas of little white boats which would bob happily up and down, defying the waves and buffeted by the wind?

For those of you who may have forgotten, here in eight easy steps is the way to make a traditional paper boat.

1 Start off with a piece of A4 paper and fold it in the middle, long sides together, to make a crease, then open it out again.

2 Fold the paper in half, short sides together.

3 Fold down the top to meet at the centre guide line, forming two triangles.

4 Turn back both lower edges making what now looks like a paper hat.

5 Put your hand inside the paper hat and fold it flat, forming a square, with its open ends pointing down.

6 Fold back the two pointed ends, one at the back and one at the front, so you are left with a triangle.

7 Now put your thumbs inside the triangle and fold it into another smaller square.

8 Holding the square so the open side is at the bottom pull the two side triangles out to right and left, and you have a boat shape. To make it seaworthy, open out the hollow base and pinch the top of the mast — your little boat is now ready to float away.