How to Make an Easy Cardboard Boat

This is an Instructable about making a boat out of cardboard in a short amount of time. The materials are mostly objects that you have at home like cardboard, scissors, tape, etc. Before making this Instructable, I learned how to make a boat out of cardboard through the subjects design and science. I learned about the process of designing a boat(design specifications and also why we need to build the boats during flash floods) and some factors of boats(in science) that make them float like buoyancy(how an object floats), density(how much mass there is for a certain amount of volume), etc. After learning these topics, I was able to design/plan a boat that could most probably float. For example, I learned that a boat with greater volume helped the boat float better. This Instructable communicates my knowledge about Science and Design because I explain related topics of Science in the Instructable like the center of gravity, buoyancy, etc. I think these two subjects worked well together because with the two subjects we learn how a boat floats, and we also try to make a boat that floats. However, personally, I think another subject that could connect/contribute to this project is Math because it can help us with measuring objects precisely and also help us calculate things for the mass, volume, and more to make sure the boat floats(topics that design and science cannot cover.)

To make a cardboard boat you need the following materials:

• One 2m x 1.5m x 0.8m box(or any box that you have at home that you can go inside)
• plastic wrap/bubble wrap
• 18 two-liter pet bottles(or as many bottles needed to cover the bottom of your cardboard box)
• 1 roll of duct tape
• 1 pair of scissors

Flip the cardboard box over and add empty pet bottles or empty cartons to the bottom of the box. Use duct tape to stick the pet bottles to the box.

NOTE: You may need to use scissors for cutting the duct tape in the sizes that you want. If your box's dimensions are 2m x 1.5m x 0.8m, there should be 9 columns of pet bottles and 2 rows.

Wrap the bubble wrap around the boat as shown above. You may also use plastic wrap/cling wrap for this step. The wrap should cover the sides of the box and the pet bottles/cartons at the bottom of the box. Use duct tape to make sure the plastic wrap/bubble wrap does not fall off the boat easily. The finished product should look like the second picture in this step.

WARNING: Please be careful when handling bubble wrap/plastic wrap near small children and pets.

Add duct tape inside the boat to make sure that no water would go inside it. Please check the pictures above for a more detailed description of where to put the duct tape. If needed, add more duct tape to the boat where there are holes, cracks, wobbly parts, etc.

After adding duct tape, add another layer of bubble wrap/plastic wrap to the cardboard box. Please use the image above as a reference.

You are now done making the boat! The center of gravity should be somewhere around the dot that is in the drawing. On the bottom of the box, there should be two rows and nine columns of pet bottles(if your box's dimension is 2m x 1.5m x 0.8m.)

IMPORTANT:

When you ride the boat, be aware of the center of gravity and don't go inside the boat in a rush. If you go inside the boat in a rush, there might be extra force added that pulls your boat downwards, which may cause your boat to sink.

You might need to make oars to make it easier for you to move around during a flash flood. Here is a material list to make oars:

• 1 box(30cm x 30m if possible)
• 1 cutter or 1 pair of scissors
• 1 roll of duct tape
• plastic wrap/bubble wrap

When using a cutter please make sure to keep children and pets away from you.

Use a cutter to cut out the flaps of the cardboard box. Then, separate the sides of the cardboard from each other. You should now have five separated sides of the cardboard box and the flaps. Please use the picture above as a reference.

Get one side of the cardboard box and fold it into thirds. Use duct tape to make it maintain its shape. Then, stick the folded side with duct tape to another side of the cardboard box that you cut out earlier. Make sure that the oar is stable enough. Add more duct tape if you think the oar needs more support.

After making the base of the oar, wrap it with bubble wrap or with plastic wrap to make it waterproof. Use duct tape to stick the bubble wrap/plastic wrap to the oar. Repeat steps 5-9 until you have the number of oars that you want. If your boat is big it might be good to have at least four oars.

NOTE: When you are moving while using the boat hold the sides of the boat for support.

Keep safe!