Growing up, my family would often visit the family cabin on Portage Lake in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. As kids, one of our favorite toys to play with was a boat fashioned out of scrap lumber. Tie that boat to a stick and we would spend hours racing our boats around on the shoreline. It was a simple pleasure, but one we created for ourselves by sneaking into dad's workshop. The boats never were much, but they were ours. And you can easily build one with your kids using simple tools, scrap lumber, and a little creativity.
A few weeks ago, while on vacation at the cabin, I was talking about this with my dad, discussing how kids play with the simplest things. As any parent out there can attest: buy your kid a wagon and they'll likely play more with the box it came in. I'd like to think that it's because the box is like a blank canvas, stimulating the imagination; the child envisions a house, a rocket ship, a stuffed animal cave. Help the child with some scissors and glue, and their imaginations come alive.
As making boats on a stick are somewhat of a family tradition, we decided to make one for my not-quite-three-year-old son. Not only is this project simple, you can likely complete it with whatever you find around even the most basic of workshops. This boat can also be built in around an hour.
Here's what you'll need:
- An approximate 12-inch length of 2x4 lumber
- Vice for keeping the boat stationary while you work on it
- A hand saw or powered miter saw for cutting the wood (hand saws work fine, but who are we to forgo modern conveniences!).
- A vice for keeping the boat stationary while you work on it
- A wood chisel for carving out the seat (optional)
- A stick and some string
- A hammer and a couple of nails for attaching the string and any accessories to the boat
We sketched out what was to be cut off for the bow of the boat and sawed that off first. We then trimmed the boat down to be around 10" in length. An outboard motor was crafted out of the cutoffs and mounted that to the stern. Lastly we chiseled out the area where the riders go. Add a couple of nails for a steering wheel and mount point for the stick, and we were ready for our boat's maiden voyage.
Down at the lake, we plopped the boat in the water and showed my son what we had made. After a few laps along the beach, my son loved it. He was excited to be able to go on his own 'boat rides' whenever he wanted. My dad and I had fun trying to engineer a better boat on a stick, but in the end giving up in favor of simplicity. And looking ahead, I hope to find that my kids one day will disappear into the workshop to make their own creations, and let their imaginations run wild their own designs.
