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Shannon Kruse
09-13-2009, 11:01 PM
Hey all,

New to boat building, but I am delving into the model realm. Someday I would like to make my own sailboat, but that is a long ways in the future.

I have a friend who wants me to make a toy boat for his 2 year old son. This kid loves sailboats, just like his father.

What I am looking at making is a toy boat that can be put on a string and pulled behind the real sailboat on calm days (father's idea). Looking at making it about 18 inches long. What would be the best method to make this? It needs to be kid proof (and father proof), not flip on the lake and tolerate getting wet for hours on end (will be painted in bright colors). Was thinking about making it from plywood and putting some type of ballast in the hull, but not sure plywood is the best material for this.

I am also limited to what I can get at Home Depot and Lowes and I can't get to fancy because I don't have any of the major tools. Basically I need to use stock lumber.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

(These pics are the sailboat I have already made. It is an S2 7.9. Model is 5 inches long.)

Shannon Kruse
09-13-2009, 11:04 PM
This is what I am modeling the toy after. Simple yet functional.

raul segura
09-16-2009, 8:10 PM
I think if I where going solid I would use light solid piece of wood, soak it in marine spar varnish mixed with some paint thinner to sink in then finish coat it.
lead is easy enough to melt in a tin can,you could drill a large hole into some wood and poor it in, keep face and body parts away from possible projectile area !
this would of cours make your keel balast and lastly Id use ply for the keel.


http://www.stevensonprojects.com/

This site has a nice boat to make with limited tools. Went as far as getting the planes a few years ago but since then have found other boat possibly more suitable.
They have a copy of the weekender in paper model form. It is a very simple print that can be enlarged to your liking,with some adjustments Id say it would be durable and not to difficult to make. The site has a step by step building example of the scaled version. Attached is also a picture of the scale version and a pdf of the model. nice !

a copy may not be available at the site any more. see what you think.