Make A Driftwood Sailboat

8 Materials
$7.00
1 Hour
Easy
I have wanted to make some driftwood sailboats for some time now, and on a recent trip up to Ohio I went to one of my favorite spots on the Lake Erie shore to collect some driftwood for my project. If you are heading to the shore this year, keep your eyes open for driftwood and shells for craft projects after you return home!
I gathered some driftwood from the Lake Erie shore and brought it home, rinsed it well with fresh water and left it in the sun to dry.
Select two pieces, one for the base of your boat and one for your mast. Use a drill to make a hole (not all the way through) in your base for your mast. I used Gorilla Wood Glue to then secure my mast into my boat base.
Allow the glue to dry completely.
Fold a single layer of fabric so that the edge of the sail closest to the mast would be the fold and set your wood boat on top of it to get an idea of where you want to cut your sail. This will give your sail a double thickness of the fabric.
Use iron on hem tape on all of the edges of the inside of the triangle including the folded edge to re-enforce it, as this will be where we make holes to attach this to the mast.  
Use a nail to make a holes in your sail.  
Make 3 or 4 holes, depending upon the size of your sail.  One hole in each of the corners and if needed, a fourth hole half way down the mast side of your sail.  
Screw one of these eyes solidly into the back of your boat.  This will help to hold your sail.  
Thread a piece of string through each of the holes and you are ready to raise your sails!  
Simply tie your ropes around the ‘mast’ and tie one to the screw eye to secure the back of your boat!  
Repeat the process and add your front sail to your boat!  You can stop here if you would like, but how about adding a little holiday celebration to your boat?  


Make a cute little banner of pennants to give some color to your boat and put it on display! For details on how to make the banner head over to Celebrate & Decorate.
Make a cute little banner of pennants to give some color to your boat and put it on display! For details on how to make the banner head over to Celebrate & Decorate.
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Frequently asked questions
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  3 questions
  • Brittany Brittany on Jan 26, 2019

    I'm from the shores of lake Erie in Ohio! I'm from a city on the outskirts of Toledo and my grandmother lived 4 houses down from the lake in Oregon, Ohio. And I now live in Florida as well. Where in Ohio did you collect the driftwood??

  • Kar Kar on May 17, 2019

    I'm not a seamstress and bad at math. What are the measurements for the sails or what is the ratio if you use different sizes? I love these!

  • Vee Vee on Apr 06, 2021

    How do you know how tall the mast should be? is there a ratio?

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  • Laurie Laurent-Hyland Laurie Laurent-Hyland on Jan 28, 2019

    These are so cute! The banners add such a nice touch.

  • Karan Boyles Karan Boyles on Aug 12, 2020

    How funny is this!! I brought this piece of wood home from a cross country trip. In my head it was a sailboat.... So, wa-la! A sailboat it is!! Tonight I’m flipping through your web site and see the sailboats! Great minds think alike!! 🤗

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