https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/sailboat • Posted by Fox Chapel Publishing
There are a gazillion different styles of sailboats. This one will be yours. Experiment with the proportions of the hull, keel, rudder, mast, and sails to make a boat that you’re happy with. Chances are, if you look hard enough, you’ll find a “real” boat to match! The sailboat is definitely one of the more challenging projects in this book. I suggest that you try a few of the others, especially the spoon, before you do this one. I carved my boat from a small forked branch and a few twigs, but you could also cut the pieces from a block of wood and some very thin dowels, whittle them into shape, and build your boat.
There are a gazillion different styles of sailboats. This one will be yours. Experiment with the proportions of the hull, keel, rudder, mast, and sails to make a boat that you’re happy with. Chances are, if you look hard enough, you’ll find a “real” boat to match! The sailboat is definitely one of the more challenging projects in this book. I suggest that you try a few of the others, especially the spoon, before you do this one. I carved my boat from a small forked branch and a few twigs, but you could also cut the pieces from a block of wood and some very thin dowels, whittle them into shape, and build your boat.
Flatten the top of the boat branch. Then, remove the bark from the entire branch.
Hold the branch by the keel (the small fork), with the fork pointed toward you. The keel points toward the back of the boat. Draw the pointed bow and rounded stern onto the flat side of the branch.
Follow your pencil lines and shape the outside of the boat. Round the sides and bottom, but leave the top flat.
Taper the keel from both sides, much the way you tapered the knife blade. Round the boat bottom into the top of the keel, being careful not to cut through the keel.
Decide how long the keel should be and cut it off at that point. Round the end of the keel. The curve should be on the front (bow) edge of the keel.
Sand the boat. Then, sketch the inside of the hull. I like to make two compartments. I leave extra space at the stern so I have room to install the tiller.
Cut around the hull lines with the tip of your knife. Cut a series of criss-crossed lines across the center of each hull space, and then use long, shallow cuts to cut out the chips and hollow the hull. This is similar to hollowing a spoon bowl, but you want the sides and bottom to be straight, not curved.
You can speed up the process by using a rotary tool or a small gouge. Then, use a small branch and sandpaper to sand the hollowed hull.
To make the rudder, cut the short, thick stick in half, being sure to cut to the side of the pith (just off center). Cut a thin (scant 1/16", or 2mm) slice from the piece with no pith. Debark the sides. Round one short end of the rudder.
Carefully shave and sand the flat sides of the rudder so it tapers down to about 1/32" (1mm) thick at the curved end. Cut the rudder off at the desired length; mine is about 3/4" (19mm) long.
Strip the bark off a 1” (25mm)-long twig and round it down to make the tiller (rudder handle). Taper the end of another thin twig down to a splinter that will fit in the tiller hole at the stern of the boat. Cut the splinter off—don’t lose it!
Glue the rudder to one end of the tiller (I use wood glue). Hold the tiller to the boat, mark the location for the splinter, and glue the splinter to the tiller. (I hold the splinter with my knife’s tweezers.) Let the glue dry.
Use the awl on the knife to drill small holes in the hull for the mast and tiller. Strip the bark off the mast stick and shave it down until it fits into its hole. Gently put the tiller in place. Cut a piece of paper or cloth—or a leaf—to use as a sail. Bon voyage!
When it comes to carving, a canoe is very similar to a sailboat. Just sketch the shape, round the bottom, and hollow the center. And leave off the keel, of course!