Fun
How to make a paper boat
Fold the classic floating paper boat from an ordinary rectangle of paper: first a paper hat, then a square, a triangle and the boat.
Paper boat
Easyabout 5 minutes10 stepsPaper: A rectangle: A4, US Letter or a newspaper page
Use a rectangle of paper — A4, US Letter or a sheet of newspaper — held upright, white side up. Fold it in half from top to bottom.
Swipe the diagram or use the ← → keys. Space plays and pauses.
Paper colour
Print all steps
2 pages, six steps to a page, in the paper colour you picked.
Reading the diagrams
- - - valley fold (towards you) · -·-· mountain fold (away) · thin grey lines are creases already made. Arrows show where the paper goes; a hollow arrow means push in.
All steps
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See every model with a difficulty filter on origami instructions.
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Frequently asked questions
Will a paper boat really float?
Yes — for a while. Ordinary printer paper floats for a few minutes before it soaks through, newspaper a little longer. For a boat that lasts, fold it from waxed or baking paper, or colour the outside thickly with wax crayon, which keeps the water out.
What paper do I need?
A rectangle, not a square. A4, US Letter and newspaper pages all work, held upright before the first fold. The folds depend on the rectangle's proportions, so a square sheet will not make this boat.
Is the first part the same as a paper hat?
Yes. The paper hat (sometimes called a sailor's or newspaper hat) is steps 1 to 6 of the boat, and it is a handy stopping point: fold it from a large newspaper sheet and it fits on a child's head.
What if the brim ends overlap when I open the hat?
That depends on the paper's proportions. When you press the hat into a square, tuck one end of the brim under the other so the square lies flat; it does not change the rest of the folds.
Why won't the boat open in the last step?
The last move needs the two loose points at the open end. Turn the small square so the open end is at the top, take one point in each hand — one layer on each side — and pull gently outwards. If it resists, the earlier folds were probably not creased firmly enough.
About this tool
The paper boat is one of the most folded models of all, and it starts with a sheet that is always to hand: a page of printer paper or newspaper. These diagrams follow the traditional sequence — fold in half, fold the top corners in, fold up the brims to make a hat, then open and flatten it twice before pulling the boat into shape.
The first steps are shown fold by fold with animation, so you can watch each flap move before you make the same fold yourself. The opening moves, where the hat is flattened into a square, are drawn as clear before-and-after pictures with arrows showing which way to push the paper.
Children love racing paper boats in a bath, a puddle or a stream, and a fleet in different colours makes a quick party activity. Choose a paper colour in the viewer to match your sheet, and print all the steps as a PDF for a classroom or a rainy afternoon.