40 Boat Crafts Kids Will Love To Do (Many upcycled crafts) (2024)

There are few things kids enjoy doing more than playing in the water, and boats take the fun up a notch. Whether building a boat that floats for the backyard kiddie pool or making one out of paper, boats are a fun part of every kid's summer play.

This summer, we have a great list of boat crafts for you to make with your children! These 40 boat crafts kids will love to do are simple and inexpensive, requiring only materials found around the house!

Kids will have a lot of fun building DIY boats and then seeing if they can keep them afloat on water.

Note: Add a little string to your boats so you can easily retrieve them without harming local wildlife, or avoid having sobbing children who want their boat back!

40 Fun Boat Craft Ideas For Kids

Time for our favorite Summer boat crafts your kids will love to create and play with! Children can design their boats, make them, and then watch how well they float!

Make A Boat from Duct Tape & Sponges

Kids are always looking for excuses to play in the water. These DIY sponge boats will keep your children entertained for hours. Kids will enjoy racing their boats and try tirelessly to sink them in the water. Making the boat is super easy! You will only need three things-- paper or duct tape for the sail, a kitchen sponge for the boat's base, and a skewer or a straw for the sail mast.

Cut the top two corners of the sponge. Push the skewer in the middle to make the sail mast. Make the sail from paper or duct tape. This boat is perfect for bathtime or outdoor play. Head over to The Craft Train to learn more about how to make these fun little sponge boats and many more summer crafts for kids!

Origami Paper Boat

Most paper boats are easy peasy and so much fun to make. You can create one with your toddlers during summer break and watch their eyes light up with joy! This boat craft only requires paper and paper folding skills!

Artsy Craftsy Mom has some great instructions on making paper origami boats and many other fun crafts for kids.

Wax Boat Craft

My kids love making wax boat craft. They are so much fun and easy to make! The best thing is they always float on water and never sink. You will need cheese wax, a toothpick, and paper to make the sails.

Sculpt your boat with the cheese wax. You can make little round boats. Stick the toothpick and make a sail out of paper. Your boat is ready to go on long adventurous voyages! Use your imagination and decorate your boat. This is a fun boat craft for younger and older kids.

Pool Noodle Boats

This is a great boat crafts for kids. You can create your Pool Noodle boats with simple supplies you can easily get at the dollar store. You will need pool noodles, colorful straws, and foam sheets. Follow the fun instructions on making pool noodle boats by Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails.

Using a knife, cut the pool noodle into small round shapes. Insert the straw on the side of the pool noodle and make the sails out of foam sheets. Your super cool pool noodle boat is ready to float.

Note: Parents can help their little ones by cutting the pool noodle with a knife.

Shampoo Bottle SailBoat

Bring out your creative spirit with these fun kids crafts. Make your own sailboat with a shampoo bottle. All you need is a bottle of shampoo, a straw, a stirrer, a piece of paper, elastic bands, and a wine cork or a piece of the pool noodle (to stick the stirrer in to use as a mast).

Make a hole in the wine cork, stick the stirrer in the middle, and use paper as a mast for the sailboat. Pink Stripey Socks has some great instructions on how to build a shampoo DIYtle sailboat, and you will also find other DIY boat ideas.

DIY Cork Sailboats

Cork sailboats are easy to make and float well on water. This kid-friendly craft is an ideal summer activity. These are the cutest and easiest boats you will ever make! You will find all the different materials you need around the house. You will need some corks, an elastic band, skewers, and paper.

Combine the corks with the elastic band and make a hole in the middle. Stick the skewer and make a pretty sail for your boat.

Go to Happy Hooligans to find out how to make a cork sailboat and other cool summer activities! Make as many as you want. Kids can share it with their best friend. These are great non toy gifts!

DIY Tug Boat

This boat craft is great for kids of all ages! Your kids will love building a boat that floats and moves. Make this simple self-propelled tug boat craft with materials around the house. You will need an empty butter box, popsicle sticks, a yoghurt container, and paint.

Place popsicle sticks around the sides of the butter box. Put the yoghurt container on top and tape it down. Paint your boat. Make a paddle out of a piece of plastic. Make slits in the paddle and inset the piece of plastic through them. Wind up your boat, and it's ready to float away!

DIY Canoe

Cardboard canoes are great entertainment for kids. Children can use the DIY canoes for a sailing role-playing game with friends and siblings. Kids can also load the canoes with their toys during pretend play and fly the canoe around the house.

Simply cut out a cardboard boat and use hot glue to stick the sides of the boat to the bottom piece and ends. Make oars of the boat out of toothpicks and paint your boat. You can add some extra decorations if you like. You can even put action figures inside the boat. Kids can race the boat around the house and have fun!

Let's Build a Pirate Ship

Ahoy, my maties! This is a fun-filled craft for all pirates fans. Sail away with this exciting pirate ship craft this summer. Kids will love making this exciting boat craft. You will need cardboard, masking tape, and a stick to make the ship's mast.

You can download a free pirate ship template from Red Ted Art here and start making your pirate ship today! Enjoy the day pretending to be pirates and explore the seven seas!

Milk Carton Boat Craft

This is a fun summer activity for kids of all ages. Kids can engage in imaginative play with this easy-to-make DIY milk carton boat craft. It's cheap to make, and you can easily find what you need at home. Have your child engage in some exciting science facts about buoyancy while they make the boat.

Cut one side of the milk carton and paint it. Use a skewer for the sail mast and a cloth or paper to make the sail. Kids can even use their toy as a pretend sailor while putting it in a pond or a bathtub to make it float.

Walnut Boat Craft

If you live near an area where walnuts grow, you're lucky! We have the perfect walnut boat craft for you. You can use this natural crafting material to create cute walnut boats with your friends. They are simple to make and will almost always float on water.

The fun thing is you can make two boats from one walnut! Divide a walnut into two and fill both with hot glue. Place a pipe cleaner in each to create a sail mast. Stick googly eyes to the sail and draw a smiley face with a marker. It's as simple as that! Your cute little walnut boat is ready!

Popsicle Stick Boat Crafts

Stay cool this summer with this fun popsicle stick boat craft. As a kid, I remember making these boats with rainbow-colored popsicle sticks. I now continue the same tradition with my children-- they really enjoy making popsicle stick boats.

Layer the popsicle sticks and glue them together. Stack popsicle sticks around the boat and use one as a sail mast. Throw your popsicle stick boats on a water table and have a boat race with all your friends!

Tin Pan Boat Crafts

Create a boat you will love floating in the river. This is a really easy boat craft that even toddlers can make without help from their parents. Don't worry about the mess kids will make. There won't be any!

Kids will only need a tin pan. I gave my kids one of my leftover baking tin pans, which was lying around the house. Kids will also need play dough and an ice cream stick for the sail mast.

Put glue inside the tin pan and stick a ball of playdough in it. Put your sail mast inside the play dough, and you are ready to take your tin pan boat out on a sailing trip!

Mayflower Ship

How about a history lesson while you make these fun boat crafts for kids? Make a Mayflower ship, an English ship that brought the first pilgrims to America. Make an exciting little ship from paper plates, wooden dowels, and other materials.

Cut the paper plate in half, join it together, and use wooden dowels as sail mast and paper to make the sail of your Mayflower ship. This is a fun craft to make, and you can hang it in your kid's room.

Note: Parents can help their kids with the scissors to cut the paper plates.

DIY Basket Boat

This DIY basket boat is a classic for kids! They can create their basket boat all on their own with their endless imagination. My kids usually take turns sitting inside the boat and giving a push to each other as they sail away on an unknown adventure! Better yet, if you have two or more laundry baskets, kids can have an exciting boat race!

All you need is a small laundry basket and a brown paper bag to make the sail mast. Use party streamers to decorate your boat. Kids love playing with this real-life boat. All the kids can take turns giving each other boat rides.

Egg Carton Boat

This is a great idea for kids o,f all ages. Egg carton boats are easy to make, and you will only need a few things you can easily find in the kitchen. Take an egg carton and cut it in half. Insert one or two straws to make the sail mast, and you are done. Paint and decorate your boat.

The fantastic thing is they float effortlessly on the water.

Cereal Box boat

Have a box of Cheerios lying around the house? We have a great boat craft idea and activities for kids that they can make from cereal boxes!

Cut out a rectangular shape from the cereal box and glue it together. Insert a skewer in the center and use newspaper to make the boat sail.

Kids will have a blast playing with their cereal box boats!

Soda Bottle Boats

Create your soda bottle boat and show it to all your friends. I'm sure they will love it and want one too! Simply cut the bottom part of the bottle, cover it in beautiful wrapping paper, and use a straw or skewer for the sail mast and paper to make the sail.

Kids can make more than one soda bottle boat and race them against each other.

Bottle Lid Boats

This is another great and simple summer crafts idea for kids. All you need is a bottle lid, playdough, and straw. Put some playdough into the lid and insert a straw. Use a colored sheet to make your sail.

Children will love making these cute little bottle lid boats.

Easter Egg Boats

This boat is a fun Easter activity for kids. Grab some plastic eggs, straws, play dough, and colored paper stock. Fill the eggs with play dough and insert the straw in the middle. Make a pretty sail out of bright-colored paper stock.

Kids can sail their easter egg boats on a pond or a tub of water.

Twig Bundle Raft

Return to nature with these super simple twig bundle raft boat activities for kids. Plan a fun family day at the local park collecting sticks to make your boat. Once the sticks are collected, cut them to the same size, hem them together, and tie them up.

Make your sail out of a leaf and float it on water.

Apple Boat

Kids can create their apple boats in seconds! It's super cool and easy to make. Just cut an apple in half, stick a skewer or ice cream stick into it and make a sail. Your apple boat is ready to float on water.

Note: Use clean water to float your apple boats so kids can have a delicious snack later!

Viking Longboat

Make a fun Viking dragon ship for kids to pretend play. To create your longboat, you will need rectangle and dragon-shaped cardboard cutouts. Glue them all together and make cardboard oars and seats. Decorate your Viking longboat and use it for role-playing with your friends.

Here's a cool idea, make dragon flames out of crepe paper and glue them to the dragon's mouth! Kids can also use their Viking toys as part of pretend play.

Soap Bar Boats

Soap bar boats are a great idea for a summer activity for kids. Children can make these easy boats by taking a soap bar, carving it into a boat shape, and inserting a small toothpick in the middle to make the sail mast.

Once your boat is ready, float it in a pond or pool. Head over to Teaching Mama to find out more about how to make awesome soap bar boats!

Balloon Boat

You can do much more with a balloon than just tying a string around it. To create your balloon boat, you will need a plastic container, balloon, straw, and rubber band. Punch a hole on one side of the plastic container, blow up your balloon and tie it to the straw. Insert the straw in the hole, and your boat is ready to float on water!

Read more about the balloon boat and how to make it on Life with Moore Babies.

Happy Sailing, Me Hearties!

Build boats and have fun with these boat craft activities for kids! Your child will have a great time creating and learning more about boats and how they float on water. Boat crafts are fun summer activities the whole family can enjoy!