By Chris Barnardo
A super quick and easy model to put together, this floating container ship is made from a couple of old dishwasher or washing machine liquid bottles, along with a few other bits and pieces. There’s plenty of fun to be had both making and playing with it—kids love naming their ship, writing its name on it in permanent marker, and then sailing it across the great Bath (or Swimming Pool) Ocean.
What you’ll need:
- Glue gun
- Marker
- Craft knife
- Large dishwasher soap bottle
- Small dishwasher soap bottle
- Piece of cardboard
- A few small stones
- Shower gel bottle
- Milk carton cap
- Liquid detergent bottle cap
- Yogurt cup base
1. To make a floating ship, you’ll need a plastic bottle for the hull, and another, smaller bottle for the cabin. Mark lines around the bottles following the diagram above, using a permanent marker. Use your craft knife to cut.
2. Place the hull part upside down on a piece of thick cardboard and draw around it with a marker.
3. Cut out the deck slightly inside the line so that the cardboard will just fit inside the hull.
4. Cut some small supports out of cardboard, at the right height to allow the deck to be slightly recessed. Glue these to the underside of the deck. Glue around the edge of the deck and slide in. Glue the milk bottle top into the detergent bottle opening. To prevent your ship from being top heavy, glue a few small stones inside the hull before you glue the deck into position.
5. With deck in place, glue around its seams to make sure it’s waterproof.
6. Glue the cabin upside down to the deck, then glue the yogurt cup end to the deck.
7. Cut the end off a shower gel pack and glue to the front of the cabin to make the bridge. Glue a detergent bottle top to the top of the bridge to make a funnel.
8. Decorate with marker, then get ready to launch your ship!
Excerpted from Made with Dad by Chris Barnardo, (c) 2015 Skyhorse Publishing.
