Cardboard Boat for Flash Flood!.

This instructable shows how to make Cardboard and Oars by using materials that most of the people have in their house, such as cardboard. This Cardboard Boat and Oars is for when there is a Flash flood and you are trapped in your house and have to escape. I wrote some easy way to make the boat base on my experience of building it.

To make this cardboard boat you need to use your knowledge for both subject. For example in this instructable there will be some scientific word that you need to use your knowledge to help to make the boat. Using your knowledge for both subject will help you because you have to know what materials helps the boat to float and the design for how you are going to design the part of the boat when you are making it.

This boat can hold until 2 people!.

For making the boat:

• Ruler
• Pencil(any drawing tools)
• Scissor/cutter knife
• Cardboard
• Duct tape
• Plastic wrap
• 2L plastic pet bottle x 4 or 500ml plastic pet bottle x 8

For making the oars:

• Pencil(any drawing tools)
• Scissor/cutter knife
• Cardboard
• Duct tape
• Plastic wrap
• Broom

*Be careful of sharp blades from cutter knife and Scissor when you are making it.

When you are making the boat, you have to use cutter knife or scissor a lot to cut it out. It is important you don't get hurt by cutter knife and scissor. This is the way you can be carefull of the cutter knife and scissor,

• When you extending out the blade don't extend to much. Just extend only little bit to cut the cardboard
• when you are cutting the cardboard with cutter knife, put other hand away from the place you are cutting. Don't put your other hand very close.

Materials:

• Cardboard
• Duct tape

After unfolding the cardboard box it will become flat cardboard. Lay down about 4 pieces of cardboard on the ground like picture #1.

Second, when you lay down the 4 cardboard you tape to put the 4 cardboards together to make 1 bigger piece of cardboard. When you are taping the cardboard, tape all the part where the cardboard meets each other. The reason for making the cardboard bigger is to fit at least 2 people in the boat.

Materials:

• Cardboard
• Ruler
• Pencil or other drawing tools

Alway use same cardboard that you put it together.

On the bigger cardboard piece that you made, draw the boat design with pencil or any other drawing tools that you have in you house or around you. When you are drawing, use ruler to draw it as the measurement as the picture for every part of the design. (Look at the picture for the measurement). As the picture, for the folding line draw _ _ _ _ _ mark instead of straight line.

For me it was easier for later steps when. you draw _ _ _ _ _ mark because I was able to recognize easily where you have to fold it. If you don't draw _ _ _ _ _ mark you might get confused where you have to fold and not.

Materials:

• Cardboard(to cut it out)
• cutter knife/scissor
• Pencil or other drawing tools
• Ruler

After drawing the design on the cardboard, cut it out with cutter knife or scissor. It is easier to cut it with the cutter knife if you use ruler next to it.

*When you are cutting out be careful of the cutter knife from you hand and finger.

( If you are worried about your floor put some cardboard beneath so there isn't any scratches)

Materials:

• Ruler(if you want)

To make the 3D shape fo the boat, you need to pull the folding line _ _ _ _ up that you drew before. There will be 6 _ _ _ _ folding lines you have to fold it up. Mostly the cardboard is hard, it doesn't get fold up straight well. Use ruler next to the folding line, the ruler will help the cardboard to fold it up much easily.

Materials:

• Tape

After folding the folding line _ _ _ _ up you have to make the cardboard together to actually make it into 3D boat by using multiple tape. Tape each edge it meets together. When you are tapping the cardboards together, try to put them as close to each other so there is no any hole after finish tapping it. I has to be well tapped so the water doesn't come through the holes. For me when I tried the boat, the back taped place where second person sites fell off because of the weight. The pressure of our weight pulls down the cardboard more close to the water which makes the tape fall off easily and water starts coming it. When the water starts coming in your boat will drown into the water.

How to tape it:

Tape ↕️ up & down, ↔️ side to side. (See #3 picture for the visual information)

Materials:

• Cardboard
• Tape
• Scissor for some cardboard

When you made the boat as 3D, you will put extra cardboard inside of the boat and outside. Bottom of the boat like the picture above. When the cardboard doesn't go inside of the boat well, cut some to fit it well. After putting extra cardboard in and bottom of the boat, stable it with some tape. The reason for putting extra cardboard is because it helps to balance the boat when you ride on the boat. Because the flash flood is strong and fast it really helps to survive if the boat is stable without getting it flipped. Extra cardboard can also help for not getting wet and getting rip off because the thickness of the extra cardboard, the water doesn't easily go through until the first layer.

Materials:

• Plastic wrap
• Tape

To protect the boat from getting wet, wrap the whole boat with plastic wrap. It's better if you wrap it multiple time.( Wrap it *at least 2 time) Put some tape so the plastic wrap can stick on to the boat. * Make sure that there isn't any place you didn't wrap it. Base on my experience if there is a place it didn't got wrapped, the water comes in through the space.

Materials:

• 2L plastic pet bottle x 4 or 500mL plastic pet bottle x 8
• Tape

Put 2L pet bottle X 4 ( 2 for each side) or if you have only 500ml pet bottle in your house, put x 8, ( 4 for each side) and tape it to the side of your boat. Put multiple tape ↕️ up&down, ↔️ side to side and ➚, ➘ diagonally so it doesn't fall off easily from the boat.

Important:

When you are putting the plastic pet bottle to your boat, make sure that the cap is *closed.

Closing cap is important because air filled pet plastic bottle can help the buoyancy, which helps the boat to float in the water. The plastic helps to float because the density of the plastic is less than the water.

Materials:

• Cardboard
• Cutter
• tape

To make the boat stable, use thick cardboard and cut long two sticks. Cut 60cm stick, and 40cm stick. The width matters but the height doesn't matter and its better if it's long. After you cut the stick out put the stick in the inside front of the boat like the picture. If the stick doesn't fits well put some tape tightly with the boat. Though, this part might break when you ride on that boat because you lean your body front and you might push it. When I tried out my boat, because there wasn't anything that holds the boat stable quite well, the wall of the boat got wiggly.

If you put the stick into the boat, than you finished making the boat.

Materials:

• Cardboard
• Cutter knife/ scissor
• Broom
• Plastic wrap
• tape

You need a Oar to go through the water and go forward. To make the Oars, draw the shape of the blades to the 4 cardboards by any drawing tools. Than use scissor or cutter knife to cut it off. Use broom stick as the shaft and place 2 cardboard you cut it out each side. There have to be 2 cardboard on 1 broom stick. Tape it to the broom tightly so it doesn't fall off. For the water proof put multiple layer of plastic wrap. Repeat his step one more time to make two oars so each person can have 1 oar each. I recommended you to use broom stick because when I used cardboard as the shaft part it became wet very that I couldn't' even hold it properly. So use the materials that don't really get affected by the water as the shaft.

This is all the step for making cardboard boat and oars!

Use when there is a flash flood!