This is a fun project for both indoor and outdoor fun. Paper boats are always fun to make and watch. This is a twist on the original activity. You use cardboard and not paper and it propels itself.

This little boat really will travel in the tub or at the beach. Use a coping saw to cut your boat out of a thin piece of wood. You can use the lid of a wooden cigar box or a wooden shingle, or else a piece of plywood.

The boat is 10 inches long and 3 ½ inches wide. Curve one end of the boat as shown in figure 48. At the other end cut out a rectangular piece 3 ½ inches long and 2 ½ inches wide. This will leave a ½ inch strut on each side of the end of the boat.

The rectangular piece you have cut out is your paddle. Whittle or saw 1.2 inch off the side and the end of the paddle, so that it is 3 inches long and 2 inches wide. Next make a small notch in the middle of each side of the paddle and on the middle of the outside edges of the struts.

Put a rubber band around the struts, looping it in place in the notches. Insert the paddle in the space between the struts and the rubber band and wind the rubber band by turning the paddle around a number of times. Lay the boat in the water and let go of the paddle. The rubber band will unwind, turning the paddle and sending your boat away in a stream of spray.

Button yo-yo

With two large buttons, such as the ones used on a man’s overcoat, and you can make a yo-yo. Sew the two buttons together with the undersides of the buttons facing each other. To make space between the buttons for your string, put a match between the buttons while you are sewing them together. Then remove the match and wind the thread around the lose threads connecting the buttons to form a stiff shank. Sew through the shank several times and cut off the thread. Next tie a three-foot piece of string to the shank between the buttons, and wind the string around the shank. Tie a loop on the free end of the string and slip your middle finger through the loop. Now try to make the yo-yo wind and unwind by swinging your hand up and down.