Science Project: Foil Hull Box Boat

Learn about balance and propulsion by making these foil hull box boats. This is a great project for your home school adventure and for anyone else who would like to learn more about how boats move on the water.

For this project you'll need the lid off of a shoe box. The exact dimensions are not important, but if you have several lids of different dimensions, consider making several boats so that you can compare how the different sizes move.

Lay a sheet of foil a few inches larger than your box lid flat on your work surface. Center the lid upside down on the foil, and then fold the foil up and over the edges of the lid. Pinch the foil down firmly around the edges so that it will stay in place. (If you have trouble getting it to stay in place, you can add a bit of glue to keep it attached.)

Using a bit of tape, attach a straw to the center of one of the short sides of your boat. This will be your boat's mast. Tape it to the inside center edge, and make sure it's secure; it'll be holding up your sail later.

Use a sheet of paper approximately the same size as your box lid, to create your sail. Punch two holes in your sail, about an inch away from each of the shorter edges, and use them to thread the sail onto your mast. You can tape or glue it in place if you need to.

Now your foil hull boat is ready to meet the water. Experiment by blowing on your sail to see how fast you could make the boat move and how hard or easy it is to control its movement. You can even put objects in your foil hull box boat.

You'll find that this type of boat can carry quite a bit of cargo. Experiment with different amounts of cargo and different placements of your load to see how it affects the movement and controllability of your boat.

You can also experiment with different sizes and shapes of sails. Try making them bigger or smaller, or making them in different shapes, and watch the results when you blow on them. Once you've had a chance to practice with your boats, ask a friend or family member to join a friendly boat race with you!

Please click on the author's name (above the article) to read more of her work on Associated Content.