A Mini Sailboat Craft for Kids (With Secret Messages!)

To make your own secret message sailboat craft, you’ll need:

How to Make Our Secret Message Mini Sailboats -DIY Instructions:

Print the nautical flag alphabet for reference.

You can download and print our handy secret message printable pack or just google nautical flag reference pages to use for coding your own secret messages.

Cut a simple boat shape out of cardboard.

Cut a simple boat shape out of scrap cardboard.

Paint your miniature boat bottom.

Paint the top of your boat using tempera or acrylic paint and a foam brush.

Tip: If you’re making boats you plan on setting sail in real water, you can either use water-safe paint (I get samples of exterior house paint from the hardware store) or seal your painted cardboard boat with a coat of Outdoor Mod Podge or similar.

Cut out your nautical flag letters and arrange them into a secret message.

Before you start assembling your string of flags, cut out the flag letters you’ll need from our nautical flag alphabet set and arrange them in order. For our sailboats, we wrote out “I LOVE YOU” in nautical flags.

Note: When you cut out your letters, leave a white tab at the top as we did. This will allow you to fold the tab around your flag line and glue it.

Create your nautical flag secret message banner.

Cut a long length of twine (longer than you’ll need – this gives you some extra twine to hold on to when you glue).

Fold the tab of each nautical flag around the twine and glue it on with a glue stick.

Add your miniature boat mast.

Add a mast to the middle of your boat using a glue gun. I used some small basswood dowels for ours, but you could use craft sticks, thick cardboard, or a twig instead.

Before hot gluing in our masts, we used the tip of our scissors to make a small hole in the top of the cardboard to pop our mast into. This isn’t necessary but is an added layer of stability for the mast.

Hot glue a sail and your nautical flag banner to the mast.

Cut a simple sail from scrap fabric, cardstock, newspaper, or whatever you have! Hot glue it to the mast, then add your nautical banner. Once the hot glue has completely dried, trim the excess twine from the banner string – your sailboat is complete!

When I don’t have piles of scrap fabric at home, I like to buy remnants or grab bags off of Etsy (here are a few of my own favorites), but you can also check apps like Freecycle, NextDoor, or Facebook Marketplace, where you can ask/look for free fabric remnants.

Tip: finding that you need to stiffen your sail? I have found that using a foam brush to paint on a thin layer of Elmer’s glue, then hanging it to dry, works just as well as using an old-fashioned fabric stiffener.

Print out or draw your own decoder sheet.

Once you’ve finished your boat, print out or draw a decoder sheet to fold up and send along with it to help the recipient crack the code!

Turn This Into a Floating Sponge or Cork Sailboat Craft

You can make your cardboard boats into an honest-to-goodness seaworthy craft (well…backyard sea-worthy) by swapping out the cardboard for a sponge, or hot-gluing a few wine corks to the bottom of your cardboard boat bottom.

If you use corks, you’ll want to ensure they are equally and evenly spaced (two at the front and two at the back, for example) to keep your sailboat from tipping. Pop them in a water-filled bin or the tub for a high-seas adventure at home!

Making Mini Sailboats With Preschoolers

We understand that the high seas of crafting can sometimes be a bit too wild for our littlest sailors. That’s why we’ve developed a boatload of creative variations on this sailboat craft that are perfect for preschoolers.

These adaptations make this activity simpler and more engaging for younger children, while still sparking their imagination and curiosity. We’ve specially designed these modifications to suit their developing fine motor skills and love for vibrant colors. So, tie your lifejacket and prepare for a fun-filled voyage into a sea of preschool-friendly sailboat play ideas!

1. Simply your mini boats.

You can pre-make the mast and sail, cut a small hole in a sponge or pool noodle, and let your little one put together the two pieces. This is a great fine motor skill activity, and having fewer small pieces and a larger, sturdier base makes the sailboat much easier for little hands to assemble and play with.

You can use your sponge sailboats in a lake or ocean-themed sensory bin for some simple summer water play.

2. Interactive Storytelling

Along with the implied sailboat craft, you could include a simple story or song about sailing or pirates, or reference one of their favorite sea-themed stories or cartoons. A catchy tune can make this activity twice as engaging for preschool-aged kids!

3. Try 2D paper sailboat art instead of 3D boats.

Instead of trying to construct a 3D boat, work flat on a piece of paper. You can pre-cut simple boat shapes or let little ones experiment independently. Paper or scrap fabric sails can be added with school glue, and they can color an imaginative sea background with crayons or markers.

You could also make 2D felt sailboats to be used on a felt board for creative, sensory-friendly storytelling.

4. Make nautical flag stickers.

Younger kids probably won’t have much interest in the secret message themes, but what DOES catch the attention of toddlers is the bright colors and bold patterns displayed on nautical flags.

Instead of cutting out paper nautical flags for, you can print our flags onto sticker paper and cut them out for little ones to decorate 2D sailboats with (or just pull them off and stick to their heart’s desire!).

5. Make DIY nautical flag tangrams.

Using large, colorful pieces of cardstock, cut out the shapes used in nautical flags. Using a full piece of construction paper as a flag, let preschoolers or kindergartners play with the shapes, making their own arrangements, or using reference pictures to recreate specific nautical flag patterns.

More Ways to Play With Your DIY Secret Message Sailboat Craft

1. Pair your mini sailboats with a picture book.

Boost your little sailors’ knowledge of nautical codes with colorful and captivating picture books like Alpha, Bravo, Charlie: The Complete Book of Nautical Codes (for older kids), or Boats are Busy (for younger kids).

2. Go on a sailboat scavenger hunt.

Looking for a rainy summer day activity? An exciting nautical flag scavenger hunt is just what the captain ordered. Use our flag printable to code your clues and watch as your mini mariners navigate their way to treasure – or at least to the cookie jar.

3. Make a DIY nautical flag BINGO game.

Use our printable alphabet set to make your own nautical flag bingo cards. When you call out the letters, your little pirates can locate the corresponding flags on their cards – it’s all hands on deck for this fun-filled voyage of coding play!

And you’ll need invitations for your boating bash too…! Create charming handmade summer party invitations using our sailboat design. Swap out the fabric sail for a paper one that includes the basic party details, offering a creative and thematic way to deliver the invite.

More Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids

For more sugar-free entertainment and handmade Valentine’s projects, send your message of love via (paper!) messenger pigeon. Make DIY heart pennant pins, or build a STEAM-powered cardboard love shack.