Kids & Play

#68 · Toy boat oar

Craft a tiny oar for a homemade toy boat. Functionality: variable. Commitment: total.

Small toy boats arrive without oars, and replacements cost more than the boat did. A chopstick with a card blade glued to one end is the obvious fix, and looks right because the proportions are right.

How to do it

1. Cut a rounded blade from stiff card, about a fifth of the chopstick's length.
2. Split the pointed end of the chopstick a couple of centimetres with a craft knife and slot the card in, or simply glue it flat to one face.
3. Let it dry fully before handling.
4. Seal it with a coat of varnish or PVA if it is going anywhere near water.

Why it works

A real oar is roughly one part blade to four or five parts loom, and that ratio is what makes the silhouette read as an oar rather than a paddle or a spoon. Getting the proportion right matters far more to the look than any amount of detail on the blade.

Tips & warnings

• Make two. A rowing boat with one oar looks like a boat in trouble.
• Paint the loom and the blade different colours - it reads much better at a distance.