DIY Moana Boat Tutorial

So many people have asked how we created our Moana Boat that we used in our Moana Birthday party. So here are the step by step instructions for you. It is super easy! It took me about 10 minutes to assemble as I had all of my dowels & shipping tube cut by Home Depot. Just need a few dowels from Home Depot, a shipping tube & our Moana Boat sail printable- you can purchase the printable here

You will need the following:

• (3) 48″ Wooden Dowels
• (2) 6″x 24″ x 1/8″ balsa wood boards
• (1) 2″ x48″ brown shipping tube
• Hot glue
• Moana Boat sail printable

Instructions:

1. Start by cutting all the dowels & shipping tube so all you have to do is glue items together. Cut the shipping tube in half, so you have (2) 24″ long tubes.
2. Cut (5) dowels to 19.5″ long. You will get 2 out of each dowel. Only cut 5, so the third dowel you will have a 19.5″ piece & 28.5″ piece. This longer piece you will use later and attach the sail to it. If you go to Home Depot and grab a helper there they will cut it for you for free 🙂
3. Make a half circle notch in the middle of  both of your balsa wood. Balsa wood is really thin wood so you can do this with an exact knife. Make sure your half circles line up & that the hole is big enough for your dowel to fit through.
4. Layout your balsa wood pieces together & the 19.5″ dowels to make sure you have even amounts of space on both sides of the balsa wood. Make sure your center dowel does NOT cover the hole you made in the middle.

Little tip: I like to line the dowels to the edge of the table so I know all the dowels will be even on the front side

5. With the hot glue gun, put a line of hot glue all the way down the board. Then roll the dowel on top of the glue. the dowel will serve as a guide for you. Glue one dowel at a time to make sure the glue doesn’t dry before you get to all of them.

6. Next you will glue the shipping tubes on. Put 1″ of hot glue in the center of all 5 dowels on one side. Then place the shipping tube on.

7. Repeat on the other side. The base of your boat is complete. Let this portion dry for 1-2 minutes to make sure all the glue is dry. Then flip it over

8. Take the 28″ long dowel and place it in the hole you made in the center of the boat deck with the balsa wood. Make sure the dowel is touching the table so it has more stability. Then hot glue around the dowel to make it stand up. You may have to hold it for about 30 seconds until the glue starts to harden.

9. While your pole is drying completely. Cut out the Moana boat sail . Punch a hole at the top and bottom so you can place it on the pole.

10. Place a small amount of glue at the very top of the sail and glue it to the pole so it doesn’t slide down. You can move the lower
And you are done! Now just fill the boat deck with goodies from your party!

View our whole Moana Birthday party details here! …… You’re welcome!