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Paper colors

Boat

How to fold an origami boat

Paper
One square sheet of paper.
Preparation
No cutting or gluing is included in these folding steps. Begin with “Make a center crease”.
What you will make
A boat with a hull and rim, without a sail.

Fold the edges and four corners toward the center to make this paper boat, then open and turn out the hull. The final stages change a flat shape into a three-dimensional boat. Compare the rim and bottom in 3D, checking the opening and turning stages separately.

Follow the 16 steps above by scrolling. Drag the model to inspect a fold from another angle, and scroll back to review a previous step.

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Read all 16 folding steps
  1. Make a center crease
  2. Fold the top edge to the center
  3. Fold the bottom edge to the center
  4. Fold the top left corner
  5. Fold the bottom left corner
  6. Fold the top right corner
  7. Fold the bottom right corner
  8. Fold the upper left sloping edge to the center
  9. Fold the lower left sloping edge to the center
  10. Fold the upper right sloping edge to the center
  11. Fold the lower right sloping edge to the center
  12. Fold the top tip to the center
  13. Fold the bottom tip to the center
  14. Open the model to reveal the hull
  15. Turn inside out, keeping the rim joined
  16. Turn the whole boat over

Tricky points and what to check

Opening and turning over look similar

Steps to review: 14・15・16

Review opening the hull, turning out the walls, and turning the whole boat over as three separate steps. Do not turn the whole boat over at the first opening stage.

My shape differs before opening the hull

Steps to review: 8・9・10・11・12・13

Review all four sloping-edge folds and both tip folds toward the center. Compare the model just before opening, with both top and bottom tips folded.

Step 15：Turn inside out, keeping the rim joined

Three views from the same 3D folding sequence. Read from top to bottom.

Opened boat hull with the white undersides of its walls visible
Opened boat hull with the white undersides of its walls visible

After step 14. Compare with the next image to identify the part that moves.

Before：After step 14. Compare with the next image to identify the part that moves.
Boat walls turning out with a broad red hull surface visible
Boat walls turning out with a broad red hull surface visible

Compare the rim and bottom as the opened hull turns out. Turning the whole boat over comes in the next step.

During：Compare the rim and bottom as the opened hull turns out. Turning the whole boat over comes in the next step.
Boat after turning out the walls, with its long red bottom facing upward
Boat after turning out the walls, with its long red bottom facing upward

After “Turn inside out, keeping the rim joined”. Compare the corners and layers with the first image.

After：After “Turn inside out, keeping the rim joined”. Compare the corners and layers with the first image.
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SCROLL TO FOLD

Fold the edges and four corners toward the center to make this paper boat, then open and turn out the hull.

Completed origami boat

Completed model · Loading 3D…

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