Sailboat Racer

Heave-to and learn the science behind what makes a boat sail. Design a sail shape that works best in a classroom experiment.

• 1.

  What makes a sailboat move forward? How is the wind captured and why does that work? Look at photographs of sailing ships. Study the design of different shaped sails. Using Crayola® Pointed Scissors, cut sails from recycled plastic, envelop fabric. Try triangular, rounded and square shapes. Remember you need to balance the size of sail vs. size of boat’s base so the boat does not tip over when the wind fills the sail.

• 2.

  Decorate the sails using Crayola® Color Sticks™. Run a bead of Crayola® No-Run School Glue down inside edge of sail and roll around a thin skewer (or chopstick).

• 3.

  While the sail is drying, cut strips of duct tape and secure four corks together with the tape to form the boat’s hull (base).

• 4.

  Poke the sail’s mast (skewer with sail) into the cork base. Test your design in a basin. Try a fan or hair dryer to generate some gales of wind.

Benefits

• Students design sails from photographs and from their scientific imagination.
• Students test various shapes for efficiency.
• Students construct boats that float and move forward.

Adaptations

• Expand the experiment by adding additional skewers to the sail along the bottom of sail or outer edge. Does this affect the boat’s navigation?
• Supplement this activity with a Language Arts component studying everyday expressions taken from nautical usage (like “know the ropes”, “cut and run”, “toe the line”, “square meal”, “rummage sale”).