Travis has been learning about pirates lately (he now does a mean “ahoy matey!”), so to bring the fun alive, we made this little ship to join us at bathtime.

To make the raft, glue 8 craft sticks lengthwise across 8 additional sticks crosswise. Once the glue dries, it will hold everything in place. In retrospect, I recommend painting them first, or purchasing ones that are already colored.

Putting the craft stick raft together like this is largely a grown-up step, because it’s tricky to line up both layers. Travis helpfully added a few squirts of glue before I finished.

To make the mast, you really need a hot glue gun, with which you can glue one craft stick upright on the raft. Failing that, I quickly decided to use a toothpick instead, which I could wedge in the tiny space between two of the craft sticks.

Use glue to add any fabric scrap to your mast as the sail.

As the finishing touch, add a pirate or two!

Ahoy mateys, time to sail.