How to Fold an Origami Boat

Medium level, 10 steps. Traditional. Sequence from The Popular Recreator (Cassell), 1873. Public domain.

The animated version shows each fold moving, one step per screen. This page shows every step at once.

All 10 steps

Step 1. Start with a sheet half again as tall as it is wide (newspaper works well). Fold the top half down.
Step 2. Fold the top left corner down to the center line.
Step 3. Fold the top right corner down to the center line.
Step 4. Fold the bottom strip of the front layer up over the triangle.
Step 5. Fold the other strip up behind. This is a paper hat.
Step 6. Put your thumbs inside the hat and pull the two bottom corners apart until they meet. Press it flat into a square.
Step 7. Fold the bottom point of the front layer up to the top point.
Step 8. Fold the bottom point of the back layer up behind to the top point.
Step 9. Put your thumbs inside the triangle and pull its two bottom corners apart until they meet. Press it flat into a smaller square.
Step 10. Hold the two loose points at the top and pull them apart. The point in the middle rises as the sail.
Done. The paper boat (The Popular Recreator, 1873). Set it on water.