African Mahogany Bath Boats

Every kid (and every kid at heart) should have cool bath toys and what could be cooler than a boat handmade from African Mahogany?  If you’re curious how I make these, read on, but if you’d rather just buy one, follow this link.

So, how do I make these boats?  Let’s start with a piece of African Mahogany.  I can’t draw a lick, so I have to use a template (drawn by an actual artist).  It’s even labeled in case I forget what it is.

Trace around the template to get the basic shape.

Then I cut out the base at the band saw. I cut it out at a 10 degree angle. There isn’t anything magical about 10 degrees, it just looked good to me.

When I cut these pieces out at the bandsaw, I’m not trying to cut exactly on my pencil lines.  Instead, I cut just a little shy of the pencil lines and then clean things up with a spindle sander.

If you’re curious what those “black stains” on the boat are, they’re burn marks.  Passing wood through a saw blade generates heat and the amount of heat generated increases significantly when you’re performing anything other than a simple straight cut.  So, when cutting curves, especially on a thick piece of wood, a lot of heat is generated occasionally causing a few burn marks.  They easily sand out, however.

We’re now ready to make the cabin. For this we use a small piece of wood with a curve drawn across the front (using a template, of course).

After cutting the front curve at the bandsaw and cleaning it up with some sandpaper, we cut the windows and the rear overhang.  We start at the drill press using large Forstner bits.  We first cut the large opening at the rear of the bridge.

Then we use a smaller bit to cut the windows.

Trim the rear of the cabin to create the overhang….

….then do a little sanding and our two pieces are finished.

We then glue our two pieces together…

…and our boat is done…

…and ready for the bathtub

With the boat done, a few words about glue and finish.  I use Titebond III glue which is waterproof and non-toxic (so it’s safe for kids).  As for finish, I don’t treat these boats with anything because I don’t want to put anything on these boats that might potentially be harmful.  Normally, you wouldn’t put bare-naked wood like this in water, but African Mahogany can take it.  It’s a great wood for projects that will be exposed to the wet and weather.  I’ve had several parents tell me that their boat held up just fine to bath water and was still going strong long several years later.

These boats make great gifts. So, head over to the “Marketplace” (link) page and pick one up.

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