Fire lantern boat

Fire lantern boat

Lighting a little paper lantern boat and setting it sail can be quite spectacular on a summer’s evening.

Here we show you how to make a paper boat, which holds a small candle. The candle should be a tea light, but tea lights can burn for a very long time, so to reduce the risk of fire we need to reduce the burn time. As the wax is the fuel, you need to remove most of it. So use a spoon to chisel out all the wax apart from a small amount around the wick. Or use a candle which has almost burnt out of fuel (like we have).

To make your lantern boat you will need:

  • A rectangular (coloured looks best) piece of paper
  • A modified tea light candle (or one low on fuel)
  • A small blob of blue tack

Get your rectangular piece of paper

Get a rectangular piece of paper

Get a rectangular piece of paper

1. Fold the paper in half, length wise.

Fold in half

Fold in half

2. Fold the paper in half again.

Fold in half again

Fold in half again

3. Unfold the paper half way.

Unfold the paper

Unfold the paper

4. Fold in the corners so that they touch the middle crease.

Fold in the corners

Fold in the corners

5. This is what you should now, have a semi folded boat.

The semi folded boat

The semi folded boat

6. Fold up the flap facing you.

Fold up the flap facing you

Fold up the flap facing you

7. Turn the paper over and fold the remaining flap.

Fold up the flap on the other side

Fold up the flap on the other side

8. Insert both thumbs into the middle of the paper and pull outwards.

Insert thumbs and pull outwards

Insert thumbs and pull outwards

9. Tuck the flaps under one another on both sides.

Tuck flaps in

Tuck flaps in

10. You should have a rhombus.

You should have a rhombus

You should have a rhombus

11. Hold the rhombus and lift one corner up to meet the tip.

Lift one corner up to meet the tip

Lift one corner up to meet the tip

12. Flip the paper over and do the same for the other side.

Flip the paper over and do the same

Flip the paper over and do the same

13. The paper should be a folded triangle.

Folded triangle

Folded triangle

14. Insert both thumbs into the triangle and pull out.

Pull out the triangle

Pull out the triangle

15. You should now have another rhombus.

Another rhombus

Another rhombus

16. Find the flaps at the top and open out until you have the boat shape.

Open out until you have the boat shape

Open out until you have the boat shape

17. Open the underside too to give the boat a wider bottom.

Pull out the underside to make more of the boat shape

Pull out the underside to make more of the boat shape

18. Fold down the central sail and use a small blob of blue tack to hold the candle in place.

Secure with blue tack

Secure with blue tack

19. Light the boat’s candle where it is not likely to cause a fire and watch it sail away.

Boats on the water

Boats on the water