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Flat Origami Sailboat

Make a flat sailboat picture with two matching sails and a short, straight-bottomed hull. Ordinary folds shape one uncut square; the finished boat stays flat for display.

Preparation + 8 numbered steps

Materials

6-inch square · 6 × 6 inches

One 6 × 6-inch square (15.24 × 15.24 cm). Use thin paper because several folds carry doubled layers. No scissors, glue or other tools are needed.

Start the interactive guide ↓
Read all illustrated steps ↓Download PDF ↓ · one-page illustrated guide
Flat folded sailboat with two matching triangular sails above a straight-bottomed trapezoid hull
Finished flat sailboat picture · two sails and a folded hull

Follow along

Preparation

The interactive guide needs JavaScript. Read every illustrated step below.

Camera only; does not change the fold.
Help · controls & diagram

Play or drag the progress slider to watch a fold from 0% to 100%. Use the view buttons or drag the diagram to look from another angle.

Blue and gold identify the original left and right halves of one sheet, not separate pieces. Darker shades show the reverse. Orange highlights the moving paper and hinge.

With the diagram focused: Space plays or pauses, ←/→ change steps, and Home resets.

Every step, at a glance

Compare your paper with each diagram after completing the action. Blue and gold identify the original left and right halves of one sheet, not separate pieces. Darker shades show the reverse. Orange highlights the moving paper and hinge.

  1. 0. Prepare a square
  2. 1. Fold a double-layer triangle
  3. 2. Crease the center
  4. 3. Reopen the broad triangle
  5. 4. Lower both top tips
  6. 5. Raise the right sail packet
  7. 6. Raise the left sail packet
  8. 7. Flatten the hull bottom
  9. 8. Turn over and finish
  1. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold6-inch square · one uncut sheet

    PREPARATION · Flat two-sail boat

    Prepare a square

    Lay the square as a diamond with one corner at the top. Either face may start upward; the diagram colors track the two halves of the sheet.

    Layers: One uncut square.

    Check: All four sides are equal, with left and right corners level.

    Explore this step ↑
  2. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldBottom corner to top · keep both layers

    STEP 1 · Flat two-sail boat

    Fold a double-layer triangle

    Bring the bottom corner to the top corner. Match the sloping edges and crease along the horizontal diagonal. Keep the sheet folded.

    Layers: Lift the entire lower half onto the upper half. Do not cut or separate the layers.

    Check: The broad triangle has two free tips together at the top and a closed horizontal base.

    Explore this step ↑
  3. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldBoth layers · right corner to left

    STEP 2 · Flat two-sail boat

    Crease the center

    Bring the right base corner to the left base corner and press the vertical center fold.

    Layers: Move both layers of the right half together.

    Check: The base corners coincide and the top point lies on the fold.

    Explore this step ↑
  4. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldReopen to the broad triangle

    STEP 3 · Flat two-sail boat

    Reopen the broad triangle

    Undo only the last fold, returning the right corner to its original side. Keep the first diagonal fold closed.

    Layers: Unfold the complete right packet.

    Check: A center guide runs from the top tips to the midpoint of the long base.

    Explore this step ↑
  5. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldBoth top tips to base midpoint

    STEP 4 · Flat two-sail boat

    Lower both top tips

    Fold the two top tips together down to the midpoint of the long base. Press the horizontal crease halfway down the triangle.

    Layers: Carry both apex layers. Leave the bottom strip and side corners flat.

    Check: A downward-pointing triangular flap lies over a trapezoid. Its point touches the base midpoint.

    Explore this step ↑
  6. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldRight corner to original top position

    STEP 5 · Flat two-sail boat

    Raise the right sail packet

    Lift the right base corner upward to the original top-tip position. The crease runs from the base midpoint to the right end of the new horizontal top edge. Press flat.

    Layers: Move both right-corner layers. The lowered central flap stays down.

    Check: The right corner becomes a high point on the center line; a diamond-shaped right half replaces the long right corner.

    Explore this step ↑
  7. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldLeft corner to the same top position

    STEP 6 · Flat two-sail boat

    Raise the left sail packet

    Fold the left base corner to meet the raised right corner. Use the matching crease from the base midpoint to the left end of the horizontal edge.

    Layers: Move both left-corner layers, leaving the central flap and right packet still.

    Check: A diamond has a vertical meeting line. The two raised corners meet at its top.

    Explore this step ↑
  8. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldWhole bottom packet to diamond center

    STEP 7 · Flat two-sail boat

    Flatten the hull bottom

    Bring the bottom point of the diamond up to its center, halfway between the top and bottom points. Crease horizontally and press the small triangular packet flat.

    Layers: Lift every layer at the bottom point together, including the lowered apex material.

    Check: A short horizontal base replaces the bottom point. The small folded tip touches the diamond center.

    Explore this step ↑
  9. TURN THE WHOLE PACKETOriginal left: blue · right: goldTurn the whole boat over · finished flat picture

    STEP 8 · Flat two-sail boat

    Turn over and finish

    Turn the entire model over from side to side without opening any folds. Keep the pointed sails at the top and press the finished picture flat.

    Layers: Turn all layers as one packet.

    Check: Two triangular sails meet along a vertical line above a trapezoid hull with a level bottom. The flat sailboat picture is complete.

    Explore this step ↑
Sources & notes

Origami-Fun, Origami Sail Boats Instructions (undated web tutorial).

Complete flat sailboat instructions ↗ · Reference diagram sheet ↗

The reference does not establish the model designer or a design license. Its text, photographs and diagrams are separately copyrighted. This guide uses independently authored English instructions, geometry, diagrams and PDF, without reproducing reference assets or prose. Source publication is not a project-wide reuse license.

Adaptation: The source cuts a square diagonally and folds one single-layer triangle. Here the square is folded diagonally and kept uncut; every later operation carries the corresponding doubled layers. This makes one thicker boat rather than two separate boats. The center crease and reopening, two side folds, and final turnover are taught as separate actions. The source’s apex-to-base, paired corner-to-top and lower-tip-to-center landmarks are retained. Blue/gold track material halves rather than the source’s two paper-face colors.

Original instructions and diagrams, made with AI assistance. About & reuse

Accuracy notes

Real-paper follow-along and paper weight have not been tested. Diagrams illustrate the sequence, not paper thickness, contact, collisions or exact layer visibility. One connected 36-square-inch sheet with rigid ordinary folds and both original layers carried through the sail and hull packets. Zero-thickness teaching geometry does not simulate paper thickness or contact. Real-paper folding has not been tested. This flat display is not a floating boat.