Hot Wheels Ferry

I saw a child's wooden ferry on-line and thought that our nephew's children would enjoy playing with one. This project is scaled to accomodate Hot Wheels cars, about 1" x 3" each. As with anything I make, the painting takes the most time.

Supplies

The hull is a piece of 2" x 6" with the sides and top coming from disassembled wine boxes. Other parts were cut from pieces from the scrap bucket.

MATERIALS

1 pc: 2" x 6" x 13"- hull

2 pc: 3" x 11" x 1/4"- sides

1 pc: 5-1/2" x 7" x 1/4"- roof

2 pc: 1" x 1-1/2" x 2" - pilot houses

1 pc: 3/4" x 3" dowel- smoke stack

2 pc: 3/4" x 4" x 1/4"- roof braces

2 pc: 3/4" x 5-1/2" x 1/4"- barriers

4 pc: 1/8" x 1-1/2" dowel- barrier posts

4 pc: 3/4" x 1" x 1/4": deck to side brace blocks

4 pc: 3/4" x 3/4" x 1": roof to side brace blocks

Wood glue

Assorted acrylic paint

Brushes

Blue painter's tape

TOOLS

Table saw

Hand saw

Disc sander

Drill & bits

1" hole saw

Sandpaper

Heavy book in lieu of clamps

Step 1: PREPPING THE PARTS

The hull is simply a piece of 2" x 6" but pick a good one without flaws. I cut a 1/2" x 1" taper on both ends just for looks. Get the hull well sanded so there won't be any slivers.

Disassembling the wine boxes is difficult to do without splitting the wood. The best approach may be to take the guards off the table saw, extend the blade 1/4", and just cut the bottom and top 1/4" pieces off of the sides.

Once I had the 3" x 1/4" sides off I traced the shape onto the wood using my plan cutout as a guide. The sides were cut on the table saw and finished using a hand saw. The roof was a simple cut on the table saw. To cut the circles in the side pieces, use the drill and hole saw. Always put a piece of scrap wood under the piece you are drilling. Only go half way through and then turn the piece over to finish the cut. Cutting from both sides will help eliminate breakout around the hole.

The rest of the small pieces were cut to size and sanded.

Step 2: PARTIAL ASSEMBLY AND PAINTING

With all of the parts cut to size I did a dry fit to make sure everything fit right. With that done, the deck blocks were glued in place. These will serve to help to keep the sides from snapping off. Glue the roof braces crosswise to the underside of the roof. Weigh down to insure a good bond. Remember that the roof overhangs the sides so it may be best to align the center of the braces with the center of the roof.

While you have everything dry fit, mark the places on the hull where the barrier posts will go. The barriers will fit behind the posts. Set the upper parts aside and drill 1/8" holes for the four barrier posts. Wrap tape around the bit about 3/4" up as a guide so you get all of the holes the same depth. Round the tops of the 1/8" dowels.

While the braces and blocks glue dries you can start painting. I used navy blue for the hull and dark red for the sides and top. It may take two coats to get good coverage. Acrylic paint cleans up with water a dries fairly quickly.

For the two pilot houses and the stack, I drilled a hole in the bottom so I could mount them on finish nails in a scrap piece of wood for painting. Don't paint the bottoms of these pieces. Add painted windows and portholes at this time.

The barriers and the posts will have the black and yellow stripe pattern. The barriers and dowels were first painted yellow. I used tweezers to maneuver the dowels upright into holes where they would dry. Once the yellow was dry I wrapped 1/8" wide strips of painter's tape around the dowels and painted the exposed areas black. Tape was used on the barriers diagonally to create the black and yellow stripe pattern. Touchup as you feel it is needed. When the barrier posts paint is dry, glue them into the holes in the deck.

Glue the walls in place and attach the roof to the walls. Once the glue has dried, set the ferry upside down and glue the the roof to side brace blocks in place.

Sign and date the ferry on the bottom of the hull. Glue the pilot houses and the stack to the roof. Once the glue has dried you can do any needed paint touchup. Add a name to the boat and add any extras you want.