I have always been fascinated by sailboats. I loved to visit my grandparents in Florida, because it meant sailboat rides.

This is not the first time I have made a little sailboat. But it is the first popsicle boat I have made.

I started out using only the “reject” popsicle sticks that I would not use for my popsicle bridges. This included popsicle sticks that were bent and twisted in all shapes and manners. I am a little surprised that I was able to make this popsicle sailboat look as like it did.

I did not start with much of a plan. All I knew was that I wanted to make a boat. So I just started gluing popsicle sticks together. But the boat came out all right, and almost to my surprise, floated!

I intended to make this boat into a sailboat from the start. I knew that it needed a high mast, and a big sail. I also knew that like a real sailboat, this little one needed something underneath the boat to keep it from flipping over at the first spit of wind.

I also wanted somehow to be able to control where this popsicle boat went. I didn’t, however, come up with a good idea for that.

I spent a couple of days working on this, and finally had all the sticks glued together. Then I could cut out the mast from a sheet of paper. I chose paper, even though I knew it was likely to get wet. I figured that a paper mast would be easy to replace in the event of a dunking.

The day was windy, as tropical storm “Tammy” was headed our way. But I wanted some wind. I wanted to see my little boat fly across the water.

Before I launched the boat, I needed to name it. After pondering for awhile, I finally decided on calling it the “Little sailboat that could.”

So, I happily went to set it off in the little pond in our backyard. I waited until the wind was slight, and set it in the water and gave it a little push. Everything went beautifully for a moment. But then the wind suddenly picked up, and my little sailboat went right over. Maybe I should have called it the Little Sailboat that didn’t.

I hastily fetched a stick and retrieved the sailboat. But the damage was done. The sail was thoroughly wet, and tore at the slightest tension. But I knew what had to do to fix it. I would add some more popsicle sticks sticking down underneath the boat to help stabilize it.

Now the boat is repaired, and I am just waiting for another windy day to try it out again.

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