From the vessels of Ancient Egypt to the trading boats popularized in Greek mythology, fishing boats have been a part of our culture for thousands of years. In just a few short steps, we will learn how to create our very own fishing boats and celebrate a crucial element of maritime history.
Tutorial Video
Step-By-Step Images and Instructions
1.

Start with a gray pen and a ruler and draw a straight line around an inch from the left side of the page, roughly one inch from the bottom. At the right-hand end of this line, draw a slightly curved line heading down towards the bottom right-hand corner.
2.

Take a gray pencil and a drawing compass and draw three small circles to the right of the bottom of the curve. Then, add smaller circles inside each of these, and finish with the dot in the center of each circle.
3.

Use the gray pen and a ruler to draw small horizontal lines connecting the tops of each set of circles. At the right-hand side of the final circle, extend the horizontal line out until it is almost at the end of the page.
4.

Now, bring another curved line heading down towards the bottom of the page descending from the end of the right-hand line. Return to the first line you made and draw a diagonal line heading down towards the bottom of the page.
5.

Now, add a horizontal line almost halfway up the shape. Do you see the outline of your fishing boat beginning to take form?
6.

Return to the circles you made earlier. Move to the small horizontal line you made between the right-hand circle and the central circle and draw a vertical line up from the center of this, around 1 inch in length. At the top of this, draw a horizontal line, and add a parallel horizontal line immediately above this. At the left-hand end of these horizontal lines, add a line at a slight diagonal connecting to the top of the boat.
7.

Use the gray pen to connect the ends of the two parallel lines together, and then use a gray pencil and drawing compass to add another small circle to the top left-hand corner of the boat. Add a dot to the center of this.
8.

Use the gray pen and ruler to create another horizontal line just below this circle, connecting to the left-hand circle of the three you made earlier.
9.

With the gray pen, fill in the “stripe” you just made.
10.

Take a red pen and use this to make a series of marks inside the three small circles. Add short sets of parallel lines at 90-degree angles, all around the edge of each of the smaller circles.
11.

Now, use the red pen to create rings inside the smaller circles, leaving the channels you just made empty, the circles are divided into 4 quadrants, with a blank space in the center.
12.

Grab a gray pen and use this to fill in the spaces in the center of the rings – these are the lifebelts for your fishing boat.
13.

Use a red pen to add a wavy line to the bottom of your boat…
14.

And fill in the bottom half of the boat with the same red pen.
15.

Use the gray pencil to fill in the top third on the left-hand side…
16.

And use the black pen and the ruler to add two vertical lines, running parallel to one another, just above the left-hand lifebelt.
17.

Join the top of these two lines with a curved line and use the black pen to fill in the middle.
18.

Now use the black pen and ruler to draw another line to the left of this, this time horizontal, running parallel with the top of the boat.
19.

Connect the ends of these lines to the bottom of the boat with a short, vertical line, and then add more vertical lines to create square sections all along the length of the line.
20.

Return to the solid shape in the center, and add two rectangles, slanted to a 45-degree angle, to the side of this.
21.

Fill in these shapes with the black pen…
22.

Now add two more parallel, vertical lines emerging from the top of the boat, past the top line, and add a short horizontal line off to the right, and a longer one off to the left.
23.

Join the ends of this line to the top of the boat, and use vertical lines to create square sections, just as you did before.
24.

On the left-hand railing, add two more parallel vertical lines…
25.

Connect these at the top, fill in the middle with the black pen, and then add a slight curved line emerging from the top.
26.

Add another vertical line, this time in the middle of the two parallel lines, extending right out past the top of the drawing.
27.

Cross the top of this vertical line with a short horizontal line to create a cross. Then, add a series of horizontal lines moving to connect the two vertical lines.
28.

Add another cross to the left of the drawing, emerging from the first set of railings.
29.

Now, add another line emerging from the top corner of the boat, heading out at a 45-degree angle towards the top right-hand corner of the page. Just beneath this, add another line moving off horizontally to the right-hand side of the page.
30.

Use a gray pen to fill in the top section of the boat…
31.

Use the black pen to join the tops of the crosses together, and then connect this to the end of the railing on the left.
32.

Bring another line from the point of the second cross, down across at a diagonal, and join this to the other line. Then, bring another line down in the opposite direction, connecting the point of the cross to the angles line on the right.
33.

Use the black pen and ruler to connect the line to the right-hand end of the boat…
34.

Add another line to the left of this, joining the bottom of the boat, and then add two, shorter lines to the left.
35.

Use the lines to create a triangle, attaching to the top of the boat, and linking all of the lines together.
36.

Now, add another, smaller triangle inside the larger one…
37.

And use a black pen to add curved lines across the triangle to complete the look.
And just like that, you are the proud owner of your very own fishing boat. The real question is: just where will your vessel take you? Are you ready for an adventure?
These days, the fishing boat is a common sight in seas, coastal regions, lakes and rivers all around the world – in 2016, they were thought to be around 4.6 million fishing vessels on the planet, with Asia leading the way, with 75% of all fishing vessels located in this part of the world.
Fishing boats come in a range of shapes, sizes and types, and can be used for a variety of purposes, including recreation and commercial. While fiberglass tends to be the material of choice for smaller fishing boats – at least in those weighing up to 100 tons – in years gone boats by would be made from wood. Eventually, with the emergence of new materials and options, which fell out of favor largely due to reduced durability, and as a result of the higher maintenance costs associated with this material. Around the same time, steel was introduced for larger boats -usually those over 25 meters in length – to help increase longevity and durability in larger vessels.
Boats as we know them have been in existence for thousands of years, with evidence that Egyptians were building narrow boats in around the year 4000 BC. They then went on to develop new designs over the next 1000 years, including the creation of sails, which were designed to help boats travel faster and further, while requiring less work from the crew. Designs continue to develop and evolve, is later Egyptians assembling planks of wood to create sturdier ships – archaeological evidence has uncovered about 143 feet long, located in the Great Pyramid of Giza – this is believed to date back to around the year 2500 BC, and is evidence that traversing the oceans is not a new invention!