History Main / ImprovisedSail

You make a sailboat and decide to sail it in a bathtub or in any body of water you can find outside such as a pond, a stream, or a lake. But [[OhCrap uh oh!]] Your boat doesn't have a sail, what do you do?

The simplest thing you can do is use something as a makeshift sail, whether it be a leaf, napkin, or even your pants or shirt. Sometimes may even be made of improbable materials. But that doesn't matter in most cases. Either way, now that your boat has a sail, on with ye journey!

Can be a part of {{MacGyvering}}.

[[quoteright:300: [[WesternAnimation/AroundTheWorldWithWillyFog https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/willy_fog_sail_426.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Row, row, row your boat...]]

* One ''ComicBook/AdventureTime'' comic had Marceline the Vampire Queen serve as a sail on Princess Bubblegum's raft by assuming the form of a giant bat and clinging to the mast.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* In the ''Series/GilligansIsland'' film, ''Rescue From Gilligan's Island'', the Howells donate many of their spare clothes to be used for sails. [[FridgeLogic The sets of clothing that only comprised part of the luggage they had taken with them on the ill-fated three-hour cruise.]]

* In the film ''Film/ISailedToTahitiWithAnAllGirlCrew'' a rival boater sabotages the protagonist's sails, so the eponymous all-girl crew use their dresses to patch the sails. Now he's got a sail which looks like a cut-out chain of people out of folded paper.
* A plot device in the John Candy movie ''Film/SummerRental'', where a pair of his character's under shorts are used in lieu of a sail, while entering a sailing contest against another vacationing family.
* In ''Film/CastAway'', Creator/TomHanks' character escapes the island after making a raft, the sail of which is the corner section of a port-a-john that washed up on shore

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/MrBogus'' showed Bogus and Brattus sailing down the river in a raft, using Bogus's pants as a sail, with Bogus just standing in his GoofyPrintUnderwear.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' had Arnold and Gerald going out fishing. They took off their shirts to make the sail on their boat. Arnold provided both his blue overshirt and his red flannel undershirt.

[[folder:Music]]
* A Russian bard song "Blue Striped Pants" ("Little Boat"), sung to the tune of "Red River Valley", has the lyrical protagonist using the titular pants as a sail. It ends badly; wind carries the pants away and the protagonist is stranded on a boat, alone, with no means to steer and in his longjohns.

* In the ''Series/GilligansIsland'' film, ''Rescue From Gilligan's Island'', the Howells donate many of their spare clothes to be used for sails. [[FridgeLogic The sets of clothing that only comprised part of the luggage they had taken with them on ill-fated three-hour cruise.]]

* In ''Anime/LupinIIIGreenJacket'', after stealing a dozen classic paintings, Lupin and his gang sail away on a boat whose sail is made out of the sewn-up paintings themselves.

* In ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081031/ The Last Flight of Noah's Ark]]'', two bands of survivors join forces to build a boat to get back to civilization. For propulsion, flags sewn together make a sail. This might not count because the boat isn't launched until after the sail is in place.
* In the film ''I Sailed to Tahiti with an All-Girl Crew'' a rival boater sabotages the protagonist's sails, so the eponymous all-girl crew use their dresses to patch the sails. Now he's got a sail which looks like a cut-out chain of people out of folded paper.

.

[[quoteright:300: [[WesternAnimation/AroundTheWorldWithWillyFog https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/willy_fog_sail_426.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Row, row, row your boat...]]

You make a sailboat and decide to sail it in a bathtub or in any body of water you can find outside such as a pond, a stream, or a lake. But [[OhCrap uh oh!]] Your boat doesn't have a sail, what do you do?

The simplest thing you can do is use something as a makeshift sail, whether it be a leaf, napkin, or even your pants or shirt. Sometimes may even be made of improbable materials. But that doesn't matter in most cases. Either way, now that your boat has a sail, on with ye journey!

Essentially, this is a trope where a boat or raft of any kind is devoid of a regular sail before being given an unorthodox sail.

Can be a part of {{MacGyvering}}.

Similar to this is: ImprovisedParachute.

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!!Examples :

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* In ''Anime/LupinIIIGreenJacket'', after stealing a dozen classic paintings, Lupin and his gang sail away on a boat whose sail is made out of the sewn-up paintings themselves.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Arts]]
* An early Gil Elvgren pinup ("Short on Sails") has a topless girl sitting on a raft with a bra flying from the mast.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* The ''ComicBook/{{Viz}}'' character ''Felix and His Amazing Underpants'' often does this with... well, guess.
* One ''ComicBook/AdventureTime'' comic had Marceline the Vampire Queen serve as a sail on Princess Bubblegum's raft by assuming the form of a giant bat and clinging to the mast.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* In ''Animation/CatCity'', Sgt. Lazy Dick makes one out of a leaf.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* In the ''Series/GilligansIsland'' film, ''Rescue From Gilligan's Island'', the Howells donate many of their spare clothes to be used for sails. [[FridgeLogic The sets of clothing that only comprised part of the luggage they had taken with them on ill-fated three-hour cruise.]]
* In ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081031/ The Last Flight of Noah's Ark]]'', two bands of survivors join forces to build a boat to get back to civilization. For propulsion, flags sewn together make a sail. This might not count because the boat isn't launched until after the sail is in place.
* In the film ''I Sailed to Tahiti with an All-Girl Crew'' a rival boater sabotages the protagonist's sails, so the eponymous all-girl crew use their dresses to patch the sails. Now he's got a sail which looks like a cut-out chain of people out of folded paper.
* A plot device in the John Candy movie ''Film/SummerRental'', where a pair of his character's under shorts are used in lieu of a sail, while entering a sailing contest against another vacationing family.
* In ''Film/CastAway'', Creator/TomHanks' character escapes the island after making a raft, the sail of which is the corner section of a port-a-john that washed up on shore
* In ''Film/{{Napoleon}}'', the title character uses the ''Tricolore'' as a makeshift sail when fleeing Corsica.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* A Russian bard song "Blue Striped Pants" ("Little Boat"), sung to the tune of "Red River Valley", has the lyrical protagonist using the titular pants as a sail. It ends badly; wind carries the pants away and the protagonist is stranded on a boat, alone, with no means to steer and in his longjohns.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "An American Tragedy", Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin are stranded on a rowboat in the middle of Crystal Lake. Mr. Conklin suggests using Mr. Boynton's shirt as a sail. Miss Brooks ups the ante:
-->'''Mr. Conklin:''' Let's try to get organized, shall we? Clear thinking is the ticket. Lacking an oar, we shall need to improvise a sail immediately. I shall need a large, white garment. Miss Brooks?\\
'''Miss Brooks:''' You won't get a stitch from me.\\
'''Mr. Conklin:''' Well, then, Boynton. I suggest we use your shirt as a sail.\\
'''Miss Brooks:''' [[LoveInterest Second the motion. And let's throw in his undershirt, too, sir. Ha. His shirt ought to do nicely.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam'': When a group of Toads needs to use a raft to sail back to the mainland, Paper Mario uses himself as the sail.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/MrBogus'' showed Bogus and Brattus sailing down the river in a raft, using Bogus's pants as a sail, with Bogus just standing in his GoofyPrintUnderwear.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' had Arnold and Gerald going out fishing. They took off their shirts to make the sail on their boat. Arnold provided both his blue overshirt and his red flannel undershirt.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AroundTheWorldWithWillyFog'', when Inspector Dix and Constable Bully are lost in the jungle, they build a raft and they make sails out of their jackets (pictured above).
* In ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' "Littlest Pet Street," Blythe and her dad are stranded on a desert island because the Pet Jet has crashed and isn't airworthy. Blythe asks if it's ''seaworthy,'' and they wind up sailing it home, with a sail made of her dad's Bermuda shorts. Doubles as an odd ChekhovsGag, as he'd bought the shorts to wear on his staycation.
* The ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' short "Salt Water Tabby" ends with Jerry sailing away on Tom's picnic basket and using Tom's bathing suit as the sail.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* TruthInTelevision: on rare occasions in RealLife, this can be a highly effective survival technique when lost at sea. [[http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/cms/4/4-a_eng.asp?category=15&id=642 One such incident]] was logged by the HMCS ''Charlottetown'' on January 7, 2008.
* In Real Life, even ''masts'' can be improvised, and this trope is known as '''jury rig'''. A skilled sailor can use ''any'' spars or oblong objects for jury rig and ''any'' suitable fabric (or even tarpaulins) for sails. (Needless to say, on an actual yacht, sails can be used on positions not originally intended to, such as storm jib for a jury-rigged mainsail.)
[[/folder]]
----

* In ''WesternAnimation/AroundTheWorldWithWillyFog'', when Inspector Fix and Constable Bully are lost in the jungle, they build a raft and they make sails out of their jackets (pictured above).

* In ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' "Littlest Pet Street," Blythe and her dad are stranded on a dessert island because the Pet Jet has crashed and isn't airworthy. Blythe asks if it's ''seaworthy,'' and they wind up sailing it home, with a sail made of her dad's Bermuda shorts. Doubles as an odd ChekhovsGag, as he'd bought the shorts to wear on his staycation.

* In Real Life, even ''masts'' can be improvised, and this trope is known as '''jury rig'''. A skilled sailor can use ''any'' spars or oblong objects for jury rig and ''any'' suitable fabric (or even tarpaulins) for sails. (Needless to say, on an actual yacht, sails can be used on positions not originally intended to, such as storm jib for jury-rigged mainsail.)

* In ''Anime/LupinIIIGreenJacket'', after stealing a dozen classic paintings, Lupin and his gang sail away on a boat which sail is made out of the sewn-up paintings themselves.

You make a sailboat and decide to sail it in a bathtub or in any body of water you can find outside such as a pond, a stream, or a lake). But [[OhCrap uh oh!]] Your boat doesn't have a sail, what do you do?

The simplest thing you do is use a makeshift sail for your boat, whether it be a leaf, a napkin, or even your pants or a shirt. Sometimes may even be made of improbable materials. But that doesn't matter in most cases. Either way, now that your boat has a sail. On with ye journey!

* In the ''Series/GilligansIsland'' film, ''Rescue From Gilligan's Island'', the Howell's donate many of their spare clothes to be used for sails. [[FridgeLogic The sets of clothing that only comprised part of the luggage they had taken with them on ill-fated three-hour cruise.]]

* In the film ''[[Film/ISailedToTahitiWithAnAllGirlCrew I Sailed to Tahiti with an All-Girl Crew]]'' a rival boater sabotages the protagonist's sails, so the eponymous all-girl crew use their dresses to patch the sails. Now he's got a sail which looks like a cut-out chain of people out of folded paper.

* In ''Film/CastAway'', Creator/TomHanks' character escapes the island after making a raft, the sail of which is a large sheet of hard plastic.

!Examples

[[AC:{{Anime}}]]
* In ''Anime/{{Lupin III Green Jacket}}'', after stealing a dozen classic paintings, Lupin and his gang sail away on a boat thats sail is made out of the sewn-up paintings themselves.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* In the ''Series/GilligansIsland'' film, "Rescue From Gilligan's Island", the Howell's donate many of their spare clothes to be used for sails. [[FridgeLogic The sets of clothing that only comprised part of the luggage they had taken with them on ill-fated three-hour cruise.]]
* In ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081031/ The Last Flight Of Noah's Ark]]'', two bands of survivors join forces to build a boat to get back to civilization. For propulsion, flags sewn together make a sail. This might not count because the boat isn't launched until after the sail is in place.
* In the film ''[[Film/ISailedToTahitiWithAnAllGirlCrew I Sailed to Tahiti with an All-Girl Crew]]'' a rival boater sabotages the protagonist's sails, so the eponymous all-girl crew use their dresses to patch the sails. Now he's got a sail which looks like a cut-out chain of people out of folded paper.
* A plot device in the John Candy movie ''Film/SummerRental'', where a pair of his character's under shorts are used in lieu of a sail, while entering a sailing contest against another vacationing family.
* In ''Film/CastAway'', Creator/TomHanks' character escapes the island after making a raft, the sail of which is a large sheet of hard plastic.
* In ''Animation/CatCity'', Sgt. Lazy Dick makes one out of a leaf.
* In ''Film/{{Napoleon}}'', the title character uses the ''Tricolore'' as a makeshift sail when fleeing Corsica.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* The ''ComicBook/{{Viz}}'' character ''Felix and His Amazing Underpants'' often does this with... well, guess.
* One ''ComicBook/AdventureTime'' comic had Marceline the Vampire Queen serve as a sail on Princess Bubblegum's raft by assuming the form of a giant bat and clinging to the mast.

[[AC:{{Art}}]]

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

[[AC:{{Radio}}]]

-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Let's try to get organized, shall we? Clear thinking is the ticket. Lacking an oar, we shall need to improvise a sail immediately. I shall need a large, white garment. Miss Brooks?
-->'''Miss Brooks''': You won't get a stitch from me.
-->'''Mr. Conklin''': Well, then, Boynton. I suggest we use your shirt as a sail.
-->'''Miss Brooks''': [[LoveInterest Second the motion. And let's throw in his undershirt, too, sir. Ha. His shirt ought to do nicely.]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

[[AC:RealLife]]

* In ''{{Lupin III Green Jacket}}'', after stealing a dozen classic paintings, Lupin and his gang sail away on a boat thats sail is made out of the sewn-up paintings themselves.

* In the film ''{{I Sailed to Tahiti With an All-Girl Crew}}'' a rival boater sabotages the protagonist's sails, so the eponymous all-girl crew use their dresses to patch the sails. Now he's got a sail which looks like a cut-out chain of people out of folded paper.
* A plot device in the John Candy movie ''SummerRental'', where a pair of his character's under shorts are used in lieu of a sail, while entering a sailing contest against another vacationing family.

-->'''Mr. Conklin'': Let's try to get organized, shall we? Clear thinking is the ticket. Lacking an oar, we shall need to improvise a sail immediately. I shall need a large, white garment. Miss Brooks?

* In Real Life, even ''masts'' can be improvised, and this trope is known as '''jury rig'''. A skilled sailor can use ''any'' spars or oblong objects for jury rig and ''any'' suitable fabric (or even tarpaulins) for sails. (Needless to say, on an actual yachts, sails can be used on positions not originally intended to, such as storm jib for jury-rigged mainsail.)

* In ''{{Lupin III Green Jacket}}'', after stealing a dozen classic paintings, Lupin and his gang sail away on a boat who's sail is made out of the sewn-up paintings themselves.

* In ''{{Lupin III Green Jacket}}'' After stealing a dozen classic paintings, Lupin and his gang sail away on a boat who's sail is made out of the sewn-up paintings themselves.

* In the film ''I Sailed to Tahiti With an All-Girl Crew'' a rival boater sabotages the protagonist's sails, so the eponymous all-girl crew use their dresses to patch the sails. Now he's got a sail which looks like a cut-out chain of people out of folded paper.

* One ''AdventureTime'' comic had Marceline the Vampire Queen serve as a sail on Princess Bubblegum's raft by assuming the form of a giant bat and clinging to the mast.

Similar to this is: ImprovisedParachute.

NeedsMoreExamples