Customer Reviews

KidKraft Pirate Sandboat

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I must say this product looks amazing when completed, and my 20 month year old little boy will not come out of it. He even peaks his head out of our upstairs window and likes to look and point at his new Pirate Sandbox.

Overall I give the product a 4 out of 5 Stars, but you can make it a perfect 5 with just a little more effort from your local hardware store. The finished product looks exactly like the picture, yes, it's really that nice looking. However, you should note that it does not come with a floor, instead they give you a very heavy gauge plastic bottom. I would estimate the thickness of the plastic to be the equivalent of two contractor bags.

The actual assembly was fairly painless, you need to place all the wooden pieces with the numbers facing up outside in the backyard (you may have trouble getting the fully assembled product through a door). I would suggest that you use a very high quality ratchet screw driver, my absolute favorite is the Ivy Classic. You should use a good quality Phillips head and matching hex in the ratcheting screw driver. Following the assembly instructions was quite easy, but time consuming, you want everything tight but not over tightened, otherwise you'll risk cracking. Be sure to make sure all pieces have the matching bolts on the opposite side, so you can tighten properly.

My item came with a flag post top that's screw was to short, so I had to drill a 3/4" hole in the cross beam about 1/3" deep. This was the only real mishap with the parts received, the package did arrive in decent condition.

Now, the fun part, that can turn this almost into a real boat that can last for many years to come. It became obvious that the design was subject to body sway and overtime this would be an issue, plus only having a plastic liner in the front section would not protect the middle seat section or the last section.

My solution, which cost under $50 in building materials from my local big home improvement reseller, was to get a 4 foot by 8 foot piece of plywood meant to be outdoors. It cost me about $20 for the plywood sheet, I did not get the treated plywood, since I didn't want kids to touch any of the toxins (pesticides and wood preservatives). I put the completed Pirate Sandboat on the plywood, then traced a 2" perimeter line around the entire structure. Then using a circular saw, while holding the wood on a picnic table, cut out the previously traced "bottom."

Next, I purchased three packages of "2 in. Corner Braces, Galvanized 4-Pack", so a total of 12 all together to attach the new bottom to the boat. I first however used Thompson Water Seal on the underside and let it dry overnight. The next day I looked at the stress points that the sides of the pirate boat and used the Corner Braces to strategically secure the "new" bottom.

The result has been impressive, I don't have to worry about 4 kids in the Pirate Sandbox destroying or breaking anything. It is solid as a rock, and I anticipate it lasting many, many years.

My final project with the Pirate Sandbox is to use Helmsman Spar Urethane to protect the outer layer of all the wood surfaces. I had contemplated using silicone clear waterproof caulking around the new bottom, but after filling the sandbox part with 12 bags of Play Sand (about $4.50 per / bag), none leaked out, so I held off. I'd also suggest that you put one of the corner braces on the inside bottom of each seat to the center mast. I'll try post better pictures of all 12 bracket locations.

My 1 1/2 year old has not come out of the sandbox, and spends hours everyday playing in the sand and driving it all over the ocean with his imagination. I bought some plastic pirate swords, so his cousins can walk the plank and prevent any mutinies on board.

I'll Post the photo's today, and I'll try and post some of the video we shot of the kids playing in the near future. If you have any questions on the construction of the floor I'd be happy to answer them via email.

We are very picky when it comes to buying any kids toys for outside as they tend to look blaaah...
and are plain landscape spoilers... so when we saw this item we decided to give it a shot.
OH MY GOSH.. when it arrived and we opened the box and saw all the beautiful elements with
the gorgeous painted images and the canvas and all.. we could hardly wait for my husband to put it together..
it became a party.. who could to participated did, who could not watched patiently cheering up daddy.

It emerged from the planks and bolts in short time into a beautiful structure of a magnificent beauty.
We had very high expectancies as we are generally people with very expensive taste :) and super picky I may add.

When it was ready we all gasped. It was standing in front of us spreading magic like crazy.
Of course once kids got inside there was no way to pull them out of for what it seemed like 7 days :)

That was last spring, then the summer came.. then after sumer the fall came then the winter came and now it is Spring again.

The ship has been joy of the family for the whole year and witnessed ENDLESS parties and play-dates, scheduled and unscheduled as kids from the hood just would swarm and ask if they could play and since we are very friendly crowd we and our boat became talk of the block :) now we see 5 other homes having the exact boat as ours so it is soo funny..

Then again writing this review was so natural as I feel like I had to review this boat so many times for all whoever looks at this, it is definitely a conversation piece for adults.

I really had no idea that this will be such an amazing toy. Forget all the pictures, they don't come even close comes to conveying the beauty of it. It is just plain gorgeous. It looks fabulous on the grass next to any house. One of my neighbors set it on the deck and it is just as smashing looking there.

Now a year later my take on the condition of the boat:
- The cover did not fade almost any. Slightly a tinny bit but almost nothing.
- The flag looks like bought yesterday
- the paint and the wood holidng perfeclty - provided we did ZERO maintenance and we had major double snow storms of the century and it was covered with the snow one yeard over the canopy!!! when the snow melted I was wondering if there will be anyhthing left..

and it did do zero harm. There is slight weathering of the wood here and there but it is such a minimal and it is probably our fault anyways because the instruction said to seal it for winter with something but we really don't care I would like it to weather some to add some of the authentic ragged appearance of the pirate ship
so we are letting it go, besides for this price and this beauty I could buy one per year for how much it gave the joy and fun to everybody and it was center of 3 priate birthday parties in the family close and far..

we did not bother to cover it once.. the sand dries just right up after a rain and we don't care otherwise as kids have a kick to play in all kinds of sand wetness.. from total mud to complete dust.. they will
take buckets of water from home and pour and pour and pour some more to make a puddle in it and what a joy it is.. just need to hose them down subsequently :)

I have no words. I think this is the best outside toy and defenetely zero competition from any other sand box on the market. We did dig, trust me , we always dig and compare and view and read all the reviews and so this was very informed purchase yet we really were not ready to be beauty stunned by it.

Oh.. in all fairness.. the driving wheel faded after one year from red to orange but do you think it looks bad? on the contrary, we liked the red and I was watching it fading but now it faded and it looks just so darn cute again. I asked kids if I shoud order replacement and they screamed NOOOOOOOOO! so orange it is...
but mind this.. it sits in the full sun full draft and total rain all year round and s I think that it is perfectly build.

oh btw.. we had quite few super strong winds and storms here through a year and I was pretty sure before the first came that we can kiss our canopy goodbye..and then the winds were blowing neighbors chairs over the yeard
and the canopy did not move an inch! it is so solid.

Sand - it can take up to 400lbs (translates to 8 small bags :) of it or it can take as little as 200 lbs it is really only 4 little bags .. we started with little and we kept adding and adding and adding.. and it was fun at any amount. I would say you need some 4 bags to begin with they are 50 lbs each and at toysrus they run under 5 bucks each... you are totally cool with 6 bags and I woulds ay 8 of them would be almost too much, it would be for us ;)

It is very roomy, at some point we watched kids playing "let's see how many can fit in the boat" game
and I don't recommend it but they were smarter and older kids so they were pretty careful, but
it fit 12 of them but you could not tell them apart ha ha ha..

I would say on average we have 6 kids in it and another 2 in and out as they play
so total of 8 kids is always happily engaged in it and the smaller the kdis the more can get in or on
they like to swarm on it.. on the sides, on the benches and on the little side benches/shelves.

I titled this review the KID MAGNET and I can't imagine better word for it, it is total Kid Magnet.

Frankly it magnetized adults too as whenever we have parents over with kids parents like to sit nearby
and watch kids playing inside as there is something magical in it and it is beautiful thing to watch.

I totally recommend it.

We had set it up around Easter last year and that was perfect idea as we squized so much play time from it
through the year. we originally wanted to wait till summer but that played out much better. Kids just love to play in it so much and everybody knows how therapeutic the sand play is so.. what else to ask for?
I can watch them from outside or from the window as I do stuff at home and everybody happy.

I have very mixed reviews for this product. The product came with several broken pieces. The steering wheel was broken and my husband had to glue some of the wood pieces back together with wood glue. Since it was a Christmas gift we didn't have time to send it back for a replacement. Once put together, the sandbox is adorable. We ordered a replacement sandbox and simply replaced the steering wheel. My husband did not want to take it all apart to replace the wood pieces that were broken (Since it took about 3 hrs to put together in the first place). Only time will tell how durable it is going to be once outside in rain.

It is definitely a hit with the kids. My kids and their friends have so much fun on it. Because of this, I would recommend this product to others. I just hope it ends up being durable!

We love KidKraft products and didn't hesitate to order this one for our children. It's colorful, durable and was easy enough for one adult to assemble in less than 2 hours. There is enough sitting space in the sand area for our 4 year old and our 18 month old and I love that it is lined with plastic. It's big, but definitely not overwhelming - and goes great with our primary color playset.

My only complaint was that 2 pieces were damaged, 1 part was missing and the hardware box was completely cut openned when the sandbox arrived. Luckily I was able to sort out the screws and bolts and the missing/broken pieces did not prevent me from assembling the boat. I received 2 replacement parts 3 days after my online order and am confident the 3rd will arrive soon. If not, I'll call customer service and am sure they will help me.

It took us some good solid 2 months to decide on sandbox. We knew we wanted something with sun canopy and something with sand cover. We debated between this one and the gazebo type for a long while and then we saw them both at the local store, both set up and this one was mind blowing cute, the other was just okay. Some lady who was shopping for patio sets stopped by and she really convinced us not to go with the gazebo, she got one and she said that as much as it is nice looking one it traps heat under the fabric and the heat has nowhere to go and it is as hot as in the tent besides it is pretty boring for kids not having anything but being just a structure with a roof and zero storage. Also I was curious to hear that she wanted something with sand cover and then she said that if you don't have a dog that would pee into your sandbox then you should let go the cover.. even if you have a dog that pees he will still pee on the cover though :( yet.. cover does little good only traps moisture and it crates mildew issues
whereas having sand open let it air out and get cleaned by sun's Ultraviolet. Good point I think.
She said that she has a cover and ended up not using it as it became super smelly both. the cover and the sand.
It seem logical as our old box - we never covered that thing and it always was ready to go.. if it got wet from rain it was good next day anyways and if it had bit moisture the easier was to bulid the castle.. sort of like the sand on the beach.

So that was a great help. We went with the pirate ship and I don't think we will ever look back. I have really no
It is just amazing. Other people specified features and they are listed here so I don't want to waste your time on that but just wanted to share general amazement of this item. I don't think I was ever more proud to own
a backyard toy. It is really an art piece as someone said before. We took bazzylion pictures and each and everyone is a Hallmark moment with it. It is amazing how beautiful it is. I am sure our kids will never forget it.

I think if I were kid this is the boat I would buy for myself :) It is just so darn cute and when our kids play in it and put their pirate hats on and their swords then they just really feel like real deal..
it is like story tale boat, total fantasy.

Someone should get some sort of something for designing it. Bravo!!!!

and P.S.. the canopy does protect from the sun but indeed does not trap the air as there are no sides of any kind
and the air flows freely. and also..storage!!! yes.. no more headache where to put all those little buckets..shovels and alikes.. there is TONS of storage!

With 2 boys under 2 I solicited the help of my dad in putting together this sandbox. He's the go to guy for these types of things as he's Mr. Fix It/Build It/Fabricate It. The ship was put together in a couple of hours and he gave me a 5 star review on its construction. He said, "The design on this thing is very sturdy. As thin as the boards are, it's not going to come apart ever. The people that designed this (product) did an excellent job!"

The look on my 2 year old's eyes when he saw his new sandbox confirmed that I purchased the best product!

I purchased this sandbox a year ago, so I have seen it withstand all seasons. We live in Illinois, so has seen some strong winters (almost completely covered in snow at one point). I must say that it is very lovely, and we have had many complements on it. There are a few things though that you should be aware of before purchasing:

1. The net cover is a waste. It ends up stretching out so eventually it sags down and leaves and such end up getting in through the sides. Not worth it. Plus, the snaps that come with the set rust, and leave rust streaks running down the wood. I ended up removing the snaps and forgetting about the cover.

2. The steering wheel fades to orange, but it doesn't look bad when it does.

3. You will need to maintain the sandbox, meaning staining it and repainting the red and blue parts. It does fade, and the paint on the color parts cracks and peels with harsh weather. If you live somewhere with four distinct seasons, you're going to have to do this to keep it vibrant.

Knowing these things now, I would still buy it. It is a great size and I have had up to six kids playing in there at one time ranging from 18 mo to 5 yrs. Kids love it and it does look great as long as you maintain it.

Some of the other sandboxes I have seen where absolute pieces of junk. Most are plastic garbage that fall apart if you look at them wrong. To pay a bit more and have a nice solid screwed together wood is perfect.

Only negative is it has no bottom, so you will need to put a piece of plywood underneath to elevate it. This will keep it from rotting out also.

It is exactly three years almost to the date when we have purchased this box and have it set up outside.
It gave three most magical years of play for my little daughter that I will never forget. All the pictures and all the fun she had and still has.
So.. what you might want to know..
It came first with couple of planks broken, I don't take it personally because
for one, it is HUGE and HEAVY box so this can happen in transportation. It came via FEdex and so despite the care some delicate part can get broken. Bear in mind it is REAL wood!!!
Now bright side - one call to the manufacturer fixed the issue, they delivered the broken parts FREEE and via FEDEX as well in no time. This is only a little problem if you order it by certain date so if something comes broken then you got delay. Anyway even with broken part it was fully functional, broke part was purely decorative.

My husband set it up within one hour or so. I wanted to do that but I think it is bit tricky at points and more manly job, however he had no difficulty doing it as instructions were clear.

We have set it up on the deck so naturally I was bit concerned about performance and the sand issues and all that.

So.. we got our sand once and I wanted to exchange it yearly and guess what, we did not. I figured that our sand even with age is healthier than new one as sand comes with all new dust in it that is not too healthy when you read about play sand, old is actually better then new. So one sand - 7 bags of it lasted the whole 3 years. we have never issue of refilling it.

Now the bottom, the boat comes without bottom per se and only with very strong industrial type black foil liner. It was totally good enough for us, it had drainage holes in it so it let the water to get out.

I did not mind rain water getting into it. Why would I? Afer heavy downpooor we would have a half foot of flood inside but it was never a problem as it drained quickly without taking any sand with it. Originally I planned to build the bottom and a cover for the sand and now I totally feel it would be overkill. The bottom woud rot, the cover would keep spiders and mold inside
and this was very natural washing and drying self cleaning process.

I used to be concerned about bird poops.. neever an issue. We have never had any problem as birds really can't do any such a stunt as flying at low angle and poop shoot into the box.

Anyways, the roof was great protection from the sun, however in the top sun I would not let her sit inside as no matter what since you have no fan in this contrapiton the hot air will accumlate and make it unbearable and kid can overheat. So I would say untill some 89 or so you don't have a problem but we live in the area where summer can be more brutal than that and way humid so that is a problem.. so solution was wait out the noon and high sun hours... or if you put it in the shade.. we did not, and it was not a problem.

The condition after three years: we didnot do any conservation or perservation so the wood got darkened and dried a bit as you would expect, the sail roof faded slightly but not terribly, the wheel did fade to orange,
and the stickers with pictures are still there slightly faded but still fine.

I plan to just paint it with wood paint red or something and it will go back to life again.

It is a great toy and I highly reocommend it. I was bit thorn between this and other models but this is just so much more fun then other boring strutures out there. I think that it was best choice for us as the sail is very strongly attached so no s trong hurricanes even could as much as touch it. We had few.
The other out there have lowering tops, overkill from my perspective. and so much less fun. The gazeeboo.. maybe but still less fun.
The boat was really imagination kicker. Kids loved it, whoever came, loved it, we loved it. Looks like million bucks on our pictures.

It is totally a keeper, once we are done, we will give it to someone in the family as it seem to have lots of years in it. I might order new sail and maybe new post for it just on the safe side before giving it away but totally love love love love boat.

We bought this thinking it would last and last because it was larger and built with wood as compared to a cheapo plastic sand box. I'm very disappointed with how quickly the top canvas and paint faded and how the wood has broken down. We did not have any broken pieces and it put together easily, however, after 1 years worth of time the wood is nearly totally rotted out. We moved it because weeds were growing up through the tarp bottom and so I started with fresh sand and when we moved it realized that the wood was completely rotted and it was a delicate process to put it somewhere else. It nearly fell apart completely. If you are spending this much money on a product I'd expect it to last 3-5+ years!