Putt-putt boat photo

Instructions to Build a Putt-Putt Boat

Introduction

Putt putt boats were one of the most popular childrens toys earlier this century. They are made of tin plate and a small piece of brass shim. Basically you start with a boat which you make out of tin. It is powered by a special stove made of tin. The stove is like a flat saucepan around 25 mm square and 5 mm high. Two tin pipes come out of the back of the stove, poke through the rear of the boat and 5 mm into the water. They must be under the surface of the water. The pipes are soldered into the boat hull so that the boat does not leak and so that the stove is supported off the floor of the hull. Then a piece of brass shim is soldered to the top of the stove, which seals the stove up. The boat is run by first filling the stove with water and then putting a small candle beneath it. The candle heats the water in the stove which makes the brass shim buckle. The shim pops up sucking water in through the pipes, then cools and buckles back down, expelling the water again. The shim buckles about 10 times per second and this propels the boat. It makes a bit of a racket which is part of the fun. Some boats would have a turret resting on top of the brass shim with the guns pointing through holes in a canopy. The buckling shim would make the turret bounce around as if the guns were firing.

One of the reasons putt putt boats were so popular in the past is that they cost so little. A friend tells me that they sell in India for about 20 cents. If you can't wait for me to write the instructions to build one then try looking for one to buy at hobby shops and specialist toy stores. Dave Johnson wrote to say where they can be bought.

As I think I mentioned a while ago, they have them for sale at my local hobby shop for $6, so I bought one a while back. I finally got around to trying it yesterday, and it's amazing! This is quite simply one of the coolest toys I've ever seen! (Ahem, next to water rockets, of course.) *Highly* recommended, whether you build or buy one. The company that's importing them from India is called Grahamco Trading, 800-770-4090. Check 'em out.

What You Will Need

How To Build It


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Last modified: Thu May 14 09:03:32 1998
©  Malcolm Goris   <mgoris@nfra.nl>