Category: Putt Putt Boat

Dr. Guus Flogel: A Boat Enthusiast in the Netherlands

Note: This article was originally published in January 2005.

Dr. Flogel is famous for his conversions of Dutch wooden shoes into pop pop boats!

The following letters and pictures were sent to me when we were first corresponding and just getting to know each other. I have reprinted the letters as it was, since they convey wonderful European charm. Further down the page see his Dutch wooden shoe boat and his (tongue-in-cheek) explanation! Dr. Flogel has become a great friend--actually visiting my home in Pennsylvania and coming into my school for two whole days and teaching. My students and I had a wonderful time!

Dear Slater,

Thank you for your answer. I do not have a picture of my pop pop boat at the moment, but this time I will try to send you one of my antique tugboat. In fact it isn't only a boat for tugging, but mainly for pushing. In our language the are called 'opdrukker'. Is there a name for it in your language? Probably not, because in the literature I found these little boats were developed and used only-in the northern part of Holland in the period 1920-1930. In that time the cargo ships were almost all sailing vessels. They experienced heavy competition by the first generation of motor driven cargo ships. After a lot of failing attempts to find an answer to this threat, finally these boat proved to be the adequate answer. They boats were approximately 6 m long. They were simply attached with ropes to the stern-post of the cargo vessel in case of no wind or the impassability to head against the wind. They operated unmanned. They were handled from the the cargo vessel by ropes. Nowadays these boat are of course not used any longer for there original purpose, but those remaining after all these years are all in hands of fans or museums who are restoring them and using them for fun. In the beginning, the boats were powered by an old automobile engine. Later, when the building became more professional, by a diesel engine. Most boat are looking more or less like the little boat on your web site. They gave a disproportionately high deck-house. My boat however, was built as an open boat. Some years later they covered the engine as you will see on the picture by a very low deck. The engine is a 1 cylinder two stroke diesel. Normally, the combustion by a diesel is caused by the high compression in the cylinder head when the piston moves upward. This engine is a predecessor of the diesel as we know it nowadays, but the compression of this old type is very low. To start the engine the owner had to heat the cylinder head with a blowtorch for --depending on the temperature-- around approx. 7 minutes. Then he had to turn vigorously the huge flywheel in the reverse direction.By this action it was impossible to pass the compression, so he had to release it Then the flywheel was pushes back like a spring by the compression caused by his action and with a certain amount of luck, the engine started to run.
The sonority of the sound of the engine is beautiful and from far people know it that I am coming, long before they can see me. The funny thing is that the frequency of the diesel has a range between 120- 400 rev./min. I bought the boat 13 year ago. She was in a desolate condition. It to several years to restore her. There is a association of tugboat and push boat owners in our country. Each year we see each other at the national meeting somewhere in the country. In 2001 my boat became the 'opdrukker of the year', a prize for the best restored specimen.

Best wishes, Guus Flogel.


He added this note and a picture of a really well-made pop pop boat.

Dear Slater,

Hereby, it's OK with me if you want to use the pictures of my antique tugboat or recently made boat on your site.
Hereby I send you an example of one of my replicas of your design.

Next year May is again the yearly meeting of the National Dutch Tugboat Society (more than 225 members) These meetings last 3 full days and are very popular. Mostly the are at least 200 big tugboats and approx. 20 tugboats of my size. Each year we welcome thousands of visitors. I have joined this meetings at least 5 or 6 times. This year I have the intention to take a couple pop pop boats with me and an inflatable bathtub for children to give demonstrations for the members and the public. I am almost sure that this will attract a lot of interested people. Probably this will lead to a club of pop pop boat fans. I will let you know by that time what happened.

Sincerely yours, Guus Flogel.

Here is the latest from Dr. Flogel: a Dutch wooden shoe powered by a pop pop engine!

Hi Slater,

Hereby I send you the promised pictures of my typical Dutch sailing wooden shoe. Some of them are driven by a pop pop engine of your design, some have the good old spiral engine*. I used the spiral engine because it is rather difficult to build an engine in a wooden shoe. So I tried this because they seemed very reliable to me. No risk of a burn-out. So I took the disadvantage of much less power from them.To my surprise the speed of the spiral engines driven boats is comparable the wooden shoe's with a pop pop engine. The vessels are of course not as hot-tempered as our small light-weight boats. They move resolute but majestic trough the water. They need more heat however than the pop pop engines. A candle doesn't work. I use an alcohol burner with a wick of almost 2 mm. diameter. The alcohol tank contents 5 - 6 cc alcohol. That is enough for 3/4 to 1 one hour running.

In contrary to the pop engines, spiral engines lack the sound of an old fashioned diesel engine. They are completely noiseless.
I like the sound of pop pop boat, but the mysterious silence of the spiral engine has unmistakable his charms. Did you ever make a trip on a real steamboat? It's impressive. The boat moves trough the water like any other boat, but you can hear from the engine absolutely nothing!
It is the experience of the quite, past times of the beginning of the 20th century.

My best wishes, Guus

*the pipe has a diameter of 3 mm . The spiral has a diameter of apporox. 11/2 cm. I tried engines with 3,4 or 5 spirals. The one with three performed better than the others.

Finally, this tongue-in-cheek solution to global warming!

Dear Slater,

The legend of this picture is:. The inventor is testing the seaworthiness of the steam shoe. This picture was placed by an article I wrote over the danger of the steady rise of the sea level as the result of the greenhouse effect, with the risk that 50% of the country will be inundated in the future. As you probably know 1/2 of our country lays 5-6 m below sea level. And some experts say the defense of our dikes and dunes are insufficient in the future.

To save the people of our country I advised to produce millions of wooden shoes, who are, in contrary to leather shoes, absolutely waterproof. In the forepart of each shoe a little pop pop engine has to be fitted. In this way you get the double power and beside dry, the feet are kept warm by the candle . In the future every Dutchman will become so to say a human catamaran. Walking will be unnecessary. Light your the candles and the only thing you have to do is to steer with your feet. This was my main theme during our demonstrations on the National tugboat festival. Most people were amused, but some took it seriously!

As I told you, your boats, as well as Jeff's engines were demonstrated. Lots of people were interested in your engine and boat design. As I expected this I had an instruction papers available how to go to your site and a suggestion to come to the festival next year with self-made pop pop boats. I am curious if you will get response.

With kind regard, Guus

The French Pop Pop Connection

(Note: This article was originally published in May 2006)
In the 1991 I heard about an international association of pop-pop boat enthusiasts based in France. I wrote a letter expressing interest and described my efforts to create an engine design that was easy to make. A few weeks later I received 3 journals entirely devoted to pop pop boats and a note of encouragement from Professor Jean Le Bot. Even though I don't read or speak French, the journals were amazing. I treasure them to this day and it provided a lot of inspiration to me.

Professor Le Bot
Professor Le Bot with some of his marine model test equipment.
 

More than a decade had passed when I finally had a good design to share. Alas, Professor Le Bot was elderly by then and the association had become inactive. However, I am fortunate to know another French man who is carrying the torch. He is Jean-Yves, an early-retired marine engineer who is still very active experimenting with pop pops. He is developing apparatus that measures the thrust of various pop pop engine designs, and with that he can calculate total engine efficiency. His English is excellent. Here is a wonderful write-up with pictures of a visit Jean-Yves had with Professor Le Bot. Here is an interesting article he wrote about making a pop pop engine. And here is a really well done article about pop pop engine efficiency.

Jean-Yevs' Links and more

Although it is written in French, I encourage you to check out the this extraordinary web site eclecticspace.net. (Note: Now the site has an English language option)If you type "eclecticspace.net" into Google, it will offer to translate the page, and it will continue to translate the linked pages. There is a section about pop pop boats, and within that, a section by Jean-Yves. It is my understanding that there is a plan to reprint updated parts of the classic journals mentioned above in the eclecticspace pages--something you might encourage him to do.

Here is a link to a clever PowerPoint holiday card which notes a French saying about not making a ship from an iron...then he precedes to do just that.
Here is a link to a Word document with more activities and pictures.

My family had a wonderful visit from Jean-Yves and his wife in the summer of 2006. It was fun to meet after years of e-mailing!

Jeff Bindon

Sadly Dr. Jeff Bindon passed away in Oct 15th 2016. I miss him.

(Note: This article was originally published on October 2004.)

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN PUTT PUTT ENGINES

It was a great honor to have Dr. Bindon as a guest teacher to the middle school in Pennsylvania where I teach. He is seen here showing some of my students a turbine steam car he has developed as a kit. Picture courtesy of reporter Becky Lock and the Williamsport Sun Gazette Newspaper.

I have always enjoyed reading about the great scientists and inventors. Through combinations of observation, intelligence, hard work and serendipity their stories are as exciting as any fiction. Better still, I've gotten to know a man who is making giant strides in putt putt engine innovation and understanding. His is a great story in the making--right now.

He is Dr. Jeff Bindon, a "retired" South African engineer and educator who is still working with his university to develop ingenious science/technology kits for young people. They range from simple folk toys to a steam turbine-powered car from a soda can that can be modified to pump water--with just scissors and pliers needed for construction!

Dr. Bindon turned his attention to putt putt boats and created a see-into engine with the use of clear overhead projector film, which withstands high temperature. The design uses contact cement and a sheet metal clamp arrangement to make the seal. Contrary to what I expected, the film does not fog up. Through the clear parts at the pipes and at the hottest part of the boiler you can see exactly what is going on inside the engine!

That was just the start of it. He set out to find out why some engines--even those without leaks--go dry and stop working. This is known as "burn out." It is very frustrating and mysterious.

Dr. Bindon observed a bubble of air emerging every few minutes from good engines. That led him to hypothesize that air dissolved in water circulating into the engine was coming out of solution when heated. That released air goes to the highest part of the engine, replacing the water and eventually causing the "burn out." Then, through a series of common sense experiments and observations, he has made a compelling case that a successful engine--one that keeps going without burning out--burps out the extra air!

You can read about this and more in his excellent article in MODEL ENGINEER, February 6, 2004.

Giant Putt Putt/Pop Pop Boats

(Note: As of March 2017, Yahoo Group mentioned below is no longer active. You still can read past conversations.)

Many of my middle school students–after making a putt putt boat–tell me they want to make a giant one that they can ride in. Unfortunately, this is an engineering problem that has never been solved, and some very smart people have tried. So, this old boat rebuilt by a friend in the Netherlands does not have a putt-putt engine, but it does have all the feel the pop pop enthusiasts share

So You Want to Build a Giant Pop Pop / Putt Putt Boat?

Before delving into scaling up the engines, I insist that you learn a new word: serendipity. Serendipity means we go looking for one thing, and perhaps we don’t find exactly that thing. But—if our minds are flexible enough to be open to it—we find something as good or better in the process of looking.

OK, many intelligent, curious people have wondered, “If pop pop boats are this cool, how cool would it be to make a person-sized pop pop boat?!” In fact, the idea has even seeped into popular culture. In the children’s animated movie Ponyo, the young heroes use magic to transform a toy putt putt boat into a big boat and ride in it.

Alas, those of us who are lacking in magical powers have to grapple with the persnickety laws of nature.

My friend David Halfpenny from England has some interesting things to say about the difficulty and hope of scaling up in general: I quote,

“There's a critical size for everything in nature. That's why you'll never see a moth as big as a dog - the insect respiration system just can't get enough oxygen.”

“There's an old joke that goes:‘According the laws of aerodynamics, a bumblebee cannot fly. Fortunately nobody has told the bee.’ Well actually, bees cannot fly, not like a bird or a plane - they 'swim' through the air, which, at their small size and low weight, is much stickier than it is to us. Or a bird. Or a dog. So that means there must be a crossover between Insect Size 'lungs' and Dog Size lungs, and sure enough you can get a beetle as big as a mouse.”

“In a wind tunnel (used to simulate aircraft flight), the airspeed isn't scaled in the same ratio as the aircraft model size. In an oil tunnel (used to understand insect-sized flight), the fact that oil has to be used instead of air speaks volumes about what it's like to be an insect.”

“It means there must be a crossover between Gnat Flight and The Flight of the Condor, and sure enough there is the Humming Bird - a bird so small it can swim though air as well as glide, and so skilled it can hover.”

Then my friend Jean-Yves Renaud from France adds some specifics:

Building a half meter engine should not be a problem. My bigger one (just to check that there is no limit) was approx 3m long. However, I must warn you about the performances. When the size of the engine increases, its thrust/weight or power/volume ratios decrease. In other words, for the same weight two small engines are better than a big one. The thrust doesn't increase much with the pipe ID though the weight does as well as the volume. The velocity of the jet decreases when the size of the engine increases. Multiple pipe engines and or multiple engines are to be preferred if performances (speed and thrust) are expected.

Jean-Yves has also measured the efficiency of pop pop engines and found them wanting. And he notes that pop pops do not reverse, and questions how long the appeal of being shaken back and forth several times a second will remain amusing. Oops, pop pop forum member

From Canada, my friend Daryl Foster has created some extraordinary engines with many pipes.

Look half a minute into this video and see the new world record holder for speed. Even veteran pop pop builders are amazed. How big a boat could that engine push?

So, at top of the page, what was all that about serendipity—discovering things while looking for something else?

All these friends I’ve quoted, and dozens more in various degrees of activity, are members of an informal e-mail group of pop pop enthusiasts scattered around the world. Despite the fact that I have only met one of the members in person, I do mean friends. We share a common bond. These charming boats have tickled our imagination we’re all and curious about what are the possibilities? There’s the serendipity. If you’ve come to this page you might not have found an easy answer the question of scale, but you have discovered a community of people who are finding out.

I rarely participate, but I get the e-mails automatically and I stay abreast of what’s going on. Sometimes the chatter is about a new discovery, sometimes there’s a contentious issue, sometimes there’s humor, sometimes the group goes into hibernation, sometimes the topics go careening delightfully off topic, and sometimes we welcome new members. So consider joining. It’s a Yahoo group that you have to join, but it’s free, and—other than being hosted by Yahoo for administrative convenience—non-commercial. As you might expect, there’s great archived threads and pictures.

P.S. Frank reminded me that Pop-pops member Richard Jenkins has demonstrated the possibility for using a remotely controlled Kitchen rudder to provide forward and reverse steering for a pop-pop boat.
Below is the video of boat that backs up before improvised substitute is removed.

And it was pointed out that--although Daryl might have the fastest pop pop--Matt Naiva and his son Willam built an awfully fast aluminum engine pop pop.

And that's without more than two pipes!

Pop Pop Boat Gallery

What other people around the world are doing (and add yours if you send a picture).

New, A Solar Powered Pop Pop Boat: Georges Quénot!

My first reaction--because there's so much hoax material on Youtube--was that maybe there's a little candle under the boiler, blocked from view. But looking at other videos on his channel it's pretty clear that this French experimenter is the real deal: a dedicated experimenter.
I have to admit I have a tinge of, "I wish I'd thought of that!"

I was made aware of this and so many other interesting things by Mark, who runs the YouTube channel Resonanttheme. Mark makes the most extrordinary little thermo-kinetic machines--mostly "jumpers" and "rockers". So creative and made from inexpensive consumer products that have absolutly nothing to do with engines, and yet they work!

Paul D.

Pop pop engines with with a single pipe offer particular challenges--particularly getting the water in-- but Paul D. has gotten it to work. Paul reports that, "...the boiler was made from two soldered-together jar lids, in which I soldered a single 4mm copper tube.Since the jar lids are quite large, a candle doesn't provide enough heat. So I use alcohol gel to "sail" this pop-pop. I prime the boiler with a syringe.

Robert from Austraria

Almost all putt putt boats have 2 outlet pipes, but Rob of Brisbane Australia found a rare, single pipe design. I wondered if filling the boiler could be a problem, but Rob wrote,

"I fill the boiler by inserting a length of small diameter nylex tubing down inside the outlet tube, and then run water into the metal tube. The inner nylex then acts as an air release bleeder tube and the boiler fills up. The first expulsions of water and steam seem to push out whatever is excess, and the remainder commences to pulse in the usual Put-put manner. "

Rob replaced the missing cabin and repaired the leaky boiler. We would both like to know more about singe-pipe pop pops! Click on the images for larger view.

Gabriel and his daughter from California

Gabriel from California sent me this wonderful picture of his daughter and her science fair project about pop pop boats. Below, in the tub, you can see the simple foam boat. .

Louisa, Evie and Rachel from England

Louisa wrote from England and told me about making putt putt boats with her friends Evie and Rachel. The first engine did not putt, but they were determined to make a working boat. Putt putt boats are challenging and can be frustrating. But for those who are willing work through the problems—and build another if the first doesn’t work—success is sweet. Loisa wrote, "Just 15 minutes ago our boat successfully did 4 laps of my bath before we accidentally blew the candle out with our cheering!"

Young people who do not give up are the ones who make the world a better place. Hats off to these friends who had the grit to rebuild until it worked!

Gina Thompson’s 8th grade classes from California

Sometimes I get so wound up with technical details that I forget to have fun, but Gina Thompson’s 8th grade classes in California obviously had fun. Nearly 70 students designed the boats as well as making the engines. People sometimes have trouble sealing where the straws go through the bottom of the boat and into the water. But here her students show great ingenuity, obviating the need for a perfect seal by engineering catamaran pontoon boats. And with such creativity and class!

Melissa Draper from Utah

Melissa Draper in Utah belongs to a home-school co-op, “just a group of homeschool families who get together so their youth can have some good interaction with others and have a chance to learn something from someone besides mom.” She believes that hands-on learning is important, and acts on it with the group of kids whom she works with.

I usually discourage people from using tea candles—not enough heat—but their boat is obviously running just fine. Melissa even made the hull from some tall aluminum cans her husband emptied, epoxied together; although she allows that cartons are safer for kids. Turns out she is a fiber artist, too.

One of the most fun parts of my website hobby is hearing from people and families who make science projects!

Deanne Bishop and her Students from Nebraska

Deanne Bishop in Nebraska is another great teacher who challenges her high school students to create hands-on projects that harness science. Here her students made a double engine boat that works well. I don't know if it goes faster, but I suspect that it pulls more than a single engine boat would.

Mike Lampert's 9th grade students

Oregon teacher Mike Lampert's 9th grade students make putt putt boats as part of a way to introduce energy concepts in a hands-on way. This student noticed the soot from the candle (caused by incomplete burning when the flame is close) on the bottom of the steam engine and developed an aluminum sleeve. I like this: how some go to the extra work of providing hands-on learning experiences for their students; and students who look beyond what the assignmen requirest. I think this young person has a bright future.

There's more work, more setup, potentially more mess for teachers who expose thier students hands-on projects like this. I hope that students and administrators appreciate the teachers who rise to this challeng rather than just teach to standardized tests.

Geert-Jan and His Son from Netherlands

   

Geert-Jan in the Netherlands was looking for a cool project to do at his son's birthday party. Soon he was hooked, making amazing variations. "This is worse then smoking I can not stop (don't worry I don't smoke)." I think he was joking; anyhow, we agreed that it's a nice state of mind. Sometimes my thinking goes a bit rigid. I don't like "tea candles" (first picture) because they don't deliver enough heat, but Geert-Jan added another wick. Geert-Jan liked the sound of boats with up to 4 engines. You can see more boats, his rudder system, etc.(and the cool kids events he holds) here or click a picture. I think the boat with the Canadian flag is a shout out to Daryl Foster, whom we all admire.

Frederico Quintiero from Argentina

Speaking of being hooked, Frederico Quintiero of Argentina sent this picture of his experiments. I know just how it is, almost a fever that consumes! Frederico's picture reminds me of when I was in my innovation mode, engines appeared all over the house. The 5 minute epoxy adhesive used for the engines sets faster when it is warm. So I put the engines on top of the warm rice cooker, to my wife's dismay. Ah, good times!

Daniel Meltzer and His Son

Daniel Meltzer of New York City wrote, " My family and I were watching "Ponyo" two nights ago, and marvelling over their candle-powered boat. None of us had ever seen a contraption like this, but we could tell that it was based on something real, not Ponyo's magic. So I googled 'Ponyo's boat'and I found your website." Daniel built it with his 6 year old son and below is the bathtub test.

Diego Torres

Diego Torres in Mexico built this boat with his 8 years old daughter, below. He has uploaded some cool kite videos on his channel, too.

John Carr from UK

Hi, Just emailing to say thanks for the instructions, I made the engine and it worked first time (after I fixed a leak during the pressure test). Great job. Decided to go for a catamaran style as I had some foam board laying around, a bit of hot glue and an elastic band and the boat is up and running. Worked fine with a tea light as well, birthday candle probably had more power but the tealight is less hassle to keep in position.Thanks again,

John Carr
Newcastle UK

Zhiyang TEH

Here's a double engine boat by Zhiyang TEH

Huu Thang from Vietnam

Huu Thang is a 16 year old student inVietnam who started making putt putt boats for school competion. This boat is loud and powerful.

Jill G

     

Jill G., a home schooler, and son Leo got theirs working on the first try. They wanted to know more about how it works--simultaniously ejecting water while being replenished. I've added so many rambling odds and ends to these pages that navigation is difficult, but I do have a page that attempts to explain a bit about how the cycle works here.

 Amal Abdo, Faris and Basel from Saudi Arabia

Dear Mr. Sharrison,
First of all, thank you for this WONDERFUL website and the very clear presentations and instructions that you provide.
I am from Saudi Arabia and I have two boys: Faris 6 and Basel 3. My son Faris is the little scientist in our family. He loves science and really enjoys making projects himself.
We worked on the pop pop steam boat project for a school presentation that Faris had last school semester. We made two engines and two boats (we had to make one for the 3 year old Basel too!). We started by the foam boat and then made the 3D one. Our boats worked perfectly from the first try and that was VERY exciting to all of us. Most importantly, the kids enjoyed working on this project so much and we enjoyed making it with them too :).
Attached are some pictures and a video of the project.Thanks again!!

Best Regards,
Amal Abdo (Faris and Basel's Mother).

Jimmy Conner

Jimmy Conner has been experimenting with putt putt boats and converted one of his hulls to a functioning sail boat. He's also flying walkalong gliders--a bit hit at school--and modifying the talk box. Jimmy has has some interesting videos on his YouTube channel of train models that are powered by live steam and you can really ride them.

Hieu Tran Trung from Vietnam

Hieu Tran Trung from Vietnam innovated a simple milk box for the hull and a plastic lid for the candle holder.

Troy Black

Here is a well-built boat from Troy Black, who is an avid RC plane builder and sometimes tinkers with RC boats. " This was a nice diversion from the more complex models I usually build and operate and my wife even thought it was "so cute".  She never says that about the model airplanes I build."

And following is a cautionary tale from Troy about a drawback of boating on a large pond. "On the last run of the day, the boiler tubes lost their prime in the middle of the pond.  It was too far out to retrieve it quickly so I was unable to blow out the candle flame.  It continued to heat up, eventually burning the epoxy and setting the cabin on fire.  I think the Krylon paint added to the flammability and it became an inferno for about 5 minutes while slowly drifting to

Alex Haw

    

Here is a boat made by Alex Haws, themed after Forrest Gump's shrimp boat, with a candle holder variation.

James Hefner from Texas

James Hefner of Texas has been around "live steam" for awhile but liked the idea of making a steam engine with stuff around the home and no soldering. "My son made one for his science project at school. The candle shifted and slightly scorched the roof; but the end result came out fine. He got a 100 for his project, and his was one of three picked to go to a science fair in Dallas.  So, it was a big hit."

Alex from Texas

    

Here is another Alex, from Texas, who reported that the boat was so loud his mother could heard it from inside. He's been flying the gliders, and his next project is the hot air balloon.

Matt Naiva and his son William

Here's a picture and video sent by Matt Naiva and his son William. Their boat really moves fast!

Adam and his dad from England

Here is a picture that Adam and his dad, from England, made. Notice the tire that's been cut in half and filled with water. Great idea! And is that an air rocket launcher I see in the back?

 Alba and Rocío from Spain

Here is a note and picture of a boat made by some young people in Spain.

Hello. Nice to meet you.
We are two girls, Alba and Rocío, we live in Barcelona (Spain). We are 14 year old and we are studying the put-putt boats for a job in Secondary school.
We liked very much to see your Web. The first thing is to thank you your explication since to do the boat. We have made the boat and enough good works to us. We send a video and photos for you can see it and since it has left to us.

Erin Kermanikian and her son William

Erin Kermanikian and her son William worked on their boat in little bits after school and work, with William doing as much as he could safely. Now they are thinking about making the boat part out of wood.

Dan Everette and Dan Jr

Here is a letter and some pictures from Dan Everette and Dan Jr.

     

Dear Slater:

We did get the engine properly assembled on the first try and have had several good runs with the "putt putt". After a few good experiments in the bath tub we took it out to a local park and tried it in a pond. I have attached 2 photo's for you to enjoy.

Mark Horovitz

Here is a beautiful coil-type pop pop by Mark Horovitz. You can find Mark's instructions here.

Miguel in Madrid

Here is a tin version of the boat by Miguel in Madrid. He also made a rudder.

M.Lemaitre Michel from Belgium

Here is a YouTube video by M.Lemaitre Michel who is a teacher in Belgium, of a pop pop in a pond. Unfortunately, he reports that boat was lost. However, he said that he has others to replace it!

Illinois kindergarten teacher Gail and her husband

Here is a boat made by Illinois kindergarten teacher Gail and her accountant husband for a 4th of July party.

Derek and son Mikey Cook

Here is a picture as well as a video from dad Derek and son Mikey Cook. The video is mostly slides, but there is some kinetic video at the testing phase.

Tony in Victoria, Australia

Here's another tin hull from Tony in Victoria, Australia. His region is deep in drought--ponds are dried up, even pools can't be filled--so he faced some challenges testing it. Tony told me his 93 year old father in England made some sort of pop pop from lead electrical sheathing. I'm hoping to get some details from him.

Ashton and his dad Grant from England

Below is a boat made in 3 evenings by 11 year old Ashton and his dad Grant, in England. Note the modified hull design, the re-formed paper clip in the back to hold the boiler to the right tilt and the "tea candle" burner.

    

Clifford and his son

And below is a picture of Clifford and his son's boat with an interesting foam body. Clifford says he plans to experiment with flexible tubes rather than straws.

Alan Raubenheimer of Rose Boats

Here is a picture of a fine boat crafted and sent to me by Mr. Alan Raubenheimer of Rose Boats, PO Box 217, Napier 7270, South Africa.

John Green of Capetown, South Africa

And here is some fine craftsmanship from John Green of Capetown, South Africa. He relates that he nearly bought a Rose boat (above) and now wishes that he had.

Pop Pop Updates and Innovations

Here are some tips to make better boats.

Candle holders

Two people have sent in brilliant alternatives to the candle holder in the video.

Mark Quinn’s design uses leftover aluminum from the can. His words verbatim below the pictures:


Hi. I have been building a putt putt boat from the instructions on your web site with my niece and I came up with a quick and easy candle holder for the engine.

Back in part 8 (step 5) a template was placed on the folded aluminum and used to trim it.  This cuts off two strips of aluminum, one used later to work epoxy into the engine, and a spare scrap.  The spare scrap I had was almost an inch wide (24 mm actually).

I had to straighten the strip, because it was part of a round can.  I did this easily by pinching the strip between my thumb and forefinger and sliding them down the length of the strip a couple of times, being careful not to cut myself with the edge.

About a quarter inch from the end of the strip I cut in from the sides, leaving about a little less than a quarter inch of metal in the middle.

Then I folded the strip up where I had cut it 90°.

The cuts create two flaps.  All I had to do was curl them back to form a cup.  I curled the flaps into a circle smaller than the size of the candle.  This allowed the metal to grip the candle slightly.  The flaps do not need to form a full circle to hold the candle.

Give this a try and see how it works.  I hope this is useful to you.

 

An Oil Burner

The first boats I saw in Bangladesh had little oil lamps that buned vegetable oil. Dustin came up with a great DIY design. Even his introduction is clear, so I’ll just hand it over to him.

 

A Three Dimensional Styrofoam Hull

 

   

John Neyberg sent me these pictures of a 3D foam hulll. Foam can also be cut with electrically heated nichrome wire. The steps in his own words:

1) I came up with the hall design by using the print out hull for the flat Styrofoam plan from https://sciencetoymaker.org/ and taping it to a 2″ piece of construction insulation board.
2) I ruff cut the outside of the hall and sanded it by taking a 60 grit piece of sand paper down to my table to smooth it out.
3) When I got real close I changed to 100 grit to get a nice smooth finish. Then rounded the corners by holding the sand paper in my hand and curling it to the shape I wanted.(I suggest leaving the bottom flat for stability.)
4) For the inside edge I used a sharpie felt tip and carefully using the out side edge as a guide with my finger I drew a line around the top edge about 1/2″ from the edge. (note the ink will have a chemical reaction with the Styrofoam and cause it to melt a little so you have to be real careful where you put it.)
5) The inside is a little tricky. A dremel helps if you got one I used a small routing bit to ruff cut the outline on the inside.(You can do it with a straight edge razor if your careful.)
6) Then to hollow it out I used a straight edge and cut lines front to back and side to side and dug the unwanted material out with my thumb nail being careful not to get to close to the lines or the outside and bottom.
7) I took my 60 grit and smoothed the inside down to about 1/4″
8) Then I used two 1/2 ounce lead fishing sinkers to add weight one in the bow and one in the stern hot gluing them with the boat in the water to get perfect balance.
9) Then I cut the hole in the bottom where the plan shows by aligning it up with the stern of the boat.
10) I hot glued the boiler straws to the bottom with a couple of drops in front and back.(rubber bands work too)
11) I made the candle holder out of a can and cut and bent it to make a rudder that hangs over the stern.
12) Then using the plan again I cut out a deck from flat Styrofoam for the bow, and the stern of the plan became a windshield sanding them to fit snug with out gluing them so they can be removed for installing a new boiler or working on it.(this will add support to the model for big clumsy hands)

 

Sciencetoymaker Home     Putt Putt/Pop Pop Boat Home

 

How to Make a Putt Putt /Pop Pop Boat

Follow directions exactly when making your first engine!

And don't do anything not in the instructions.  Trust me that there are reasons for all the finicky details. --Slater, the sciencetoymaker

Read "Before You Start Building a Putt Putt Boat" First

If you haven't yet, first watch  how to follow the steps in the instructional videos. (Part 2 at 3:29). 

All instructions are in video form. 

Below are the video links and descriptions to making the kind of toy steam engine boat seen in the movie Ponyo. You can go straight to the instructional video play list, if you want.

Patterns and Material List

Introduction: Putt Putt Boat introduction in two parts

Part 1 Introduction to pop pop (aka putt putt) boats.

Part 1 shows my students testing their boats and gives an overview of the steps involved in making the engine out an aluminum beverage can. I relate where I first encountered pop pops (in South Asia in the 1980's). Then on to a little history: of steam power in general and putt putt boats specifically. Next I show some commercial boats I bought.

Part 2 continues the introduction.

I start off relating my efforts to create an easy enough for my students to make, inexpensive steam engine that used common materials that could be found anywhere. Then I make my plea that people follow the directions carefully for the first engine, then experiment.

Materials and Tools (video Part 3): Materials and Tools for a Putt Putt Boat

Part 3 goes through all the materials you will need.

Here is a complete list of materials and tools.               Materials and Tools

Note that if you would rather use an oil lamp instead of a candle, excellent oil lamp instructions are here.

Build the Boiler

Step 1  (Video Part 4): Cut off Can Top

Part 4 is Step 1 of the actual building instructions. Are you confused enough? Sorry! The steps are small. This Step 1 is just cutting off the top of an aluminum beverage can.

Step 2 (Video Part 5): Cut and Trim Can Middle

Cut and trim the middle part of the can so you have a sheet of aluminum to build the engine with.

Step 3 (Video Part 6): Fold Aluminum Sheet in Half

Fold the aluminum sheet in half, with a thin sliver of the inside of the can showing so it's easier to separate in a later step.

Step 4 (Video Part 7): Scale Check. tape Pattern on

Print out the pattern to actual size (no fitting to page or scaling) and check the scale of the pattern to be sure. Then you tape the pattern onto the aluminum sheet. Save the other boiler pattern and that other weird-looking pattern called the bend pattern.         Boiler and Bend Pattern

Step 5 (Video Part 8): Cut Solid Line, Write Name

Cutout the pattern and aluminum on the solid lines--carefully. Save one of the aluminum strips for a later step. Oops, I noticed that the pattern here doesn't have the writing--that's ok, same pattern.

Step 6 (Video Part 9): Fold Dashed Lines, Sharp Corner

Find a sharp corner, line up the dashed lines with the corner, and make clear fold lines on the dashed lines of the pattern. Your thumbs should be together, and press really hard so you see clear fold lines.

Step 7 (Video Part 10): Fold Edges All the Way, Flatten

Taking all the pattern/tape off and accurately fold the edge flaps the rest of the way over with a credit card or something like it. Then you need to pound it (not rub it) flat. Be careful not to kink it.

Step 8 (Video Part 11): Straw Parts Names, Open, Long end of Straws in

Use a thumbnail to open up the end of the "pocket" a bit, then pinch the end of the long part of a flexible straw and push it in. Then the long part of another straw. Push all the way in, but not so hard them split the other end.

Step 9 (Video Part 12): Small End Straw in, Tape Card

Put one more straw in to form a curved dome top, but this time it's the short end of of a straw. Pinch it and push it in--on the side with the flaps--only to the bendy part. Then put tape donuts on the flat side without the flaps and tape it to a piece of cardboard. Gently push on the edges to make the bottom flat.

Step 10 (Video Part 13): Mix, Apply, Push in Glue

Actually glue the aluminum so it keeps its new shape. You should watch the whole step before starting because you only have 5 minutes once you mix the two parts together (less if it's hot). You should have equal parts and mix thoroughly. Dab it on the silver parts even where the silver disappears, especially the ends. It's really important to push the epoxy in between the folds of aluminum with the strip, for strength and to prevent leaks. GOOD NEWS NOT IN THE VIDEO YET: Sticky epoxy is easy to get off with VINIGAR.

Intake/Exhaust pipe

Step 11 (Video Part 14): Measure, Cut Glue in Straws

Measure 1 1/2" or 39mm from the end of the bendy part of the straws into the small part of the straw. Cut there and apply mixed up, thin, even layer of epoxy to the small part of the straws, but not within 1/4" or 6mm of the bendy part. Put the straws in the end of the aluminum, but only to within 1/4" or 6mm of the bendy part. If a lot of epoxy gets on the bendy part, wipe it off, both above and below.

Step 12 (Video Part 15): Seal Where Straws Go in

Be careful when handling the engine and mixing up a tiny bit more epoxy and using it to seal off the 3 or 4 holes where the straws go into the engine.

Step 13 (Video Part 16): Pressure Test, Seal Leaks

Take a tip from automotive people and use pressurized air into the straws to find leaks (bubbles in the water). Patch with epoxy and don't pressure test again until it is hard. Use hot water if you need to speed up the epoxy

Step 14 (Video Part 17): Make Angle Tool

Make a cardboard angle tool to set the angle between the aluminum boiler and the straws. You saved the pattern that printed out with the boiler pattern way back in part 7, step 4, didn't you?!

Step 15 (Video Part 18): Tape Engine to Angle Tool

Pull the straws longer and tape the angle tool to the boiler and straws. Make sure the folded-over edges are facing outward, not inward against the angle tool.

Step 16 (Video Part 19) : Glue Bendy Straw Part

Use one of the cooler kind of hot glue guns to apply a thin layer of hot glue over the bendy part of the straws, so as stiffen them so they hold the correct angle.

Candles and Candle Holder

Step 17 (Video Part 20): Cut Candles, Make Holder

Cut down thin birthday candles into 4 pieces, then make a candle holder out of aluminum foil. It's important to push the aluminum down to the base of the candle, or the candle will go out before burning most of its wax.

Note that a sharp viewer has created some great instructions for making an oil lamp instead of the candle for heat.

Powered Engine Test

Step 18 (Video Part 21)

You finally get to power test the engine! You don't need a boat to power test the engine. You must prime the straws every time you use the engine. And the first time you use the engine you should slosh some water around inside the engine so the little droplets of water can flash to steam and get your engine going. To start out put the candle flame in the middle between the front and the back of the engine.

Trouble Shooting

Step 19 (Video Part 22) (Skip This Step If Your Engine Works)

Troubleshoot if your engine doesn't work. SKIP THIS SECTION IF YOUR ENGINE WORKS OK. Sometimes you only have to prime the straws with water and try it again and it works. Or maybe you need a more heat if you are using a tea candle (don't use a lighter or you'll ruin the engine). Sometimes there might be a leak even though you already tested it. Still, it's not hard to find it and seal the engine. Sometimes the cause of the trouble remains a mystery and you might just have to make another one (Yep, I know, I thoroughly hate having to do things over too).

Post Test Tips, Boat Decision

Step 20 (Video Part 23)

Some tips when you're finished using the engine, like wiping off the carbon from the candle. Also, using heat to remove what's left of the candle and affix a new one so it doesn't keep falling out. Now is the time to decide which kind of boat to make for your engine. Instructions for the simple foam boat are in Part 24. But the instructions for the 3D milk carton boat are in Part 27, farther below.

Make a Simple Flat Boat

Step 21 (Video Part 24)

Make a simple flat boat out of a foam grocery tray. It's only held on with rubber bands, so you can move the engine to another boat later if you want. Funny, but it seems you actually have to put some weight to give the engine something to push against or the engine doesn't work well.    Foam Pattern

Make the Boat Faster

Step 22 (Video Part 25)

Make the boat go faster by restricting the straws a little at the end, just like real jet engines and rockets. Finally you can tell the control freak (me) to go soak his head, and you can break loose with experiments.

Parting Words

Step 23 (Video Part 26)

Congratulations and some final words. I depend on feedback to make the instructions better. And frankly, when you get the engine working it's encouraging to me to hear that as well.There is a gallery of pictures of people's pop pop boats that you can add your boat to. Also, now that you have made a boat, be aware that there is a Yahoo group of people from all over the world who experiment and talk about pop pop boats. Some people are just interested in engine development, or scaling up engines, others in making a beautiful boat for the engine, others in the history. There are nice people moderating the group, there is an enormous archive of tips and pictures, there is no money involved, and it's easy to join (if an internet dummy like me can do it, anyone can). And, we are mostly older people, but I think I can speak for the group that we would be thrilled to see the work that younger people are pursuing (and you are still welcome if you are a geezer like the rest of us).

Extra: Hull, Deck, Cabin and Rudder

Make a 3D Hull

Part 27 is making a 3D hull from a milk or juice carton.

Most of the video is from a video I made for my students years ago. This hull is made from a 1/2 gallon or 2 liter milk or juice carton. That kind of cardboard is waterproof, east to cut, bend, glue and paint.  Make sure that when you print the pattern you do not have any box checked that "fits to page" or otherwise changes the scale. After it's cut, it's folded and fastened with staples and hot glue.               Hull Pattern

After it's widened you can install the engine. The straws go out a hole in the bottom, so you seal and glue in the engine with hot glue.

If YouTube is blocked at your school, try the SchoolTube equivalents below.

If you want to watch one long video instead of 3 separate parts, you can watch the whole video here.

Video Part 27A

If blocked, try this SchoolTube equivalent of Part 27A

Video Part 27B

If YouTube is blocked, here is SchoolTube equivalent

Video Part 27C

If YouTube is blocked, try this SchoolTube equivalent of Part 27C

Make a Rudder

I got a wonderful tip about making a rudder for the boat from young Australians Elana (12) and Alex (10) who made putt putt boats with their grandad Les. Click here to see the PDF of the drawing of their ingenious rudder system.              Rudder PDF

Make the Deck and Cabin

This too is made from a milk or juice carton. It fits on top of the hull but comes off if you need to get to the engine. The PDF patterns for the deck/cabin assembly are here.  (You don't have to make the smoke stack, but the instructions for that are also here if you want to.)               Deck and Cabin

A hot glue gun puts all the pieces together.

Here are the YouTube video instructions for making the deck and cabin for the 3 dimensional hull.

Here are the SchoolTube videos.
The Deck and Cabin Part 1
The Deck and Cabin Part 2
The Deck and Cabin Part 3

Now that you've made an engine, hull and deck, check out the work of a true craftsman, my friend Daryl from Canada

Before You Start Building a Putt Putt Boat

Before you start building, understand that this is not a slop-it-together project. You have to follow directions exactly, and, from the feedback I get, most people need to build a second one before it works. I like this e-mail from Jordan:

Mr Slater Harrison,

My name is Jordan and I'm from Greece. I'm 14 years old and I must say that I'm not very good at physics! But, I wanted to make something like a wooden construction so I searched on YouTube and I came up with your video about putt-putt boat! I thought that it was exactly what I wanted to do! Then, I saw all the videos of this boat. It looked so simple but when I started  I realized that it wasn't! My first try was a failure... well, I think it was a disaster because in the end my desk was full of epoxy!! My second try was a success! (I have one photo attached) When I saw it working I was very proud of my self!!

I must say that your site is fantastic and I'm planning to build a plane next time! (I hope that I won't break anything!) ( I will inform you!)

Yours sincerely,
Jordan

Jordan has just the right attitude: keep trying!

And for those who want to take up the challenge of building your own Putt Putt Boat, here are the instructions.

Putt Putt (Pop Pop) Boat Home

Putt Putt Boat Index

Introduction

The first time I saw a putt putt (aka pop pop, Ponyo) boat I couldn't believe my eyes! I must have gotten every science toy known to mankind when I was a kid: rockets, airplanes, slinkys, the bird that dunks its head in water, the junior chemistry set that I almost burned down the house with...I could name dozens. But it wasn't until I was an adult that I encountered a putt putt steam boat. It was chugging away in an outdoor market in Bangladesh-- in Southern Asia-- one of the poorest countries in the world. Made mostly from a recycled milk tin, it sounded like a tugboat and it really zipped fast--all powered by a little vegetable oil lamp. How could such a cool thing have existed without my knowing about it? ...Read More>>

Pop Pop Boat Gallery

You can see other people’s projects (and add yours if you send a picture) from around the world in the Pop Pop Gallery.

Before You Start

Photo by Jordan

Before you start building, understand that this is not a slop-it-together project.

Hull, Deck, Cabin and Rudder

You can make the body of the boat with a recycled, cut-up milk or juice carton.

Patents

Another kindred spirit looked up putt putt boat patents and scanned them into PDF files.

Giant Putt Putt Boat

Have you thought about making a giant pop pop boat? You’re not alone–and I mean that in a good way.

I'd like to know how this project goes for you. I'm happy to answer questions about it. Feedback from you is an important way for me to know what works and what needs clarification.