Putt-Putt Boats

**spirtos** · #1 10-18-2012, 12:57 PM

You think of browsing the web for 15 minutes or so and two hours later you are in a really interesting webpage with no clue how you got there. Sounds familiar? That is how I found out the putt-putt boats.
I was so excited I even starting building one following a previous edition of these instructions. The boat was fun to float but I would like to look better. I could paint the milk carton it was made of, but I would really like to get rid of the staples. Then I read about a guy building RC planes out of cardboard, priming them with urethane varnish and painting them with enamel colors. So I build the boat again out of cardboard, painted it with watercolors, and waterproofed it with polyurethane varnish. Please note that there are a lot of fumes involved in the process. Looks nice, I think.

putt putt boat 2 by Spyridontas, on Flickr

putt putt boat 1 by Spyridontas, on Flickr

So it was time to try something different. The plan was to build a papermodel ship and fit a putt-putt engine. MB Hamster from Kallboys looks good and its size is ideal for the engine. Please note that the model has details that I did not use for practical reasons and I made some modifications, mostly to comply with the requirements of having an engine. I can say that it is a very well designed model which I enjoyed building. The hull is reinforced with three layers of newspaper, the upper structure has an extra layer of cardboard, there is a deck made of matchsticks, the roof is hinged in order to provide access to the engine, the wind can freely flow through the windows to keep the engine bay cool, the engine bay is made of aluminium, the white paint is water color, the blue is enamel and the whole boat is coated with polyurethane varnish. It is not my finest build, but I am happy with it because I tried many new things in the same model. I hope you like it.

el006 by Spyridontas, on Flickr

el001 by Spyridontas, on Flickr

el003 by Spyridontas, on Flickr

el004 by Spyridontas, on Flickr

**Vermin_King** · #2 10-18-2012, 01:10 PM

Looks like a whole lot of fun.

**Oliver Bizer** · #3 10-24-2012, 08:07 AM

Hi Spirtos,
well done the model

The designer from the Ship , Holle,would like to have your pictures for his homepage.
Would that be okay for you?

Regards
Olli

**ct ertz** · #4 10-24-2012, 09:37 AM

OK, I am going to try this! My 1/150 scale gun boats I have been working on. That would be cool!
CT

**HMCS** · #5 10-24-2012, 04:10 PM

ooh gun boat would be wicked,.. or maybe a simplified destroyer?

**Vermin_King** · #6 10-24-2012, 04:25 PM

How long will the boat run? I wouldn't want to put it into something too big and have to row out to get to it.

Candles and paper and water. What could go wrong?

**ct ertz** · #7 10-24-2012, 04:35 PM

"Candles and paper and water. What could go wrong?"
He he! I am sure nothing could happen! Except maybe...Candle burns up ship. Ship sinks. Water puts out fire. Built in safety!

CT

**Vermin_King** · #8 10-24-2012, 04:49 PM

I envision doing these on a creek below my parents' farm. I could see it taking a wild turn and end up under a low-hanging branch, bursting into flame and the whole embankment going up in a cloud of smoke.

**Burning Beard** · #9 10-24-2012, 05:47 PM

Boy, that's what I like, an optimist, LOL

Beard

**Vermin_King** · #10 10-24-2012, 07:45 PM

But who says it wouldn't be fun to watch...