The History Of Putt Putt Boats

Putt putt boats, also known as pop pop boats, have been around for a long time. In fact, this classic yet timeless toy is still considered as one of the favorites of young boys all over the world because of its simplicity and ingenuity.

Putt putt boats today come in a plethora of designs and you can see the usual toy boat design to the more elaborate ones that look like small-scale modern day yachts. However, didn’t you know that this toy boat has been around for more than a century already? Credit of the very first pop pop boat is given to Thomas Piot, a French inventor, in 1981.

During the turn of the 19^th century, toy boats are made from wooden structures and are devoid of any engines. The first pop pop boats come are made from tin with a small boiler and two exhaust tubes that help propel the boat on water.  Piot applied for patent of this particular toy boat in UK. However, there have been records that the putt putt  boats have been around longer prior to Piot’s patent.

During 1915, an American inventor named Charles J. McHugh created a diaphragm-type engine which is an improvement in Piot’s design. There were a lot of improvements on the engine of putt putt boats until William Purcell finally created the coiled tube type engine in 1920 which was used in modern boats.

Nothing much has improved with the design and mechanism of the putt putt boat. But during the great depression, people start calling them candle boats because children will rescue small candles to provide fuel to the boats. In fact, candles have been used to heat up the engine of the boat thus propelling it forward. Today, solid fuel cells are now used to run the boats. Other putt putt toy boats are also powered by corn and olive oil.

This type of toy boat became very popular during the 1940’s and 1950’s wherein kids would often ask their parents for one during Christmas or birthdays. Putt putt boats are considered as amazing toys and a lot of kids from all generations have enjoyed and marveled with the simple physics that work around this boat.  However, the demand of this toy boat has declined due to the introduction of plastic toys. While toys like this are no longer produced in large numbers compared before, they have become rather rare in the market thus they are sought after by a lot of collectors who have enjoyed this particular toy during their childhood.