Pop Putt Candle Powered Live Steam Boat Tin Toy BlueRR

Real Working Steamboat!!   Great Gift!!   Unique Collectable!!     Excellent Runner!!! 

  The "Rum Runner" Pop Pop Steam Boat

 A rediscovered lovable tin toy steamboat from the turn of the century!!

   These little tin toy live steamboats will chug along with a putt putt sound for 15 to 25 minutes on a small candle flame or small amount of olive oil. A mesmerizing joy to watch and listen to!!!  Run ‘em in the sink, bathtub, wading pool, fishpond, etc. During operation, little wisps of smoke are seen exiting the stack and a steady trail at the end of the run when the flame goes out!! At night you can see the flickering light glowing through the windows. On a still day at the lake, once discovered by a school of small fish, watch, as they will follow it around in a circle in perfect formation until the last pop pop!!

    Ok, here is the “Rum Runner”, what I believe to be one of the best running pop pop boats available. These are fast and reliable and were quick to become my one of my favorites. With silver tin on the hull and high gloss paint on the deck, these are really good lookers too!! The shiny solid color on the top looks great stand alone and the solid color allows customizing with detail brush or small vinyl graphic letters (available at hobby stores) to add extra interest or give ‘er a name! I have spent  countless hours over the past years demonstrating, uniquely customizing for others promo events, and selling these little tin steamboats.  (Bookmark my email popboats@yahoo.com for future reference if you need customized boats for promotional events like steam shows, science fairs, fund raisers, etc.)  

I have had boats from Japan, China, India, Australia, etc., and I love them all, but these are sweetest runners, with the smoothest putt putt sound ever. These great little pop pop boats have excellent flash engines and tubes.  However, the candle system, lacking a wick holder, the wick tends to slide down and snuff out before even half the wax is consumed and even I can hardly figure out the poorly written operating instructions. To overcome this I include a generous supply of high quality wick, wick clip, and complete operating and safety instructions, theory of operation, and complete instruction on candle and olive oil fuel operation. We have experimented for years with many types and sizes of wick material, and this new wick we now include is excellent for olive oil operation! You will be able to make many small wicks, each wick providing many runs. This wicking we now use does not turn to soot as readily when olive oil runs out as other wick material. If you add oil to the burner tray before it is empty, you can make many runs without having to pull up fresh wick! At a show this year I ran boats for several hours nonstop, adding oil before burnout, without pulling up wick at all!  A dropper is included for filling the thrust tubes with water and a fuel tray. The candles are ok to start with, but ultimately you will want to use olive oil, as it is economical, clean burning, and safe. On these boats you can squeeze the hull and remove the deck, which facilitates cleaning any spilled oil, wax, or soot buildup on the flash boiler easier than the other brands of boats. 

• How Do Pop Pop Boats Work?  After all these years this is still under discussion and study but here is how Steve thinks they work.

After filling the thrust tubes with water, a small candle or wick with olive oil for fuel is placed underneath the rear of the flash steam boiler. When the water droplets in the boiler flash to steam, the pressure created pushes the water out the ends of the tubes, which provides forward thrust to the boat. As the steam cools and condenses it creates a vacuum, which draws water in for the next cycle. This happens in a quick resonant pulse, which can be seen in the ripples behind the boat. The thin brass stock on the top of the boiler flexes up and down providing an enhanced pulse and putt putt sound, which adds to the drama. The forward pulse is much stronger than the opposite action of the water being drawn back into the tubes. This is best understood in considering that you can blow a candle out, but you cannot suck it out, as the volume of air comes into your mouth from a multidirectional path.

  From the technical to the simple toy lover, everyone has loved putt putt boats since the late 1800’s.  Call ‘em what you like, pop pop, putt putt, tin toy steamboat,  I love them all. I never tire of watching and listening to them run.

With open flame, small parts, and tin edges these boats are not intended for children, but rather adults or adult supervision.

USPS Priority Mail shipping in continental US  $6.25

USPS First Class International to Canada $6.25

Save shipping on multiple purchases!! Add .75 for each additional boat item. 

(Note: Combined shipping does not include large boats like Super Tug, Super Tug X, and Thunder Cruise.)

Questions contact popboats@yahoo.com   or call Steve @ 218-483-3469

 Contact for Worldwide shipping rate