From the classifieds: Putt-putt boats
A trip back through time may be just the ticket for some boat ownersNothing stirs the feelings of nostalgia out on the water than the sound of a single-cylinder engine at full song as an old wooden boat cuts slowly through the water.
Putt-putt boats are something of an acquired taste. Designed for motoring around slowly, they’re mainly open boats offering little in the way of shade and next to nothing in terms of amenities, mainly made of wood, and designed to get places efficiently, but not too quickly.
A watertight boat is essential. A wooden boat usually comes with a high maintenance bill, so be prepared to dip back in your pocket to have the hull regularly patched up if it is hauled out of the water and sitting on a trailer for most of the year.
Life for a putt-putt can be better if it sits on the water. Generally speaking, its timbers will swell and seal any leaks in the joins of its outer skin.
However, if it is sitting in the water, like anything that ages it is likely to develop leaks over time. That means you’ll need to find a putt-putt that already has a solar panel hooked up to a battery, which in turn is used to power an automatic bilge pump.
Set up correctly, and with the battery replaced every couple of years, this sort of setup should be well equipped to handle any environmental flows or seeping leaks inside the boat.
The inboard engines available on these boats can range from single-cylinder units capable of doing speeds akin to a brisk walk, to four-cylinder units capable of making way at a brisk clip.
They’re usually diesel-powered, too, meaning that they will sip rather than drink fuel; think single litres per hour.
Modern putt-putt boats are way more expensive than older ones, and some could argue they also lack a lot of the character of the more careworn vessels.
We like the look of this particular putt-putt boat listed on boatsales.com.au. Just 4.3 metres long, it’s a small boat but one with a lot of history behind it.
Priced from just $6000, it’s a bit of a bargain. In your hands, it can easily take you and a group of friends on day trips to remote beaches.
At just two and three-quarter horsepower, the big-flywheel Chapman inboard engine it uses is probably as old as the boat.
It even comes with its own trailer to haul it out of the water.
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