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Hi,
I saw some movies on YouTube that showed Stirling engines that run on
your hand. I wondered if it would be possible to run a (model) boat
that was cooled by the surrounding water and heated by the sun or
surrounding air.
Looking forward to an aswer.

Cheers,
Maurice

Maybe not a conventional Stirling engine but some men in Great Britain are running around the Thames River in canoes and one/two man skiffs powered by both inboard and outboard versions of the Transferator hot air engines. Fired with propane and water cooled. The Transferators are or could be called modified Stirling engines. It replaces the displacer with a cup like part that moves the air or other gas from the cold space to the hot space and back again. You will find some photos posted.

The Stirling engine principle would seem to lend itself to outboard type motors for small boat propulsion as the uppermost cylinder, above and well clear of the water, could be heated by concentrated solar heat and piped to the lower cylinder, which, being immersed in water, could exchange its energy through a turbine to a propeller, and return to the upper cylinder, there being a considerable difference between the air and water temperature some worthwhile energy transfer might result.
Keep on thinking about it and good luck.

Regards

P.E.Finney