Whitman Batman Coloring Book

(front)

The Batboat made the cover of "Adventures Of Batman" coloring book, published by Whitman, copyrighted 1966.

Is Robin trying to run over Batman?? The evil grin on his face makes one wonder.

This sold on eBay April 20, 2008 for $4.95 plus $2.95 shipping.

Auction description...

Here is a very nice Batman item.
Featuring a colorful illustration of Batman and Robin in the Batboat.
The adventure inside features "The Frogman" as the foe.
The book is complete and uncolored.
I'd say condition is excellent to near mint.
A nice addition to any collection.

The back cover has a UPC code. Wikipedia says the first commercial use of UPC barcodes was in 1966.

(back)

'60s Argentine Toy Batboats.

Two other Murciel Lancha "Bichi" Argentine Batboat are on eBay with some interesting variations.

Click on the photos for larger versions.

The amount the sellers are asking are a little high. Whenever I see one of these on eBay I'll post the photos here.

Cool Picture Of The Week - My Batboat In The Water For The First Time

On Wednesday, April 14th the weather was good enough to put the Batboat in the water.

Two of the trailer rollers were in bad shape so the boat kind of mounted on it lopsided. I bought the replacements already that week and had been itching to replace them.

That morn the sun was out and the almost warm air on my face made me not wait for anyone to help me out. Across the street are the Zilwaukee boat ramps. I hitched it up.

Lession learned that day was the next time I launch the boat I should wait until the docks are put in. I climbed over the car and got into my trunk to push the boat into the water.

All worked out well. The Batboat was in the water for almost 2 hours and only took on about a gallon of water. Pretty good for a vessel with lots of rot.

The tailer rollers were kind of tricky to get off but after a sprint back home for my metal files I replaced them with the new ones quickly.

Members of the Zilwaukee Department of Public Works were there on break and shouted out comments on how cool the boat was. Another man who was on lunch with his young son asked if he could have a photo and said it was a "sweet" boat.

Man, this Batman Batboat brought on many other smiles.

Two unforeseeable, but comical, mistakes happened at the maiden launching. It turns out that the trailer is not exactly square, therefore, trying to back it in the water in the tight squeeze between the pier and dry-docked dock took some time and one of the turn signals hit the pier and broke.

When I was hand maneuvering the Batboat onto the trailer from the pier I wanted to leave one rope still tied in case the Batboat drifted off the trailer a bit before I could secure it from inside my car trunk. After a few moments cranking the bow rope into place I got preoccupied with something else, then started the car and pulled the vessel out of the water while it was still tied on the pier.

Ping! Snap! Pow! What just happened?

The taught rope tore through some of the Batboat deck detailing, the poor cleat sprung off and flung into the depths to Davy Jones' cleat collection.

I picked up the shattered Batboat pieces of off the lawn of the picnic area and headed back home.

The Batboat is on display in my driveway.

If you are in the Zilwaukee area come on by and check it out. I am dismantling it probably in the next couple of weeks to make ready for its fiberglass restoration and new look.

1970s Batboat Toy From Argentina

This interesting toy was produced in Argentina during the 1970s. I find this rendition odd because the box has the Batboat painted like a Checkered Taxi Cab.

This battey operated (alkaline battery, not sealed atomic) vessel incorrectly has Batman and the steering wheel on the port (left) side. However, the box picture has them on the correct, starboard side. An interesting alteration I've seen in some of the other vintage toy Batboats.

Alfred probably forgot to stock the vessel with fresh Shark Repellent before that mission. Robin and Batman are dismembered from the knees down and slumped over!

One of those unintentionally grotesque, weird childhood toys!

When turned on, this 10 inch long Batboat would run along the floor until it bumped into something, making the wheels change to another direction until bumping something else.

I forget what this type of battery operated toy is called. If anyone knows please post a comment.

These images are from an eBay auction that ended on April 12, 2008, 18:11:47 PDT. It sold for US $57.00 plus $15 postage.

Click on these pictures to see them in their original size.

1958 Evinrude "Lark Super Quiet" 35 HP Motor

For those interested in such things, the motor that came with the Batboat I bought turns out to be a very desirable one. A 35 horsepower Evinrude Lark Super Quiet, model 35514. It was made in 1958.

Desirable, I've learned, because of the straight forward mechanics. Like a Jeep, there are only a few things that can go wrong with them and they are not complicated fixes.

There are so many of them in use some parts are still made.
One of the fins, or anti-cavitation plates, is broke. But I am told these sections can be found cheap and plentiful. Its job is to help prevent the propeller from sucking in air from the surface of the water. However, if the prop is low enough in the water it won't need that part.

This is one of the reasons why I feel I got a good deal on the boat.

March 14 pt. 2 and A List For Fixing A Fiberglass Boat

(peices of carpet, sports boat interiors, car radio, and other stuff)
The weather in this part of the country is warming up. Pretty soon it will be the right temperature for properly setting fiberglass epoxy. Until then, here is more on Friday, March 14th and what is needed to repair the boat.

There are enherant problems with any old fiberglass boat you'll come across.

After tearing up most of the floor carpet, I unscrewed and set aside the original Glastron Boat Co. sports boat stylings from the the inside hull to make room for the future work of removing of the plywood floor and fiberglass deck.

Despite the tarping and good care it had since turned into a Anti Crime Water Craft, the rotted floor and carpet were so damp, moisture soaked though my clothes as I was laying down working in the confined area under the Batboat's fin deck.

Things like the old car radio, speakers and parts of the damp, mildewed carpet were thrown out. I made the mistake of putting them in the garbage inside the house because I woke up the next day with a upper respiratory infection from mold spores. Be very careful with this stuff and keep it outside.

When someone buys an old fiberglass boat assume it will be a project boat. This is definitely one of those. The early 1970s solid fiberglass hull, deck and vinyl stylings can withstand all sorts of weather and neglect, however, the structural wood and under floor foam flotation will not.

When the hulls of these now classic boats were on the production line, untreated wood floor supports called "stringers" were fiberglassed in along the bottom, lengthwise. Chunks of foam were then laid in between these stringers to keep the boat floating in case it takes on water. On top, a plywood floor was mounted on these stringers and fiberglassed in.

Carpeting is not good for these kind of boats. When wet it holds water to the plywood and if not dried the slow process of rot and mold begins. Even humidity is a factor.

Smelling the rank of all this damp rot got me very worried and I quickly squirmed further into the confined space to the back of the boat to check the Sealed Atomic Batteries. I found them in the rear port and aft side compartments. What a relief that those were still intact with no leaks or corrosion. If they had it I'd have an enormous problem on my hands. ;)

(the rotten transom of the Batboat as seen from under the fin.)

At the stern, or rear of the boat, another sheet of plywood called the transom is laminated and fiberglassed in. This is one of the most important structural parts of the hull because the engine is mounted to it and weights over a couple hundred pounds. If this transom wood is rotten or cracked, instead of the motor pushing the boat through the water with hundreds of pounds of force it will actually push through the boat.

That is what I suppose happened to this Batboat. The motor either went through the fiberglass while out on the water or punctured it just by its own weight.

(a kind of hard caulk was used to fill the damaged fiberglass, inside and out, and to stick the bat symbol to the stern)

I first presumed that the white outlined red Bat symbol on the stern covered a large hole but was lucky to find it was only puncture damage to the fiberglass hull from the engine.

I had a hard time getting the plywood red Bat off. At first it looked like it was screwed and bolted but then found it was also glued on with some sort of hardened caulk. It finally came off with a crowbar and a lot of annoyance, time and effort. A small chunk of the fiberglass hull came off it, too.

(transom from inside the Batboat)

It's going to be a pain getting the rest of this caulk off. Its like soft concrete.

All of this rot and damage is no big deal because the wood has to be replaced anyway. I found that these are standard repairs for any restoration of an old fiberglass boat.

Plywood made today is superior and if finished properly these boats are more sea worthy than when they left the factory. They'll last longer,too.

Here is the list of what needs to be done to this Batboat before creating the new fins and other details.

1. Disassemble the Batboat by removing the aluminum rubrail and lifting off the deck. Store the deck on saw horses to have complete access to the hull. It will be in two halves; deck and hull.
   
2. Take out the rotten wood floor, soaked foam flotation, stringers, and transom. Make templates of it all.
3. Grind all the old fiberglass down to the hull and clean up.
4. Repair the fiberglass damage to the stern.
   
5. Fiberglass in the new stringers, place new flotation foam in between them, glass in the new floor and transom. Do it right the first time or $$ and time will be wasted.
   

Basically, the entire boat has to be disassembled and repaired. What fun this is going to be. Never done anything like this before so I bet I'll learn a few new lessons but with tips from the helpful people at the iboats.com and Classic Glastron forums it should go more smoothly. :)

Cool Picture Of The Week - European Drug Runner Boat

This inflatable 2,000 horsepower craft is said to have reached speeds of over 70 MPH. Almost enough to give the Batboat a run for its money.

It had speed in more ways than one. This thing was used to run drugs in Europe and was confiscated during a bust.

The picture was taken at a government auction.

Another Picture Of The Space Craft Royal Flush 23

Hijinks, a member of the Classic Glastron Owners forum, emailed a cool picture of the Space Craft Royal Flush 23 today showing this one of a kind, outer space boat from another angle.

Thanks, Hijinks. :)

Removing The Original Steering Wheel And Motor, Friday March 14, 2008.

(the original Glastron Boats steering wheel hub cover. click on images for larger size)

Can’t believe that so much time has gone by since my last blog post. It’s time to start blogging about the Batboat project.

Last time, I mentioned difficulty in removing the steering wheel. It was the original that had been in the boat since it was built in 1971. Because of years of extreme variations of outdoor weather the metal in the wheel hub almost became as one with the steering column bolt. This was a big problem for me because the first work I wanted to do in the Batboat was take the huge, 50 year old outboard motor out from under the deck/fin.
(The 1958 Evinrude motor half pulled from under the fin deck with the steering wheel and seat platform in the way)

The Batboat was built with the large, heavy engine laying on the deck sideways, under where the fin is, and no matter what I tried to get it out, the steering wheel was always about 2 inches in the way. So was one of the seat columns. More on that later.

I found some help on the internet. Folks at the Classic Glastron forum had suggested AutoZone’s tool loan program. One can borrow rarely used tools, such as steering wheel pullers. http://www.autozone.com/in_our_stores/loan_a_tool/loan_a_tool.htm

Early the next day I made my way there and paid a refundable $20 deposit for the steering wheel puller. Very reasonable, IMHO.

I forgot to take pictures of the steering wheel puller in place on the wheel but the tool looks like this. The claws grip underneath the wheel hub and the long black bolt is positioned in the center of the steering column bolt. When being turned, the bolt puts downward pressure on the steering column bolt causing the claws to pull with upward pressure on the steering wheel until it pops off.
I had to destroy the plastic around the center of the steering wheel. Once I broke most of it off I was able to get the puller to grab the metal part underneath. It still took a lot of pressure to get it off.

The wheel is in the trash bag on the curb now. Good riddance to it. While under a tremendous amount of tension the puller tool shot off and hit me in the face on my first attempt. My chin hurt and lip lightly bled until 7 days later. Good thing I wasn’t hit a little higher up, on my lower front teeth, or they'd be gone.

With that out of the way I started on getting the engine out.

I workout and can lift things that have a lot of weight but had a time with the motor because of the awkward angles it had to be coaxed out. Remember, I still haven’t taken the shrink wrap tarp off yet. I get in through a hole cut in the side.

The remaining swiveling bass boat seat platform was now in the way. It took a while and one broken drill bit but it was finally cleared out.

"But then, what did you discover under that?” you may ask. Why, a big hole rotted into the deck.

(plywood floor is rotted where the boat seat column used to be -->)

Being warm outside the Batboat began to thaw out and inside it smelled like a bag of damp potting soil. After getting the seat column out and seeing the hole I ripped up most of the deck carpeting and found that original deck was completely gone to rot. The old sheet of plywood screwed on top of it was soggy and in poor condition, also. Not a big deal, however. All this wood has to be replaced anyway for the boat’s transformation into an Atomic Age Anti-Crime Water Cruiser. More on this in my next update.

The engine must have weighed over 200 pounds but I finally got it out myself with no help and put it against my porch.

The temperature has dropped since Friday the 14th so nothing further has been done inside the boat. The next blog on this Batboat will be on other work done on that day.

All of this took more time than I thought it would, however, it was all fun, I enjoyed it, and it felt great to finally be doing stuff outside all day after three months of extreme cabin fever.

Cool Picture Of The Week: Popular Mechanics, Sept. 1966 page 84

This Cool Picture Of The Week entry is from the News Brief section of Popular Mechanics, September 1966, page 84. It is one of the number of photos taken by Glastron before the Batboat was shipped to Hollywood.

This item shared the same page as a necklace remote radio transmitter alarm for invalids and disabled people.

Popular Mechanics used to be in digest publication form, 6 1/2 x 9 inches, until the 1970s when it was printed in the larger magazine size we see today. They are easy to find on eBay and antique stores, often at a low price.

Other articles include a new device that lets you drive a car sideways into tight parallel parking spaces, 42 pages of do-it-yourself home remodeling ideas and a computer controlled automated fast food and hamburger making machine called MIMS.