Batboat Rebuild: August 21st and 22nd Topside and Foam

This Trailer Needed Welding and Reshaping Badly

Well, this week the Batboat trailer was in the shop getting fixed, the dark blue and gloss white marine paint is on its way and the splash well was permanently joined back with the top side. Things were moving along smoothly again and I hoped to have the Batboat on the trailer by the first week of September.


On the 21st the other side of the top was laminated together.

You will notice a small gap in the joins. They are the same size as the grinding disc used to cut the two apart. If joined flush other problems would develop when its time to attach it back to the hull!







The next day, August 22nd, after the fiberglass resin had cured I used insulating foam to fill in the ends of the structural portions of the top side. Its closed cell foam and will not absorb water.


This foam will keep bugs from wanting to turn the Batboat into an ant farm and will also keep condensation from forming inside where the old foam blocks are.

I flipped over the topside and got started.

This is great stuff. It expanded into the gaps very well and cured rigid and hard to the touch.




While the foam was curing, 1.5 oz chopped strand mat cloth was laminated to the underside of the splashwell joins.

First, however, peanut butter (wood flower mixed with polyester resin) was used to fill in the gap spaces.

These repairs are stronger than the actual fiberglass used to build the boat.