A journal of the history of the '60s Batman Batboat, how I came to buy a replica and my hopeful adventures in repairing and making it a functional Anti-Crime cruiser.
In late March or early April my neighbor came over and one of the things I showed him was the tires in the back yard and recited the history of the boat. Some days later he came back and asked if I would like to work at a marina.
I lucked out. Everything I need to do the Batboat hull (sand, fill gouges, paint...) I've learned on the job with two stately mahogany wood yachts. Coincidentally, this employment ends around mid June, the same time I'm able to start work on mine.
One yacht is 30 foot long and the other 48.
Its fun job that I like a lot and the owner is a real friendly man to work for.
Stored next to those vessels is a celebrity. One of the boats used in African Queen (1951) starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. It was used in a few sequences and right now the owner is restoring the original motor.
The 1960s was an era of experimentation in the fiberglass boat industry. Here is an amazing boat that has left me speechless so I am sharing it here.
Last December a member of the FiberGlassics Forum bought a large lot of Mercury boat motor files dating from 1950 to 1962. Somebody saved them after Mercury threw them all out, apparently(!!!!).
This was among the collection of over 500 pictures, a 24 foot long by 12 foot wide vessel made by Yamaha in Japan. Its a tunnel hull with glass windshields, built in radio, and rear steps.
The connection this craft has to Mercury is the two 800 model outboard engines.
It is not known if this was ever mass produced or was an experiment/show boat.
I found a pleasant surprise a day before my 40th birthday! One of the thought to be wrecked customized Glastron boats used by 007 in the film Moonraker (1979) starring Roger Moore.
About 25 minutes down the highway is a small town called Birch Run, MI. Strangely, they have a large building called the Birch Run Expo Center that frequently hosts events. Never been there before. A radio ad caught my attention for a Boat and Fishing Show. I figured it would be a cool thing to go to the day before my birthday.
The radio ads started about a week before the event and just mentioned "see James Bond's Moonraker boat." I had to hear it several times before I heard what I though I heard.
I went mainly to check it out, get ideas on how I could display the Batboat, and see the new boats displayed to get an idea of what basic items missing from mine would look good in it and what would not. (A lot of it, like the tilt steering, looked too plastic or chrome "new.")
On Sunday, March 7th I went and there it was.
They let me take all the photos I wanted. Here they are.
Days later I did a websearch and found that 007 fans thought the Moonraker boat disappeared. Didn't know what happened to it. It was badly damaged in early 2006 and then gone. (An article detailing the damage is at the bottom of this post.)
The owner, the Ian Flemming Foundation, chose a fiberglass boat restorer near here, InvisionBoatworks of Reese, MI, to fix it and make a duplicate to sell at auction. Its unbelievable to me that since around 2008 a movie prop like this has being hiding away near where I live and I didn't know it.
As far as I have determined, this event is the first time the Moonraker boat has been seen in public since the accident in February 2006. Could be wrong, though.
What I am certain of is that this blog post is the first time photos of the restored boat have ever been seen on the Internet.
Its hard to see but look close. A metal frame work supports the fiberglass roof. The custom fiberglass roof and side supports consist of five pieces. The metal and front window area holds it all steady.
The interior is very cramped. The vessel this was based on, a 1978 Glastron CV23 HT, wasn't intended to have a roof on it. Not much room for poor Mister Bond. But then again, he ejected on a hang glider before it went over the falls in the Amazon jungle.
Under the dashboard is a cubby hole with cushioned seating areas extending to the bow. This is a 23 foot boat. Upholstery and carpet is gray. I believe the box under the steering was a speaker playing music.
The information card detailing this boat's history. Some sources on the net say four boats were used in the movie. This says three.
There weren't too many angles I could shoot of it and the inside was too dark to photograph details.
While talking to the lady who was there with the boat I commented that I had a Batboat that I was overhauling and we talked about it briefly.
The two old crafts had something in common; the smell of mildew. lol!
She told me a lot about the recent history and restoration and that all of the weapons in the boat worked. I must have gave her a good impression because she gave me a new embroidered InvisionBoatworks carrying bag, boat key chain and pamphlets.
The mines are department store inflated bouncing balls painted silver.
Switches for Mine Eject, Torpedo Launch and Roof.
I have an old camera that saves photos to a 2.5 inch floppy disc (!!!). If I am lucky, I can get 22 photos before it is full. These are all the pix I took.
For $10 people could pose and have their photo taken. Here's mine. One day before my 40th birthday dressed to blend in with a Boat and Fishing show. lol.
The scene in Moonraker where the boat appears....
The article about its sad misadventure...
Moonraker Boat Destroyed
February 9, 2006 – DSBG The Ian Fleming Foundation is suffering from a major loss after receiving word that the Glastron speedboat, used during the Amazon river chase, was destroyed in transit after completing the Boats Of Bond show in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Doug Redenius' e-mailed friends saying, "It seems the transport person who was hired to bring the boat back here pulled it without a cover, without any tie downs and without checking during the entire trip. The only thing left of the boat at this point is the hull & windshield....everything else has been completely destroyed!"
The Ian Fleming Foundation is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the study and preservation of the history of Fleming's literary works, the James Bond phenomenon, and their impact on the culture of the Twentieth Century. It has been formed with the goals of procuring, restoring, and archiving Ian Fleming's legacy for the general public. This legacy includes manuscripts, books, periodicals, movies, movie properties, recordings, and merchandise produced over the last four decades. Some of this material has been "lost", some resides in museums, and a large amount has been collected by private individuals. One of the goals of the Foundation is to search out the "lost" items and to restore and preserve them. The publication of the Goldeneye Magazine was a major fund raising activity allowing them to work toward those goals.
I was going to keep this to myself to make it easier to find one, however, since a company making similar ones (Grant) stopped production on them until they relocate to Mexico, the vintage wheels are now getting top dollar. I can't afford $300+ eBay prices so I'm letting the cat out of the bag.
The round steering wheel used in the Batboat in the movie and TV show was made by Covico. Diameter is unknown but looks, to me at least, around 15 inches and I believe it to have been "CA Royal Blue." Possibly with a Deep Dish profile.
The Covico wheels were aftermarket parts for custom cars and boats.
Thanks to the guys at the http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum, not only do we know who made it but they gave me some background info on the company. One member actually worked for Covico and made them.
The evenly spaced spokes were the dead giveaway. Other companies made them with two spokes farther apart to not get in the way of viewing dashboard gauges.
Ad in a 1963 Almquist custom car catalog
Covico started around 1961 in Covina, California. Their wheel line was eventually sold off to Grant but they still were in the business of dipping them in rubber coating. They were made of thicker steel with a thin molded grip cover instead of the hard plastic you'll find on later wheels.
There were no identifying markings on Covicos. The company is still around making marine steering wheels.
Grant makes metal flake wheels specially for Mooneyes but with non-symetrical spokes, pictured below. As I said before, these are out of production due to relocating to Mexico.
California Metal Flake Steering Wheels made by Grant for Mooneyes.
It seems that Glastron offered the Covico wheels as an option only in 1966. They are not shown or mentioned in any other '60s catalogs.
Here are the ones shown in that '66 Glastron catalog.
Metallic blue and white Jetflite V-143 Super Sport.
Close up of the Jetflite V-143 dash.
Deep tan and white Futura V-150 Super Sport.
Dark jade and white Gulfstream V-204 Super Sport.
Dark jade and white Bayflite V-163 Super Sport.
Dark blue and white Crestflite v-172 Super Sport.
Dark blue and white Carribian V-234.
One of the earliest known mentions of Covico steering wheels, Hot Rod magazine Nov 1962.
The weather seems to be warming here in north east Michigan and I am just sitting here thinking and dreading about flipping the Batboat upside-down so I can repair, sand and repaint the bottom.
Was just outside and found I can lift it off the trailer by hand from the bow and sides but not from the center of the stern. Two people can handle the job. Starting next trash day I am searching the city for old auto tires to stand the boat on.
This pretty much shows what I have to look forward to, however, my fiberglass hull is more flexible and fragile than their wood craft.
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