Batboat
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The Batboat is the fictional personal watercraft of comic book superhero Batman.
Contents |
[edit] Comics[2]
In Sub-Level 6 of the Batcave, there's an aqua-dynamic hydrofoil/submersible (otherwise known as the Batboat) on both the navigable Gotham River and the Atlantic Ocean's waters.
[edit] Hydrofoil
To submerge, the Batboat's foils retract to reduce parasitic drag. Its aluminum propellers are drivin by sealed AH electrolyte batteries.
[edit] Bat-Submersible
Environment systems include CO2-scrubbers and air-conditioning units in the Bat-Submersible's stern. Oxygen tanks provide up to six hours of breathable air. There are also emergency tanks that allow an added twelve hours of life-support. The life-support includes oxygen/helium mixes for deep-water submersion.
[edit] Cockpit
The Batboat displays include state-of-the-art navigation and communication links, an accent-rate alarm, a dive-time clock, and a safe-ceiling depth meter.
[edit] Offensive weapons
Batboat armaments include a pneumatic harpoon with a high-tensile titanium cable, a launching grapnel that doubles as an anchor, variable-setting depth changes, and a small supply of active-homing torpedoes with heat/motion/vibration target-acquisition.
[edit] Television and film
The first appearance of the Batboat was in the 1966 film Batman: The Movie. It was subsequently used in the 1960s Batman television series. It was created by Glastron Industries.
A darker version was used in Batman Returns as The Bat Skiboat.
The Batskiboat as seen in Batman Returns.[3] |
The Batboat as seen in Batman Forever.[4] |
The Batsub as seen in Batman Forever.[5] |
The Mattel produced Batboat inspired by The Batman. |
The Batboat inspired by Batman Begins. |
[edit] Design
Mel Whitley and Robert Hammond designed the Batboat from a Glastron V-174. They added a red flashing beacon, glowing eyes, batzooka hatches, seats for both Batman and Robin at the front of the boat, twin wind screens, a center console, an outdrive jet cover, and an aft to deck cover with a glowing Bat-Signal on the tail fin. Although the boat was powered by a Merc Cruiser Chevrolet V-6 and Attwood Corporation manufactured the hardwire, a water squirter and a jet nozzle were added to make the Batboat look like it was nuclear-powered. It took 31 days to build.
[edit] Post-production
Eventually, a replica was built of the Batboat. When the Batman television show was cancelled, Glastron used the two Batboats for promotions on tours. After much touring, the boats were sold. One boat went to a Glastron dealer who was a Shriner. He used it in various Shriner parades. This Batboat was then moved to the Car Stars museum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
[edit] Trivia
A hovercraft version of the batboat is featured in the Lego Batman building toy set 7780 Batboat: the Hunt for Killer Croc.
[edit] References
- ^ The Batboat, which was used in the BATMAN movie and a few episodes of the TV show was made by Glastron. The company put a fiberglass cover on and made the front look like the Batmobile. The lights on the front resemble the eyes of a bat and the fin is the tail. The windows were added to be like the Batmobiles as well. Currently the Batboat can be in the Guinness Worlds Records Musuem in Gatlinburg TN.
- ^ TEC 110 (4/46): In London, Batman and Robin use their first Bat-Boat and defeat Professor Moriarty, an English criminal who models himself on the infamous foe of Sherlock Holmes.
- ^ The Batskiboat is used by Batman for the investigation of the duct system under Gotham. It is a single-seater and is equipped with torpedo launchers and a radar, which can be used by Batman to control each area of Gotham City.
- ^ The Batboat is propelled by a jet turbine. In emergencies an ejection seat can be activated. Whether the Batboat is equipped with weapons, is unknown. The Batboat was another vehicle designed by Ling with Tim Flattery's assistance. "We took the Batmobile and incorporated elements of it into the Batboat, and then got a marine expert to make sure that we designed a hull that was seaworthy," explains Flattery.
- ^ In order to penetrate into deeper waters, the Batwing's front chamber can isolate. This mini submarine does not have any known armament technology but is equipped with a search headlight. It includes an ejection seat which, via an out-shoot, allows Batman to leave.