The ‘Batmoboat’

What do airboats and the “Caped Crusader” have in common? Ask John Murray of Wasilla.

Murray, along with his 14-year old son Traverse and 12-year old daughter Jourdyn, are in the process of finishing up a summer project transforming a standard 12-foot hulled air boat into the “Batmoboat”. Similar to the road rig, the Batmobile from the original DC Comics “Batman”, the airboat does the same thing on the water.

Murray said he acquired the boat from his father some years ago. He said prior to him taking over at the helm, his father had rebuilt the Lycoming 50 aircraft engine. Still, the rig sat unused at his mother’s house.

“My father parked the boat. Then it ended up in my Uncle’s back yard,” Murray said. “I asked him what he was going to do with it. I told him he would never get it running.”

Murray said he spent the summer at his mother’s home as she convalesced from hip-replacement surgery. When not helping her, he was trying to find something to bide his time. With that, the idea of resurrecting the craft came began about 2 1/2 months ago.

A mechanic by trade, Murray said the idea of putting wings on the boat just came to him.

“I promised my son that someday we would get the boat going,” Murray said. “I just decided to put some wings on it to make it look like the Batmobile!”

Murray said after freeing the boat from a sea of overgrown weeds, the next step in the process was stripping it down to the bare hull. After that, some cross-bracing reinforcement was added. Then came fabricating the steel wings which were then braced and welded in place.

As the reassembly process began, Murray said, so did the painting. Not overly-concerned with a fancy paint job, Murray said spray cans from Walmart did the job just fine—almost exclusively two colors, black and red. In addition to painting the hull, the cans came out for the propeller and engine trim. A touch of yellow on the exhaust manifolds round out the bulk of the boat. Red pin-striping and logo detail completes the ensemble.

Murray said both children got “knee deep” in the project. As it progressed, many photos were taken and posted on social media. Jourdyn jumped right in to the heavy stuff as pictures of her manhandling a DeWalt grinder prove. Traverse was involved with wing research and design.

“It was pretty much a daily thing. The kids kind of lost interest in it after a while,” Murray said about the work pace. However once a majority of the “grunt” work was completed, Traverse took an interest in detailing the rig.

Murray said he and a friend loaded the boat and trailer and headed to the Old Knik River Bridge access site on Sept. 24. Before getting that far, a stop or two in town brought plenty of looks from people.

“People noticed it,” said Murray about the slightly menacing finished product. “We took it up the Knik River and got to within about two miles of the (Knik) glacier. But it was too cold. At Butte, a lot of people definitely noticed it.”

Murray said after the inaugural run, more detailing was in order. He and Traverse were busy Friday painting the official Batman logo on the wings. All totaled, Murray estimates he has about $1,000 into the project. His only regret is not starting the project sooner.

“It’s getting so late in the season,” Murray said about being able to get some extra use out of the boat this season before winter’s onset. “We’re going to try and take it out this weekend.”

To keep it in the theme of the craft, Murray said he and the children are considering a trip in costume.

“They are wanting me to dress up as Batman, my daughter would be the girl from Suicide Squad (the recently released action film featuring Will Smith) and maybe Traverse could be The Joker,” Murray said. “My son is ecstatic about the boat. I’m going to teach him how to drive it. He can already operate (heavy equipment)”

To complete the project, the crew accessorized the boat’s trailer with a matching red paint job. An old Argo 6x6, painted flat black, is used to haul the craft into the garage when necessary.