Hovercraft plans and kits | Viper Hovercraft

The Viper Cruiser Hovercraft is our "do it yourself" 4 person plans/kit design.

The Viper Cruiser was designed in 1997 as a light offshore performance cruiser. The design has evolved over 20 years and still remains one the most advanced small plywood kits on the market.

The Viper Cruiser design flows on through all the present Viper production hovercraft. It is a practical design offering outstanding performance and safety.

The Viper Cruiser is designed for people on a budget who would like to build their own hovercraft hull and use our kit parts, or optionally use their own engine and parts.

The Viper Cruiser hull is a plywood/foam sandwich version of our early fiberglass/foam sandwich Viper 4 model. It uses the same power module and fit out components that we presently use on our current Viper 4 and Viper 5 models.

The Viper Cruiser builder makes the hull from marine plywood using a traditional "stitch and glue" method. There are no stringers or complex internal structure. This light weight, monocoque design achieves its strength by using a plywood foam sandwich, integrated foam fill buoyancy compartments and localized Kevlar reinforcement. The hull is surprisingly light, strong, buoyant and safe.

Please click on the links below to expand more information about the Viper Cruiser, including information about our kits and buying the plans.

General	65hp Rotax
Length	4.1m (13.5 ft)
Width	2.2m (7.2 ft)
Height	1.5m (4.9 ft)
Weight (dry)	220 kg (485 lb)
Payload	400 kg (881 lb)
hover height (avg)	240 mm (0.78 ft)
Buoyancy	680kg (1,500 lb)
Fuel capacity	35L (9.2 gal)
Noise	72 db @ 30m

Performance	65hp Rotax
Thrust (Approx.)	85kg (187 lb)
Speed - Max. (calm water)	80 kph (44 knot)
Speed - Max. (smooth ice)	100 kph (53 knot)
Speed - Cruise (calm water)	30 - 50 kph (16 - 26 knot)
Endurance - Cruise	3 - 4 hours 9L per hour

Engine make	Rotax 582UL Mod 17
Capacity	580cc
Type	Water-cooled, two-stroke
Power	48 kW (65 hp) @ 6,500 rpm
Ignition	Twin CDI. Twin sparkplug
Starting	Electric start
Drive	HTD Tooth belt via torsional dampener
Propulsion	8 blade Integrated thrust and lift fan

•  Ability to travel over water, grass, sand, mud flats, ice and snow
•  Quiet and efficient
•  Capacity to seat four persons
•  In-line seating with simple handle bar controls
•  Excellent driving position with easy control of pitch and roll by weight shift
•  Simple to build
•  Strong, lightweight, Epoxy/Plywood/Foam sandwich construction
•  Significant positive buoyancy
•  Enclosed electrical system
•  Enclosed and vented fuel system
•  Individually pressurized extended segment skirting
•  Single engine and fan, providing integrated lift and thrust
•  Sealed engine air-intake filtration system
•  Modifiable to suit individual needs

The Viper Cruiser plan/assembly manual explains in a step by step process how to cut out, assemble and fit out a Viper Cruiser Hull. The manual is written in layman's terms and includes hundreds of drawings to assist each stage of the build. The plans do not include drawings to build items such as the steering shaft, the drive system, fan duct or rudders. These items are included in the Viper Cruiser Kit.

The 90+ page manual contains the following:

•  List of kit contents and materials.
•  Technical information on bonding, fiber glassing and sealing plywood.
•  Plans of each individual timber panel, baton and foam panel.
•  Panel layout drawings to assist cut out and reduce wastage.
•  Hull and fit out assembly instructions.
•  Cross-section drawings.
•  Skirt templates.
•  Wiring diagrams.
•  Operating and maintenance instructions.

Cost : AU$220.00 ($242.00 including GST for Australian customers)

Postage :

Australia wide - AU$19.50 including GST (2 days)

International Express Satchel (3-5 days)
New Zealand - AU$51.00
US / CAN - AU$77.00
UK / Ireland - AU$81.00
Major EUR - AU$82.00
Asia / China - AU$72.00
Other counties -AU$98.00

How to order :
To purchase the plans email sales@viperhovercraft.com.au or ring us direct on 0418649350 and request to order the plans. To speed the order, provide your name and delivery address and we will respond directly with a PayPal invoice. Australian customers may choose to pay by direct bank deposit or PayPal (default is PayPal).

Kits in detail :

If you are tight on budget and good with your hands, the Viper Cruiser kit is designed for you.

The format of this kit is as such: The kit is divided into "pack" form (available separately). You are not committed to buy the whole kit. You can just buy packs as you go, or just buy the parts you need. You can simply buy the Viper Cruiser Plan/assembly manual and use your own parts or ideas.

In pack form, we can buy specific items to suit your build, or help you budget your way through the build. Depending on your ability, or end design, you may only need certain packs, or in some cases no packs at all. You may already have your own engine, or the ability to fabricate your own components. In essence, at least you have a working, proven hull.

The pack items are:
•  Starter pack
•  Hull fit out pack
•  Steering pack
•  Fuel system pack
•  Skirt pack
•  Electrical pack
•  Engine/thrust fit out pack
•  Engine pack
•  Engine control pack
•  Kit options, such pre fabricated fiberglass parts

The Kits contain everything but the timber, fiberglass and paint. If requested, we can supply this portion of the kit in the Sydney metro or surrounding districts as pictured below. A complete and detailed list of the fiberglass and timber items is outlined in the Viper Cruiser Plan/Assembly manual

Typical materials required :

kit parts

•  Plywood
•  Timber baton
•  Rigid PVC Core
•  Epoxy resin
•  Epoxy glue
•  Fiberglass tape
•  Polyurethane expanding foam

Availability and payment details:
Like our production hovercraft, these kits are fabricated to order. The kit is usually ready for dispatch 3 - 5 weeks upon order (Depending on modules ordered, and existing order commitments). A 50% deposit is required for all kits. Final payment is required prior the pick up or shipment.

The standard Viper Cruiser (4D) kit engine is the 65hp, water cooled, 582UL-MOD17 Rotax. Alternatively, you may use any of the engines listed below:
•  All Hirth 2 or 4 cylinder engines from 40 - 100hp
•  Rotax 447, 503, 532, 582, 618, 670 and 583
•  Most two or four stroke Yamaha, Rotax and Polaris snow mobile engines
•  Jabiru 2200
•  Subaru 1800cc to 2000cc (decreased payload capacity - interior modifications required)
•  Vanguard or Briggs and Stratton 35 - 40hp (decreased performance and payload capacity)

For amateur home hovercraft builders, plywood is the material of choice. Plywood is affordable and easy to use. Plywood has a better "strength to weight" than steel and is much lighter than most fiberglass hovercraft. When encapsulated with epoxy resin, plywood is as durable and as low in maintenance as any other material. Plywood hovercraft can be built with basic hand and wood working tools.

The joining of the plywood is a "stitch and glue" method. Panels are cut to shape from plans and joined together at the seams. A hovercraft can be assembled quickly after all the panels are cut out.

Once the panels are stitched together with lengths of copper wire, an epoxy paste to used to create a fillet along each side of the join. The join is then covered with a layer of resin-coated fiberglass tape.

An important feature of the Viper Cruiser is the addition of "foam sandwich" paneling. This significantly increases the hull strength, eliminating the need for complex frames and structures. Hull strength and durability is further increased with additional layers of Kevlar cloth on all running surfaces.

Almost anyone can build a Viper Cruiser hovercraft hull using this method of construction. The end result is a light weight, strong and durable hovercraft.

Viper Cruiser Plans and Kits

The Viper Cruiser Hovercraft is our "do it yourself" 4 person plans/kit design.