Summary of Contents for Zipp RIVETT
- Page 1 Z I P P M A N U F A C T U R I N G Zippkits R/C Boats BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS 2007, 2008 Zipp Manufacturing 750 Ball Road • Frankfort, New York 13340 (866) 922-9477 www.zippkits.com...
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
Exhaust S E C T I O N P R E P A R A T I O N Deck Installation Tools & Supplies needed to build Rivett Deck Equipment needed to run Rockett Deck Parts identification Cowling Useful Tools... -
Page 3: Introduction
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Introduction Thank you for purchasing this kit. We are sure that it will provide you with many hours of enjoyment. Please take the time to read this entire manual before building this boat. -
Page 4: Purpose
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Purpose The Rivett and Rockett were designed to fill a void in the gas boat market. There simply was not a scale type hydro specifically designed for gasoline power. -
Page 5: Tools & Supplies Needed To Build
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Preparation Tools and supplies needed to build: Small wood plane (mini plane) Sanding blocks with 80 and 220 grit paper Drill with bits ... - Page 6 Prop nuts (Zipp 3450) Engine Mounts (Zipp 3409 for Zenoah) Cable grease Large rudder (water pickup type) (Zipp 3402 or 3413) 5 feet large silicone tubing (water line) 12 inch length of 11/32 brass tubing ...
- Page 7 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Before we can start building, we need to do some prep work. Good prep work will pay off later with a straight, true running boat. First, we need a flat work surface. Nothing else will do. Put your 3/4x10x48 MDF or plywood on the bench.
- Page 8 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T...
- Page 9 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T We like the Great Planes 11 inch bar sanders Your life will be much easier with one of these Acid brush trimmed for fast epoxy application Use good quality epoxy and finishing resin...
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Page 10: Turn Fin Doubler
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Let’s get started. The first thing you should do is to carefully sand the parts while they are still in the sheets. Do this with your 80 grit sanding block. - Page 11 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Make sure the doubler will be on the front (inside) of the bulkhead. Correctly installed doubler. Holes centered and slot uncovered When you are sure you have it correct, glue the doubler to the bulkhead with 30 minute epoxy.
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Page 12: Frame Assembly
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Install the two blind nuts to the turn fin doubler with 30 minute epoxy. Blind nuts epoxied to turn fin doubler. Frame assembly Cover your building board with waxed paper or clear plastic wrap. -
Page 13: Bottom
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Once you are satisfied with the fit of the bulkheads in the stringers, wick some thin CA into the joints. Don’t glue bulkhead 3 until the others are done. Don’t use so much CA that it drips off the part. -
Page 14: Putting It All Together
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Glue the nose doubler to the bottom, 3/8 inch back from the front edge. Be sure that the nose doubler is installed correctly. If you are not sure, check it against bulkhead Nose doubler glued to bottom, 3/8 inch from Putting it together front. - Page 15 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Double glue bulkheads 4 and 5 to the sides and bottom. Use accelerator. Bulkheads 4, 5 and 6 glued to bottom and sides. Wrap your 3/4x2x10 gluing block with waxed paper.
- Page 16 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Slide the gluing block back to bulkhead 2, and glue it to the bottom the same way. Do not glue the center area of bulkhead 2, as it will be removed later.
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Page 17: Engine Rails
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Engine Rails Lightly sand the vertical parts of bulkhead 2 for the engine rails. Sanding bulkhead 2 in preparation for the engine rails. The engine rails have round holes to indicate the front. - Page 18 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Snap the rails in as before. Use any excess resin to create a fillet where the rails meet the bottom. When the rails are fully epoxied in, place some weights on them, with the gluing block under bulkhead 2.
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Page 19: Sponson Non Trips
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Repeat on other side. Make sure that you take the time to get the sponson transoms square, as the turn fin will be bolted to one of them. - Page 20 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T surface for the non trip side. This is normal. Ready for sponson side. Mix up about ½ ounce of 30 minute epoxy. Using your special epoxy brush, put a coat of epoxy on the chines and bulkheads where the sides will touch.
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Page 21: Sponson Bottoms
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T the frame. Check that the non trip side in contact all the way around. When satisfied, put the hull on the building board, and weight it down Allow to cure at least 2 hours. - Page 22 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Mix about ½ ounce of epoxy. Use your epoxy brush to coat all areas that the sponson bottoms will touch. Do one sponson. Epoxy in place, ready for bottom sheeting. Brush epoxy on the outer perimeter of the bottom.
- Page 23 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T We just want to make sure that both sponsons are resting squarely on the table, with the transom shimmed ¾ inch. Allow to cure at least 2 hours. Hull weighted down while sponson bottom sheet cures.
- Page 24 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Lets build the radio box while the bottom Bottom flush with inside and rear. sheet cures. Radio Box Remove all of the radio box parts: Two long sides, two short sides, the top and bottom, as well as the...
- Page 25 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Put glue on the edges, and join the two box halves on the bench. Gluing sides together. Keep on flat surface. Lightly sand the bottom of the box. Glue on the bottom.
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Page 26: Radio Box
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Sand the top with 180 or 220 grit paper on a block. Carefully remove the lid from the 1/8 ply radio box top. Sand the edges smooth. Top on and box sanded. - Page 27 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Radio: Find the 4 pieces of ¼x1-1/2 ply, and the 4 pieces of tri stock. These are the servo mounts. Using CA, glue one piece of tri stock to each piece of ply.
- Page 28 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Get a piece of scrap 1/8 wood from the kit, and place this on the floor of the radio box, where the rudder servo will be. With the radio box still on its side, glue the rudder servo mounts in with CA.
- Page 29 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Back to the boat: Make sure that it has been at least 2 hours since you glued the bottom sheeting to the sponson. Sponson bottoms ready for trimming and sanding.
- Page 30 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Rear non trip in place. Rear View of non trips installed. Transom When the rear non trips are done, sand the rear of bulkhead 6. Glue the transom to the rear of bulkhead 6 using 30 minute epoxy.
- Page 31 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Mounting Engine Your engine should be in its 5 inch mounts, and have some sort of throttle assembly installed. We like the simple bell crank. Remove the carb and header, if installed. Slip the engine between the rails until the carb is centered in the slot in the right rail.
- Page 32 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Bolt the engine in place, with the rod in the collet. Try to slip a piece of 9/32 brass tubing over the rod, up to the collet. If that fits without interference, slip a piece of 5/16 brass tubing over that, if that slips on, slide the 11/32 brass stuffing tube over...
- Page 33 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Don’t move anything for at least two hours. Stuffing tube epoxied in place. Deck Supports Sand the two deck supports. Glue the deck supports into the notches in the bulkheads using medium CA.
- Page 34 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Sealing Interior Now we need to seal the inside. It is vital that all exposed wood be sealed. Mix up about 2 ounces of epoxy finishing resin.
- Page 35 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T After you are 100% sure that all exposed wood inside the hull has been coated, let it sit overnight. After the hull sealer has had a chance to cure, let’s get the radio box mounted.
- Page 36 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Drill the 3 holes in the radio box with a 9/64 (.140) bit. With your Dremel (or a ½ inch forstner bit), relieve the holes in the mounts to a depth of about 1/16 or so.
- Page 37 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Hardware Draw a center line on the transom, top to bottom. Draw a parallel line 2-3/4 to the left of the center line. Assemble your strut to the bracket, and adjust the strut so that it is all the way up in the bracket.
- Page 38 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Remove the rudder. Set the hull on a FLAT table or bench. Adjust the strut so that the bottom of the transom is 7/8 inch off the bench. The strut should be flat on the bench.
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Page 39: Exhaust
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Remove the strut and shaft tube (again!), and cut the front of the tube on your mark. Deburr this end. Bolt the strut and shaft tube in place again. Shaft tube installed. - Page 40 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T The pipe clamp bolts to this with a ¼-20 screw and blind nut. An extension runs out a custom elbow (sink drain pipe). Pipe mount and extension tube. Throttle Depending on how your throttle is setup, Custom chrome exhaust outlet.
- Page 41 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Turn fin Assemble the turn fin to the bracket so that it is on the inside of the bracket. Turn fin and mounting hardware. If you mount the fin on the outside of the bracket, it would cause the water to lift the right sponson in the turns, as water hits the bracket.
- Page 42 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Use the ¼-20x3/4 socket head screws to mount the turn fin bracket to the blind nuts in the right sponson. You may have to run a ¼-20 tap in the blind nuts if there is epoxy in the threads from sealing the interior.
- Page 43 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T If all is well, put epoxy on the front and rear deck formers and set the cowl deck in place. Be sure that the deck is flush with bulkhead 1 and centered on the deck strips.
- Page 44 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T When cured, sand the rear of the cowl deck flush with the transom. Remove the clamps and trace the cowl outline on the deck strips. We will use these later as guides for the deck.
- Page 45 “dashboard”. See page 59 for details. Top Deck This is where the Rivett and Rockett differ. If you are building the Rockett, go ahead and skip to the Rockett section below. Rivett nose before trimming. Rivett The deck is comprised of 3 pieces: The two deck halves and the center deck.
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Page 46: Rivett Deck
When the deck is lined up correctly, add clamps along the deck support. Clamp the nose as well. Rivett deck clamped, taped and epoxied. Using masking tape, tape the rear portion of the deck down. Tape at the transom too. - Page 47 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T If all looks well, make a mark on the deck and deck support. This will make it easier to line up the deck when you are gluing it in place. Remove the tape and clamps.
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Page 48: Rockett Deck
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Once everything has cured, check the area of the side decks near bulkhead 2. Are the decks glued to this bulkhead? If not, you can use medium CA, squirted in the notch, to glue it down. - Page 49 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T The cowling covers most of the open center section. Before you glue anything, lets test fit the deck. Using a couple of small clamps, clamp one deck to the deck support near the front and rear.
- Page 50 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Mix about 1/2 ounce of epoxy finishing resin. Using a squeegee or credit card, coat the bottom of the deck with resin. This seals the deck bottom. Use your brush to coat all areas that this deck will touch.
- Page 51 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Deck Access Hatch The deck must have an access hatch for the carb. You will have to cut this hatch based on the Be sure that rear edge of deck is glued. location of your engine.
- Page 52 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Prepare the hatch supports by sanding the areas of the hatch and deck where the supports will be glued. See page 56 for details. Glue the supports to the hatch and deck with medium CA.
- Page 53 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Glue the pads on so that their inner and rear edges are flush with the sponson. Tape firmly in position and allow to cure. Check for alignment once or twice before the epoxy fully cures, as it is critical that they remain flush with the inside and rear.
- Page 54 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Blow off the hull with compressed air, or use a vacuum to get the dust off. Mix about 1 ounce of finishing resin. Use a credit card to spread out the resin on the top and sides.
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Page 55: Decals
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Once the hull is dry, wipe it down with alcohol. Use a tack cloth lightly to remove any dust. Spray a light coat of primer, inside and out. Let this flash for a few minutes, and spray a heavy coat on. - Page 56 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Put the boat on your stand. This is where it will live, when it’s not in the water. Sharpen the turn fin. Using a file (or grinder) and 220 grit paper, sharpen the right side of the turn fin only.
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Page 57: Setup
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Attach both ends of the pushrods, making sure the seals are on the outside of the radio box. Use Goop or CA to glue the pushrod seals to the outside of the radio box. -
Page 58: Center Of Gravity
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Adjust the throttle so that the carb is wide open when you pull the trigger all the way back, and closed when you push the trigger forward. When the engine is running, you can use the throttle trim to set the idle speed. - Page 59 Make sure your transmitter and receiver batteries are fresh, or fully charged. Do a range check with your transmitter Roger Newton with the Rivett Prototype. antenna down, and note the distance. You should do a range check every day that you run.
- Page 60 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T To launch, have a helper toss the boat in level. You can give it a little gas as it gets to the water, but not too much. Most people don’t like getting sprayed with water…...
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- Page 62 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Hatch support detail...
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Page 65: Troubleshooting
R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Troubleshooting Boat bounces in the straights- Strut too high CG too far back Speed too slow Boat blows over at high speed- CG too far back Strut too high Boat “plows”- CG too far forward... - Page 66 R I V E T T / R O C K E T T Tuning notes The Rivett and Rockett hydros are just like any 3 point hydro, as far as tuning and adjustment. There are a few things that you should know when you are tuning your boat for maximum performance.