ZippKits.com sell IMPBA approved hulls,a drop sponson and a conventional rounder. Both come with a glass cowl and sell for around $200.00 shipped to your door. Don Ferrette has a project build on this forum with tons of pics........Mike
What he said !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Too short/ narrow for NAMBA sure hope they reconsider what a shame to waste such a fine boat/kitBill go on jims and cruise around , tons of info on thunderboats , well back to welding ,,,Later !
Too short/ narrow for NAMBA sure hope they reconsider what a shame to waste such a fine boat/kitBill go on jims and cruise around , tons of info on thunderboats , well back to welding ,,,Later !
Not entirely true. NAMBA does not have any established national guidelines/rules in place yet (IMPBA does) only a set of rules that NAMBA district 19 has been using and supposedly is submitting to their board at the WinterNats for voting on for the organization which sets the minimums at 48" long x 24" wide, just enough to keep the Zippkits (47"x22") out (there is an unconfirmed rumor circulating that this is intentional, I hope it is not true). As Mike said this would a shame, to me almost a crime, to not allow this hull for the sake of one inch in length & two inches in width as there is no set of eyes in either organization that will be able to tell the difference between 47" & 48" when they are running on the pond. The Zipp thunderboats (Rivett & Rockett) are fantastic deals, something we have been missing for some time. I have a little over $800 turn key in my Zippkits Rockett which by todays standard in building any gas boat is outstanding, THIS IS HOW YOU ATTRACT POTENTIAL NEW BOATERS!!! I can't begin to tell you how many times I've seen and/or heard a potential new boater be all excited about what we do until someone tosses out a $1,500 or higher cost to build, they walk away never to be seen again. For anyone within NAMBA who would want to see this boat allowed I strongly urge you to contact your powers that be & voice your opinion ASAP, starting with Al Waters the president. I also had a long chat a couple days ago with Remy @ Aeromarine who is ready to make a boat for this class (he wants to have something to put out at the WRAM show) but wants to know what NAMBA is going to do. He was very vocal in hoping they will be smart & drop the minimums to at least 47"x22" because that will allow him to produce a hull that he can safely ship and keep in OS2 shipping. He explained that shipping companies like UPS & FedEx require a minimum one inch of area around contents for padding/protection if a damage claim ever needs to be filed & 48"x24" will absolutely put the hull into OS3 which creates a dramatic rise in costs (shipping for the new Insane T-boat is listed at $80 in the US for example) which hurts the ones who matter most, the boaters. I surely hope the NAMBA board will do the right thing & reduce the minimum to allow the Zippkit boats and help reduce shipping costs for manufacturers like Aeromarine who have unselfishly supported model boating for so many years.
Not entirely true. NAMBA does not have any established national guidelines/rules in place yet (IMPBA does) only a set of rules that NAMBA district 19 has been using and supposedly is submitting to their board at the WinterNats for voting on for the organization which sets the minimums at 48" long x 24" wide, just enough to keep the Zippkits (47"x22") out (there is an unconfirmed rumor circulating that this is intentional, I hope it is not true). As Mike said this would a shame, to me almost a crime, to not allow this hull for the sake of one inch in length & two inches in width as there is no set of eyes in either organization that will be able to tell the difference between 47" & 48" when they are running on the pond. The Zipp thunderboats (Rivett & Rockett) are fantastic deals, something we have been missing for some time. I have a little over $800 turn key in my Zippkits Rockett which by todays standard in building any gas boat is outstanding, THIS IS HOW YOU ATTRACT POTENTIAL NEW BOATERS!!! I can't begin to tell you how many times I've seen and/or heard a potential new boater be all excited about what we do until someone tosses out a $1,500 or higher cost to build, they walk away never to be seen again. For anyone within NAMBA who would want to see this boat allowed I strongly urge you to contact your powers that be & voice your opinion ASAP, starting with Al Waters the president. I also had a long chat a couple days ago with Remy @ Aeromarine who is ready to make a boat for this class (he wants to have something to put out at the WRAM show) but wants to know what NAMBA is going to do. He was very vocal in hoping they will be smart & drop the minimums to at least 47"x22" because that will allow him to produce a hull that he can safely ship and keep in OS2 shipping. He explained that shipping companies like UPS & FedEx require a minimum one inch of area area contents for padding/protection if a damage claim ever needs to be filed & 48"x24" will absolutely put the hull into OS3 which creates a dramatic rise in costs (shipping for the new Insane T-boat is listed at $80 in the US for example) which hurts the ones who matter most, the boaters. I surely hope the NAMBA board will do the right thing & reduce the minimum to allow the Zippkit boats and help reduce shipping costs for manufacturers like Aeromarine who have unselfishly supported model boating for so many years.
Bill I hear you BUT wouldn't it be simpler just to have the voices heard & let the boat run as is? What about the guys who can't do a re-work, why should they be left out? Why not just let them buy a really nice, easy to build kit at a really GREAT price without having to re-engineer the #@%#ing thing. The Zippkit thunderboat didn't just show up yesterday, this boat was displayed at LAST YEAR'S NAMBA WinterNats so they've known about it! There's a pic on the website of Roger Newton holding it up there at that race! THIS is the kind of sxxt that tears me up, one minute people ***** about how the two orgs. are so far apart then for the sake of an inch or two further widen the rift not to mention keeping out one of the best boating values to come to us in YEARS!! :angry:
I absolutly agree...100%...logic should always overule anger, it is just **** frustrating sometimes... for cryin out loud its just a **** hobby!! and some of these differences are so trivial, but they ARE just enough to keep new people from getting involved in what is still a GREAT HOBBY!!
Although I will unfortunately miss the Thunderboat race in Orlando , I will be there racing four boats and will actively pursue the positive reasons why this kit should be allowed . All you see is old men racing anymore (I'm one of them ) We need new blood big time . I built my first RC boat at 24 years of age , a Drag N Fly 40 , I was urged to go race even though it wasn't state of the art . I had a blast ! Now all my boats will break the bank , it's got to get easier and cheaper to foster a new wave of participant to keep it going . Hail the Thunderboat !!
