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[MikeyB]

Hi, I am a bit of a newbie to the model boat world and was recently given a 24" Riva Ariston, got I understand of eBay. It looks quite impressive to my untrained eye and I am keen to adapt it for RC. As these seem to be being sold on eBay all the time, can anyone give me any advice on adapting it. The provided rudder stem looks too short, as does the propeller shaft.  I would appreciate any advice. Kind regards, Mike

[pompebled]

Hi Mike,

These boats from Vietnam (Equipage is a name that comes up in connection with it) have a horrible reputation if it comes to being waterproof.
Specially the first batch had MDF formers and a completely unprotected inside, so the least bit of moisture reeked havoc with the wood, causing cracks to open up and decks to split apart completely.
The majority of these first boats that have seen water have either sunk, or have landed in the trash.

It seems this company has improved the finish of their models, but I'd advice you to inspect the inside for any kind of coating and the absence of MDF.

Only then, combined with reasonable access to the interior, you should contemplate to RC this hull.
At 25" it is a rather small model and if the Vietnamese builders didn't skip on the excess weight, adding RC stuff will make it too heavy very quick, so make sure the hull will handle the extra weight.

A light brushless outrunner, on a quality shaft (check the quality of the stock propshaft), combined with a light Lipo and controller will do the trick.

If you can show us some pictures of the interior, you'll get more response.

Regards, Jan.

[MikeyB]

Hi Jan, Thank you for the response and your guidance. I have had a good look at the inside and I cant see any sign of mdf and bottom decking seems to have a fairly thick layer of resin. I have enclosed some photos of the inside and also of the provided prop and rudder brasswork. I would love to find some way of using them as they look so much better than the other prop/propshafts and rudders available. But this might not be an option if it can not be made watertight. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks,

[Shipmate60]

Craftysod on this forum bought 1 to convert.
As soon as we started working on it the hull to keel joint failed and cracked.
The paint also cracked a bit further forward.
Be aware that this can happen and actively look for any defects when working on her.

Bob

[MikeA]

From the looks of that propshaft and hardware i would say it wouldnt be suitable. For starters the propshaft is too short to go up in side the hull to connect to a motor and  same goes for the shaft on the rudder. plus the prop looks a bit blunt, anyway you will need it to be removable.

Id suggest you do a bath test to check for leaks and to check the waterline of the boat. You could possibly leave the boat in there a bit and see if it goes funny if you like.

you can get brass props if your willing to fork out the money for them.

[pompebled]

Hi Mike,

As already said, the brass 'things' that come with the boat are for decorative purposes only, get a proper stuffing tube, propshaft and prop if you're going to run the boat.

To be honest, I don't like what I see in the pictures; the good thing is you have reasonable access to install a rudder and propshaft, but the builders went completely overboard on the amount of 'resin'(?) used to cover the interior.

If it were my boat, I'd 'dremel' it out as much as possible down to the bare wood and seal that section with thin glasscloth and epoxy resin to make sure that section won't fall apart when installing the propshaft and rudder.

I'd also carefully sand through the white layer on the bottom to see if there is glasscloth used to protect the outside.
If no glasscloth is used, I'd sand the outside down to the wood, seal it with glasscloth and epoxy resin, to be sure the boat will stay in one piece for as long as I want to run it...

Regards, Jan.