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 fibreglass 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 fibreglass tape.

An important feature of the Viper Cruiser is the addition of "foam sandwich" panelling. 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.