Two inflatable boats at Horsea Island, England.

An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull beneath it is often flexible. On boats longer than 3 metres/10 feet, the floor often consists of three to five rigid plywood or aluminium sheets fixed between the tubes but not joined rigidly together. Often the transom is rigid, providing a location and structure for mounting an outboard motor. Inflatable boats I photographed thi myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Inflatable boats I photographed thi myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Toy constructed from plywood. ... “Aluminum” redirects here. ... Transom (probably a corruption of Latin transtrum, a thwart, in a boat; equivalents are French traverse, croisillon, German Losholz) is the architectural term given to the horizontal lintel or beam which is framed across a window, dividing it into stages or heights. ... Bolinders two cylinder Trim outboard engine. ...

Some inflatable boats have been designed to be disassembled and packed into in a small volume, so they can easily stored and transported to water when needed. This feature allows such boats to be used as liferafts for larger boats or aircraft, and for travel or recreational purposes. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... For other uses, see Boat (disambiguation). ... “Flying Machine” redirects here. ...

Other terms for inflatable boats are "Zodiac boat", "rubber dinghy" or simply "inflatable".

Types

Inflatable boats may have rubber floors, either plain or inflatable, or they may include steel, wood or aluminium sheets for rigidity. The tubes are made of rubberised, synthetic sheets of Hypalon or PVC to provide light-weight and secure buoyancy. The tubes are often constructed in separate sections, each with a valve to add or remove air, to reduce the effect of a puncture. For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Wood (disambiguation). ... “Aluminum” redirects here. ... In physics, buoyancy is the upward force on an object produced by the surrounding fluid (i. ...

Some inflatable boats have an inflated keel to create a "groove" along the line of the hull improving the hull's wave cutting and turning performance. Due to the lightness, it is easy to cause an inflatable boat to start hydroplaning, thus making it faster than the engine would allow when the hull is operating in displacement mode. For other uses, see Keel (disambiguation). ... Planing has several meanings: With boats, planing or hydroplaning is a method by which a hull skims over the surface of the water, rather than plowing through it. ...

A growing use for inflatables is for white water rafting and kayaking, as well as in river, lake and ocean touring. Professional-level rafts and kayaks have existed for many years; since the late 1990s, more affordable inflatable rafts, kayaks (including sea kayaks) and canoes have been developed by European and North American companies. Typically these inflatable boats contain no rigid frame members, so they can be deflated, folded and stored in compact bags. This page discusses whitewater rapids. ... Rafting in Brazil. ... Sea Kayaking at Wilsons Promontory in Victoria, Australia Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. ... A Sea kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on the open waters of the ocean. ... Canoe at El Nido, Philippines A canoe is a relatively small human-powered boat. ...

Repairing

Should a section puncture it can be repaired while still underway. More extensive inflatable boat repairs - due to pinholes, punctures, peeling, leaks or worn fabric - can be done in dry dock using two-stage synthetic rubber coatings (SRC).

Subject to a great deal of wear and tear from the elements - both water and sun - inflatable boats are often replaced when they could be restored or even repaired. Products that aggressively adhere to the damaged Hypalon or PVC shell can fix virtually any surface damage through a unique chemical bonding between the undercoat and topcoat that permanently vulcanizes the two rubber coatings together to make the inflatable as good as new. However since the Hypalon material increases the cost of the inflatable up to 15% not all manufactures provide the option. Some, such as the Brig and the Zodiac offer the option between the PVC or the Hypalon which is recommended for environments of increase heat and sunlight. This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

A Zodiac inflatable is hoisted aboard an expedition cruise ship in Antarctic waters after ferrying passengers to shore.

Hoisting a Zodiac onto the Hanseatic in Antarctica, taken February 2001 by User:Stan Shebs File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Hoisting a Zodiac onto the Hanseatic in Antarctica, taken February 2001 by User:Stan Shebs File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Pacific Sky sails under Sydney Harbour Bridge A cruise ship or a cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ships amenities are considered an essential part of the experience. ...

Uses

Inflatables are commonly between 2 and 7 metres (6 to 21 feet) long and are propelled by outboard motors of 5 to 80 horsepower (4 to 60 kW). Due to their speed, portability and weight, inflatable boats are used extensively as:- Bolinders two cylinder Trim outboard engine. ... This article is about a unit of measurement. ...

• rescue craft
• dive boats for scuba diving
• tenders for larger boats and ships in port and at sea
• luxury yacht tenders
• recreational water skiing
• for racing
• commercial or recreational fishing
• for military purposes, such as transporting soldiers from a vessel to shore

Inflatables up to 6 metres in length can be towed on trailers on the road. A rescue craft is a boat or ship used in rescuing. ... A dive boat is a boat that scuba divers use to reach a diving site which they could not reach by swimming from land. ... Scuba diving is swimming underwater while using self-contained breathing equipment. ... Tender may mean: In finance: A process by which one can seek prices and terms for a particular project (such as a construction job) to be carried out under a contract. ... A luxury yacht tender is used to service and to provide support and entertainment to a private or charter luxury yacht. ... // Water skiing began in 1922 when Ralph Samuelson strapped two boards to his feet and rigged a clothesline up to his boat on Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minnesota. ... Utility trailer A Trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. ...

These boats are often used by special-operations units of the armed forces of several nations, for such purposes as landing on beaches or submarines. They have also be used by special-ops soldiers without government sponsorship, such as guerrillas, pirates, and terrorists. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Beaches is a 1988 movie adapted by Mary Agnes Donoghue from the novel Beaches by Iris Rainer Dart. ... USS Los Angeles A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ... Guerrilla (also called a partisan) is a term borrowed from Spanish (from guerra meaning war) used to describe small combat groups. ... Pirates may refer to: A group of people committing any of these activities: Piracy at sea or on a river/lake. ... Terrorism refers to the use of violence for the purpose of achieving a political, religious, or ideological goal. ...

Offshore inflatable racing (Thundercat class) at Ilfracombe, north Devon, England. These boats can reach 100 km/h (60 mph).

Offshore inflatable racing (Thundercat class) at Ilfracombe, north Devon, England. ... Offshore inflatable racing (Thundercat class) at Ilfracombe, north Devon, England. ...

History

Early attempts

There are ancient carved images of animal skins filled with air being used as one-man floats to cross rivers. They were inflated by mouth. (Sometimes these images have been wrongly described as ancient scuba.) A scuba diver in usual sport diving gear SCUBA is an acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. ...

In 1839 the Duke of Wellington tested the first inflatable pontoons. Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (c. ...

For more information, see http://www.allinflatables.com/support/general.html#history.

Rubber arrives

In 1900 to 1910 the development of rubber manufacturing enabled attempts at producing circular rubber inflatable boats: in essence, modern-day coracles. These were only usable as rafts and could be propelled only by paddling, and they tended to crack at seams and folds due to imperfect manufacture of the rubber. Coracle: Ku-Dru or Kowa of Tibet—Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago A coracle is a primitive type of boat. ...

Titanic and WWI

With the loss of the Titanic in 1912, and World War I losses of ships to submarine-launched torpedoes, the need for inflatable boats was plain. For other uses, see Titanic (disambiguation). ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Submarine (disambiguation). ... The torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled explosive projectile weapon, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater toward a target, and designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ...

One cause of the loss of life on the Titanic was the lack of lifeboats. Even if every lifeboat had been completely filled with passengers and crew, there would have been no way to rescue more than half of all the people on board. The first SOLAS treaty was designed to avoid such a disaster happening again. One of its provisions was to ensure that vessels had enough lifeboats to provide every person aboard the vessel with a place. Putting this rule into effect was not difficult with cargo ships: they had small crews and plenty of deck space. Passenger ships had to stack lifeboats on top of each other to able to carry enough to accommodate the large number of passengers and crew. Warships also had large crews and little deck space. Severn class lifeboat in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England. ... Solas is an Irish-American musical group formed in 1994, playing Irish traditional music as well as original compositions in the style. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Between the two World Wars, Goodyear found a way to join rubber to other materials. They made life rafts of square-shaped inflated rubber tubes with a rigid floor. Such rafts were to be stacked vertically aboard warships, usually standing on deck and leaning against deck-houses. But conservative thinking from navies held back this new idea. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. ...

Pierre Debroutelle's 1937 design was the first known to have its inflatable tube in a U-shape. It was the first boat of its kind to be certified by the French Navy. Its added wooden transom was patented on 10 August 1943. This version was the predecessor of today's inflatable sports and pleasure boats. The French Navy, officially called the National Navy (French: Marine Nationale) is the maritime arm of the French military. ... Transom (probably a corruption of Latin transtrum, a thwart, in a boat; equivalents are French traverse, croisillon, German Losholz) is the architectural term given to the horizontal lintel or beam which is framed across a window, dividing it into stages or heights. ...

World War II

World War II changed everything. Submarine warfare in the Battle of the Atlantic led to casualties among warships and merchant ships. US warships began using rubber life rafts. Since the rubber was much higher quality than 35 years before, the inflatable returned, but this time it was boat-shaped. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Battle of the Atlantic can refer to either of two naval campaigns, depending on context: World War I - First Battle of the Atlantic World War II - Second Battle of the Atlantic A Third Battle of the Atlantic was envisioned to be be part of any Third World War that arose...

In military use inflatable boats were used to transport torpedoes and other cargo. They also allowed troops to make landings in shallow water, and their compact size and storability made overland transport possible.

One of the models, the Zodiac, grew to be popular with the military and contributed significantly to the rise of the civilian inflatable boat industry, both in Europe and in the United States. As a result "Zodiac" has become in many places a generic for "inflatable boat". After World War II, surplus inflatable boats were sold to the public. A version of this boat has been adapted by the Marine Mammal Center for use in rescuing injured marine mammals at sea. Zodiac Group is a diversified corporation with a worldwide presence and a blue-chip stock specialising in the production of aerosafety systems, aircraft systems, airline equipment, airbags, remote transmissions, boats and swimming pools. ... A trade name, also known as a trading name or a business name, is the legal name of a business, or the name which a business trades under for commercial purposes. ... Release of rehabilitated pinnipeds into the Pacific Ocean The Marine Mammal Center is a private non-profit organization centered on rescue, rehabilitation, environmental research and education pertaining to certain species within the pinnipedia, carnivora and cetacea biological orders. ...

Modern inflatables

An inflatable boat capable of carrying a car.

Summer sailing in a Zodiac-style inflatable boat.

Inflatable liferafts were also used successfully to save crews of aircraft that ditched in the sea; bombing, naval and anti-submarine aircraft flying long distances over water being much more common from the start of WWII. The PBY made by Catalina and Canadair seems to have been the first aeroplane to have had an inflatable life boat aboard, first as optional, later as standard equipment. A later version of that inflatable was pressurized by a gas cylinder rather than by mouth. A wire connected to the plane opened the cylinder valve in the inflatable after the life raft was thrown into the water. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 531 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A car carrying inflatable boat at Oban I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 531 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A car carrying inflatable boat at Oban I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2816x2112, 863 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Inflatable boat Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2816x2112, 863 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Inflatable boat Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The PBY Catalina was the definitive air-sea rescue aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. ... Catalina may refer to: In geography: Catalina, Arizona Catalina, Romania Santa Catalina, Ilocos Sur Santa Catalina, Negros Oriental Santa Catalina Island, California Santa Catalina Mountains Catalina, New South Wales Cătălina, Romania In transportation: Catalina 30, twenty nine foot 10 inch long fiberglass sailboat first produced in 1974 by... Canadair Sabre (Golden Hawks aerobatic team) display at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Mount Hope, Ontario Canadair was a civil and military aircraft manufacturer in Canada. ...

Until the middle 1950s inflatables were still rafts in civilian use, hand paddled but the outboard motor came into use in the early 1950s. (The outboard motor was invented in 1909 by Ole Evinrude.) Bolinders two cylinder Trim outboard engine. ... Bolinders two cylinder Trim outboard engine. ... Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Ole Evinrude (1877 - 1934) was a U.S. inventor. ...

Also in the 1950s, the French Navy officer and biologist Alain Bombard was the first to combine the outboard engine, a rigid floor and a boat shaped inflatable. The former airplane-manufacturer Zodiac built that boat and a friend of Bombard, the diver Jacques-Yves Cousteau began to use it, after Bombard sailed across the Atlantic Ocean with his inflatable in 1952. Cousteau was convinced by the shallow draught and good performance of this type of boat and used it as tenders on his expeditions. "Zodiac" became the word commonly used in French for inflatable boats and RIBs. The term was subsequently widely adopted in the United States. The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ... Alain Bombard (October 27, 1924 - July 19, 2005) was a French biologist and physician famous for sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in a small boat. ... Airplane and Aeroplane redirect here. ... Zodiac Group is a diversified corporation with a worldwide presence and a blue-chip stock specialising in the production of aerosafety systems, aircraft systems, airline equipment, airbags, remote transmissions, boats and swimming pools. ... Jacques-Yves Cousteau in 1976. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The inflatable boat was so successful that Zodiac lacked the manufacturing capacity to satisfy demand. In the early 1960s, Zodiac licenced production to a dozen companies in other countries. In the 1960s, the British company Humber was the first to built Zodiac inflatables in the UK. The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ...

Some inflatables have inflated keels whose V-shape help the hull move through waves reducing the slamming effect caused by the flat hull landing back on the surface the water after passing over the top of a wave at speed. For other uses, see Keel (disambiguation). ...

Rigid-hulled inflatable boat

The modern rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RIB) is a development of the inflatable boat which has a rigid floor and solid hull. The external shape of the hull lets it cut through waves more easily giving a more comfortable ride when travelling fast in rough conditions. The structure of the hull is capable of supporting a more powerful transom mounted outboard engine or even an inboard engine. // A rigid-inflatable boat (RIB) or rigid-hulled inflatable boat, (RHIB) is a light-weight but high performance and high capacity boat constructed with a solid, shaped hull and flexible tubes at the gunwale. ... Bolinders two cylinder Trim outboard engine. ...

Some RIBs may be 14 metres (45 feet) in length and may include inboard steering, luxury features and full cabins.