| Inflatable boats, also called rubber boats or dinghies, | | | | Some inflatable boats run 45 feet in length or more |
| have been around in one form or another for | | | | and may include inboard steering, luxury features, and |
| thousands of years. They now come in many | | | | even full cabins. Inflatable boats have evolved so |
| different sizes and models and include inflatable | | | | much that today, the only thing inflatable on some |
| kayaks, sport boats, and inflatable catamarans. Their | | | | boats is the collar around the perimeter gunwales of |
| versatility and relatively low cost have contributed to | | | | the deck.Hull Designs & Types of Inflatable |
| their popularity, and more and more water | | | | BoatsInflatable boats come in rigid hull design and |
| enthusiasts are discovering the advantages of owing | | | | soft-bottom style. Soft-bottom boats have floors |
| an inflatable boat.Evolution of the Inflatable | | | | made of fabric and slats (usually wood) running |
| BoatHistorical records indicate that the first inflatable | | | | across the beam. This design is generally found in |
| boats were animal skins filled with air. Over the years, | | | | smaller inflatables ranging from about 6 to 8 feet in |
| many cultures have created various versions of | | | | length only.Rigid hulls, or RIBs, were introduced in |
| inflatable watercraft, and in 1839, the Duke of | | | | 1967 by Tony Lee-Elliott and advanced by Admiral |
| Wellington tested the first inflatable pontoons. In the | | | | Hoare and the Atlantic College in Wales. As opposed |
| decades that followed, many new designs were | | | | to soft-bottom boats, which have a fabric hull with |
| introduced and some of them were utilized by | | | | inflatable or wood keels, RIBs have hard fiberglass or |
| European military forces.The inflatable boats were | | | | aluminum hulls and large, inflatable tubes. This allows |
| used to transport torpedoes and other cargo. They | | | | for a combination of the best features from both |
| also allowed troops to make discreet landings in | | | | types of boats.Some RIBs incorporate the V-shaped |
| shallow water, and their compact size and storability | | | | bow similar to that of a traditional boat. This design |
| made them easy to bring with, even on overland | | | | consists of a separate inflation tube running the |
| marches where it would not have been possible to | | | | length of the boat beneath the floorboards. Once |
| bring a traditional boat.One of the models, the Zodiac, | | | | inflated, it pushes the floor materials down to form |
| grew to be very popular with the military and | | | | the V-shape that helps in steering. The flotation |
| contributed significantly to the rise of the civilian | | | | collars on many RIBs are removable, making them |
| inflatable boat industry, both in Europe and in the | | | | easier to store and to clean.RIBs typically range from |
| United States. After World War II, surplus inflatable | | | | 10 to 30 feet in length and are propelled by either by |
| boats were sold to the public and the general | | | | an outboard motor or an inboard motor turning a |
| population had a chance to experience how easy and | | | | water jet or z-drive. They were first used as |
| enjoyable these boats can be.Since then, inflatable | | | | lifeboats in 1970, and later as dinghies or tenders on |
| kayaks, sailing inflatables, inflatable canoes, sport | | | | larger pleasure yachts. |
| boats, and belly boats have been added to the mix. | | | | |