Inflatable boats have been around since the early 1900\'s. Of course back then they were not nearly as strong and reliable as they are now. Due to advances in technology, inflatable boats have become a good alternative for certain boating needs.
Inflatable boats are lightweight boats that are constructed with the sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurized gas. On smaller boats, the floor and hull beneath it is often flexible. On boats longer than 3 meters (10 feet), the floors usually consists of three to five rigid plywood or aluminium sheets that are fixed between the tubes but not joined rigidly together. Often the transom is rigid, which provides the location and structure for mounting an outboard motor. Inflatable boats can have rubber floors, either plain or inflatable, or they may include steel, wood or aluminium sheets for rigidity.
Uses for inflatable boats
Over the past few decades people have found that inflatable boats sometimes serve their boating needs just as well if not better than regular boats. This is especially true when it comes to marine patrol agencies and rescue teams. Marine patrol requires frequent contact with other vessels, for example, when pulling up alongside to conduct a search, providing assistance or making an arrest. If a traditional hard-sided watercraft is used, an agency or department often risks being sued if someone is injured. That is why so many agencies are now increasingly looking to add Rigid-hull Inflatable Boats (RIBs) to their marine patrol fleets. RIBs will typically have an aluminum hull that is topped and surrounded with an inflatable collar.
Inflatables are commonly between 6 to 21 feet (2 and 7 meters) in length and are propelled by outboard motors of 5 to 80 horsepower (4 to 60 kW). Because of their speed, portability and weight, inflatable boats are used for: racing commercial or recreational fishing tenders for larger boats and ships in port and at sea recreational water skiing dive boats for scuba diving.
Due to advanced technology over the last 20 years, inflatable boats have become a very viable alternative. Many of these boats now come with very generous warranties and product guarantees. Getting these boats to the water is easy as they inflate and deflate very quickly and can be stored in the trunk of a car. If you choose to have a very small horsepower motor, that will add even more to the simplicity of using these boats.
Author Resource:-
Victor Epand is an expert consultant about model boats, boat parts, and model submarines. You will find the best shopping at these sites for model boats, inflatable used boat parts, and model submarines.
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