Posted by
CI on Friday, June 01, 2007 10:23:11 PM
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.
These inflatable 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.
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.
At this stage, to achieve better performanence through the water and a more comfortable ride, some inflatables had underwater inflated shaped hulls, leading to the RIB.