Ducky, rib, inflatable, doesn't matter what you ant to call them there is no doubt that these incredible boats are here to stay. They say the first inflatable boats was made of animal skins and was inflated using a person own lug power. I guess the inflatable as we know could not have come to be without the invention of rubber. Around 1900 some clever fellow figured a use for rubber tress and rubber came to be. From there finding uses for rubber became about as popular as finding uses for Velcro. Can any body remember life without Velcro? How about imagining life today without Velcro today? Anyway rubber was in and one if it's enduring uses is the inflatable boat. The rubber boat is a rescue vehicle, a work horse, a play thing and even a weapon. Today I thought I would like to look at some of these boats and some of their uses. I trust you enjoy reading this article as much as I enjoyed researching it.

Main two types of rubber duck.

There are two main types of inflatable. The first group is the 100% pump up inflatable. Some have inflatable keels and others have inflatable floors. Then again they may a floor made up of boards be they wood, aluminum or fiberglass. The boards will normally not be fixed together to allow plenty of movement for the boat. The second type is the RIB. This acronym stands for Rigid Hulled Inflatable boat. The boats have a rigid hull made of fiberglass, aluminum or even carbon fiber which is then surrounded by inflatable tubes.

Construction.

These days we have a lot more than rubber to build inflatable boats from. Commonly used materials now include PVC or the Hypalon PVC covered polyester Carbon fiber, Decks and transoms will be made of rubber, PVC, wood, FRP, Carbon fiber or aluminum.

The ride.

In most cases the ride on an inflatable will be a lot smoother than the same ride on a "normal" boat of the same length for the same price. For anyone who is used to riding in those "normal" boats you may feel a sense of, how shall I say< "fatness" as the inflatable tends to roll itself from side to side. But one thing nearly all inflatable share in common is that they are a wet ride. As a diver of more than 30 years experience I have ridden in many dive boats. I love the inflatable. But on many dive boats I jump on in my normal clothes and change on the boat then change back into my street wear after the dive. Not on inflatable. I put my wet suit on before I leave and leave all equipment other than my dive gear at home.

Inflatable are being used in several countries around the world. Probably two of the most advanced volunteer life guard and water rescue nations in the world would be Britain and Australia. It is no coincidence that both of these countries employ Inflatable in the rescue work. The You Tube videos I have selected show both RIB and non RIB inflatable at work. The Australians use non RIB inflatable in beach rescue. I have seen these things take off from the beach in huge seas and they are amazing. Just as a small side note I noticed that these boats sport 25 hp outboard engines and have fully enclosed propellers so as not to harm those they are saving from tragedy in the water. The Brits have put RIB inflatable to use in seas rescue work. The video shown shoos the proud crew of the Kirkcudbright lifeboat launching their new rescue vessel. I have talked to British and Australian rescue crews about their boats and they both say the same thing. They love them.

Apart from the use as an on board life raft for large vessels the inflatable boat was rapidly put to use by divers around the world. Inflatable are a perfect dive platform as the are easy low maintenance, easy to handle, take a bump of heavy tanks and gear being tossed around and can handle the odd tangle with a reef or rock shelf whilst unloading divers. Of course we need to remember they are an open boat and as such divers need to take care in just how far they take them away from shelter. I had the chance to talk to a yachtsman dragged out of the sea by a rescue helicopter. I asked him what he thought of his US$3,500 inflatable life raft. He said, "It was wet, cold, windy, and I almost starved to death in that thing but I love it and have a new one fitted to my new boat."

Whilst not yet a popular use for the duck, water skiing has never the less been proven as another inflatable pastime. The guys in this video prove that if you really want to do something you most probably can. What needs to be understood is that t life that skier out of the water takes a great deal of low down brute force. This force places tremendous strain on the rear end or transom of the boat and many a boat has run foul of this requirement just before sinking after losing its back end over board. Yet here we see a guy jump overboard and perform a deep water start with his wakeboard

Now we are getting to the real adventurous uses of inflate bales. In fact some people have become so used to inflatable putting up with the worst and harshest of treatments they push them just a bit too far. Hey? No not the boats the people inside! Check out this video to see just what kind of punishment these inflatable boats can take. Oh and do pay attention as the weaker human beings get washed away like so much float some. I spoke to a New Zealander whose job was to guide people on white water inflatable rafting trips. I asked him what eh though of the rafts. He just smiled and said "take a ride on one mate and stop asking silly questions, there is nothing better"

Not all inflatable are in the standard boat form. Some are canoes and others kayaks as well. One more style of inflatable boat is the life raft we have all learned to depend on in times of peril at sea. Like most good inventions the rubber boat was born out of necessity. We all know the story of the Titanic sinking and that even if every life boat was used to 100% capacity they still would have had to leave many behind to drown. The laws just didn't require a sat for every passenger on the lifeboats. Now they do. So how can you fit enough lifeboats to carry every passenger if the main ship sinks? That would require as much boat space again unless; you can shrink them down when not in use. Bingo, inflatable. Anyway here is a video that shows just how compact inflatable can be and just how easy they are to get working.

It doesn't matter if you are talking about hunting sea bass of the coast of Japan, Tuna of the coast of Argentina or salmon in the lakes and rivers of Alaska. You will find inflatable out there carrying fisherman into the fray. Ask any fisherman who owns an inflatable what they think of their boast. You guessed it, they love them.

There her to stay and will only grow in number and replace traditional boats in more and more usages. Inflatable boats, go check out your local dealer today. You will love them.