All You Need to Know About Inflatable Boats

Love for water has been an inherent part of human nature. From slashing in the cool bath tub in childhood days to extreme water sports, wateractivities always attract us in one way or other. Adventure and water sports lovers completely understand the role of a good boat when they venture out in a sea, lake or river. Designed in a scientific way to provide you maximum safety and efficiency, Inflatable boats are powered by either an inboard or outboard engine to achieve optimum efficiency while navigation or floating.

Since an inflatable boat has to pass through various obstacles in a water body, it becomes highly essential that they are made of a durable material. Made from material that has a Hypalon and PVC coating, inflatable boats ensure proper toughness and resilience for bridges, rocks or branches during its journey in the vast expanse of water. The ergonomic design and seats ensure that the riders do not have any kind of discomfort while riding. Moreover, two large buoyancy tubes on the either side provide support to an inflatable boat. The buoyancy tubes creates a center of gravity that enables the boat to sit flat on the water surface that makes it difficult to topple even in high water pressure regions.

RIBs can be used for a variety of purposes. Their safe, sturdy and reliable design makes them perfect for not only recreational purposes, but also for professional and commercial purposes as well. Different inflatables are available in the market to suit your particular needs. A majority of inflatable boats come with an option of oars for manual navigation, as well as with motors for achieving higher speed and efficiency. In addition, the puncture resistant inflatable boats can be folded that make them perfect for beachside or some river excursion. Being more affordable and durable than the traditional boats, these boats are also less bulky and easy to store.

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UK Marine Industry [Infographics]

Billhigham Marines releases its first {Infographics} about UK's leisure and small commercial marine industry. We tried to highlight some Interesting UK Stats

• 1.1 million boats/craft are owned by UK households
• 5.9% of UK adults went boating in 2011, which is 3.2 million adults

The Info graphics also highlights boating purposes and UK's adult boating activity participation in various events.

UK Marine Industry [Infographics]

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The Evolution of Rigid Inflatable Boats

The rigid inflatable boats that we use today were initially developed in the beginning of the 20th century. However, the principle of buoyancy aids obtained from air being squeezed in a ‘bag’- has been used for thousands of years. Some ancient pictures show men crossing water on inflated animal skins. To ensure the right degree of buoyancy and stability, there was a need for more versatile and robust inflatable boats and inflatable structures.

The actual evolution of inflatable boats started with the development of rubber coated fabrics that were used by the airship industry but several airship accidents held back the further development of hydrogen filled airships. Societe Zodiac – an airship maker based in France decided to use the rubber coated fabrics for air filled boats and in the year 1934 he manufactured 2 seater inflatable kayak followed by an inflatable catamaran. The company later added a floor connecting the buoyancy tubes and this is how the modern Zodiac inflatable boats evolved.

After World War 2, the development of inflatable boats took a major leap forward with new synthetic materials - neoprene and Hypalon - being coated onto nylon fabrics. Further, with the production of new generation of glues, inflatable boats could now cope with hard natural elements without becoming brittle, (as natural rubber does) and they also became impervious to salt, UV rays and petrochemicals.

Inflatable boats became popular, and with the progress of manufacturing techniques, boat users appreciated the possibility of combining the inherent buoyancy and stability of an inflatable boat with speed of modern planning hulls. Inboard and outboard motors were then used in these boats – this gave more speed and control to the vessel.

Manufacturing of rigid inflatable boats, tenders and kayaks has now moved into mass production era. RIB manufacturers have developed several sophisticated models of such boats and use high quality heat weld seamed PVC and vinyl materials for coating. The future for RIBs and inflatable marine structures looks bright and the support for the owners and operators of these products is also excellent.

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Tips for Outboard Motor and Inflatable Boat Repair

When you are going for an outboard motor and Inflatable repair, the primary thing to consider is that spark, fuel and compression are all working properly. Generally a gasoline fuel is used for an outboard motor and it is combusted to drive the pistons up and down. Spark is typically the ignition source that allows the fuel to combust. Compression is integrated in the cylinder that allows the pistons to move efficiently. Since each component has potential to perform in unexpected ways, outboard motor repair requires testing and verification of each part. Fuel issues can often be traced back to the ignition system in case the cylinder that is responsible for sending a pulse signal to the fuel pump is not working efficiently.

There are numerous types of outboard motors, hence the repair process may differ depending on the design as well. If the engine is not running properly a good place to execute the outboard motor repair process can be compression. Each spark plug should be separated and the testing device can be screwed into one of the plug holes. Then the engine can be cranked or turned over a couple of times until the needle over the gauge stops rising. In case, any of the cylinders are considerably lower than the others, this indicates there is perhaps a mechanical issue the outboard motor.

You can find more tips on outboard motor repair and get your boat repaired from a reputable online outboard motor repair service provider.

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What are Outboard Motors?

Outboard motors are typically used to push boats through the water at faster speeds. You can find these outboard motors along with ribs in a wide variety of power levels used for everything from small-sized rowboats to large-sized fishing boats. 

The outboard motors appear in both electric as well as gasoline powered versions. The electric versions are often smaller and deliver less horsepower in exchange for a noise-free ride. These outboard motors from Tohatsu, Mariner, Yamaha are beneficial for smaller watercrafts or for fishing to mitigate noise that may scare away fishes. On the contrary, gasoline powered outboard motors are quite noisy but can provide much more power. These begin as low as two or three horsepower for small watercraft and can reach well to hundreds to power large fishing boats. Another possibility to increase power is to have multiple outboards. It is certainly not uncommon to find large fishing boats powered by two or even four outboard motors all attached with the same steering wheel.

Outboard motors are usually durable and can often last for a longer period of time. However, appropriate care is required. The two biggest threats are carbon and heat. Boat owners must always ensure that the engine's cooling system is functioning to combat heat. With appropriate care, outboard motors can provide you several years of service.

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What next for the inflatable boat?

What next for the inflatable boat?

Well inflatables have retained their integrity for the past fifty years or so, the odd new innovation here and quirky add on there, but to all intents and purposes they have remained unchanged. With so many brands vying for their little cut of the pie inflatable boat manufacturers must look to new horizons to turn their inflatable boat for sale into an inflatable boat sold! They can no longer rely on special offer deals to dazzle the punters with seemingly irresistible arrays of extras: free bow bag with every boat, extra seat worth £45 with every inflatable for sale this week etc.etc. This stuff has all been done. What the discerning and forward thinking manufacturer needs is something to set their inflatable boats out from the crowd, a true innovation that will either increase the enjoyment of the boating experience or help them save time getting the boat either together or down again. Well at Seapro boats HQ in korea they think they have cracked it, an innovation for 2012 which will set seapro inflatables ahead of the rest, zodiac inflatables will be running back to the drawing boar to try to better the most common sense invention since the airdeck!! Want to know more? Then watch this space...

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