Fishing Frenzy

Ever wonder where the first Inflatable Boats were made? Imagine making an Inflatable Boat from animal pelts and making them air tight then blowing them up by mouth. Yes, it is true. There are ancient images on cave dwellings depicting these one man inflatable watercrafts long before the days of compressors. These depictions were sometimes mistaken for scuba diving gear when in reality, they were the origin of the Inflatable Boat.

The 1st Duke of Wellington in 1939, Arthur Wellesley had tested the development of the Inflatable Pontoon Boat during his term as the Leader of the House of Lords. Then in the early 1900s due to technology advances in the manufacturing process of rubber, it was then possible to make the Inflatable Raft from rubber. Obviously during this time period, the Inflatable Boats were not mechanically propelled, so the only way to navigate these Inflatable Rafts was to paddle. Due to inherent flaws in the rubber manufacturing process the Inflatable Boats tended to split at the seams.

With the 1912 loss of the RMS Titanic and then the World War I losses of war ships to torpedoes launched by submarines, inflatable boats for use as life rafts was obvious. The most prominent cause of the loss of life on the Titanic was the lack of lifeboats. There was such a shortage of life rafts that no more than 50% of the passengers could have been saved if each one had been used to its capacity.

This disaster was shortly there after created the initial SOLAS treaty to avoid such catastrophes again. The main premise of the SOLAS treaty was to ensure that there were adequate numbers of lifeboats aboard all vessels so that every person had a space on a life boat in the event of an emergency. [http://www.imo.org/Conventions/contents.asp?topic_id=257&doc_id=647]

Cargo ships did not have a difficulty in meeting the new standards at the time as they did not carry many hands on these vessels; however War Ships and Passenger Liners had a very difficult task at hand. For the Passenger Liners to accommodate this had to stack the lifeboats where ever they could in order to meet the new requirements.

Goodyear had discovered a way to better manufacture the Inflatable Boats in between the two World Wars but unfortunately, the conservative though of the time held back its production. The inflatable boats that get produced were life rafts of square-shaped inflated rubber cylinders with a rigid floor. These inflatable rafts were stacked vertically aboard warships on deck.

Then came along Pierre Debroutelle with his 1937 design of the Inflatable Boat. It was the first known to have the now traditional U-Shaped inflatable tube. It was so revolutionary that it was the first boat of its kind to gain certification from the French Navy. Later in 1943 a wooden transom was patented on 10 August 1943. Today, you can see the similarities in this version as compared to today's inflatable sports and pleasure boats.

World War II created a prominent need for a new version of the Inflatable Life Raft with the escalation of the number of submarine attacks against the War Ships and Merchant Ships due to the number of casualties

It was now that the War Ships found the real need for Rubber Life Boats which helped the rubber industry to yet improve again in quality of materials and production " now the Inflatable Boat was shaped like a traditional boat and was better than it had ever been before.

Now is the Inflatable Boats day to shine as it is no longer only a utilitarian war and rescue watercraft, it is now an economical option with can go many places that other boats can not including the trunk of your car. Inflatables are a smart option for anyone, and if the cost of boat ownership have held you back from having a conventional boat, Inflatables are an affordable option.