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Inflatable boats are essentially large, hollow, lightweight tubes filled with pressurized gas, wrapped around a durable bottom or center made of plywood, aluminum, or sometimes flexible material. Inflatable boats come in countless variations, and are often referred to as “dinghies” (pronounced Ding-ees).

The advantage of an inflatable boat versus a boat of standard solid construction is that the inflatable boat is lighter and easier to transport, and can even be compressed when not in use so that it takes up less space.

The Origin of Inflatable Boats

There are records of boats made of animal skins that were inflated by mouth, like a balloon, that date back centuries. It wasn’t until Charles Goodyear finally invented vulcanized rubber in 1838 that inflatable boats took on their present tubular shape. Using vulcanized rubber as a construction material also increases durability and provides a greater strength to weight ration than any previously used materials.

But inflatable boats have been around much longer than Charles Goodyear. Old construction styles used two layers of canvas joined together by a layer of waterproof glue or liquid rubber.

Inflatable Boats Throughout History

The first inflatable pontoons were tested by the Duke of Wellington back in 1839. Since then, inflatable boats have been a part of many notable and historical events:

• In 1845, a British naval officer developed inflatable boats intended for use by Arctic explorers.
• He also developed the Boat Cloak, which was a sort of waterproof poncho that could be inflated and used as a one person boat.
• In 1848, General George Cullum invented an inflatable bridge on pontoons which was used to cross rivers in the Mexican-American War.
• In 1855 a series of very modern looking inflatable boats were marketed by the Thomas Hancock Company in Britain.
• In 1863, the U.S. Navy installed inflatable life rafts onboard ironclad warships.
• In 1866 four men crossed the Atlantic Ocean on an inflatable raft called Nonpareil.
• During World War II, Navy ships began installing inflatable boats to be used as life rafts do to the high number of German submarine attacks

Modern Inflatable Boats

Inflatable boats today are far sturdier and more rugged than the old canvas models – some inflatable boats, like the famous Zodiac used by military personnel around the world – can even take a bullet and stay afloat!

The emergency escape slides on passenger planes are a modified form of the inflatable boat, and even the airbags in your car are based on the same techniques that produce inflatable boats.

Pontoon Boats

Pontoons, or inflatable pontoon boats, have also been around longer than vulcanized rubber, and like old inflatable boats were often made from two layers of canvas joined by waterproof glue. If you’ve ever seen a sea plane – a plane with two large hulls under it that allow it to take off and land on the water – then you understand the concept of the pontoon boat.

Pontoons boats are often flat, and can usually carry much more weight than a standard inflatable boat.

About the Author

Andrew Thomas lives in Toronto, Ontario with his wife and son. Andrew has traveled extensively, and in the last 12 years has lived in Halifax, Vancouver, and Toronto. His travel has given him an insight into the various recreational watercraft that are available. He has noticed a trend towards inflatable boats and kayaks, particularly in the inland lakes and rivers and on sailboats. The latter are stored onboard the sailboat and are used for transportation to shore. He decided to combine this insight with his profession as an internet publisher and produce best-inflatable-boats.com.