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First, balance the contradiction between portability and performance on the water to choose the right form of bottom plate

Choose the right hull material according to the boat's usage environment

Buy the biggest boat within your budget and space requirements

1、Appropriate bottom plate

Inflatable boat bottom structure directly affects the portability, convenience of installation, storage volume and performance on water. A synthetic plastic, fiberglass or aluminum rigid bottom inflatable boat with a V-shaped bottom has good flight performance, but must be transported and stored by a trailer and hanger. Boats with flexible fabric bottoms can be folded very compactly, but then sacrifice some on-the-water performance. If you want the boat to be able to take off at a speed of at least more than 5mph (8km/h), then a semi-hard bottom boat is a must.

Soft bottom rubber boat

Economical boats like mini-rubbers or micro-rubbers are very easy to install and very easy to carry. They are more suitable for use along the coast and in small areas of water, fishing or camping. They have an inflatable bottom and do not need to be removed for normal storage. Driven by a paddle or electric motor, these swimming lap-like rubber boats are the least expensive and have only the most basic functions.

Rollup boats that can be rolled up

Similar to the previous type of rubber boat, this type of boat also does not require the removal of the bottom when transporting. Our popular type of boat RU260 can be opened, inflated and launched in a matter of minutes. The bottom is fabric with wooden slats on top. You don't usually have to remove these wooden strips. The advantage of the Rollup is its simplicity, but its flat bottom and low horsepower drive makes it impossible to take off and only suitable for harbor and calm waters.

Sports Boats

Sport inflatables have a removable bottom, usually made of composite wood, synthetic plastic or aluminum. A through aluminum fixing slot is used to fasten the bottom plate from the sides of both sides to form a whole. After the bottom plate is installed and the port and starboard air chambers and tapered keel air chambers are inflated, the bottom is tightened to form a shallow V shape, which gives it better turn-tracking and drainage than a flat bottom boat. This bottom form makes it heavier than a normal rubber boat, but it can be installed with 6-25hp outboard and run faster with very good cost performance.

Inflatable bottom boats

A sport boat, such as a 275 or 310, becomes an HP inflatable bottom boat (sometimes called an inflatable bottom boat) by replacing its wooden bottom with a high pressure inflatable bottom. It combines the excellent performance of a sport boat with the light weight and portability of a soft bottom boat. Its unique high-pressure inflatable bottom (air pressure up to 11psi) is very light. And when deflated, it can be rolled in the boat. It can take off immediately after launching, and we were amazed by the good performance we could get with a small horsepower outboard. This is thanks to its small weight. For example, our 60lb (30kg) 310 inflatable bottom boat can take off with one person on board and a 5hp outboard drive. The whole boat can be slightly bent just enough to absorb the impact of waves, while in a hard bottom boat such waves may throw people out. Although a little more expensive than a conventional sport boat, it brings together many advantages without being mediocre. Installation time is very, very short!

High Pressure Inflatable (HP-V) type inflatable boat

The unique HP-V bottom technology is a change for 2008, its non-removable bottom is essentially a high-pressure bottom version of Rollups boats, which makes this inflatable boat perform almost like a RIB boat. Another change was the replacement of the original sausage-shaped inflatable keel with the HP-V bottom plate. Inflating the two Halkey Robert valves in the bow, the V-shaped bottom becomes stiff and tough, which helps with ride control and comfort, similar in feel to the HP flat bottom inflatable above. However, the cabin contents are positioned lower than in a flat bottom boat, and the resulting low center of gravity provides better stability than in a RIB.

Hard Bottom Boats (RIBs) or Hull Boats

RIBs have the feel and performance of a real "boat" with the proper stiffness and deep V-shaped bottom. Its fiberglass hull can chop waves like a regular hardshell boat, and still be protected from wear and tear under high-speed motion, sandy rocks and diving tanks. However, unlike ordinary hard hull boats, its inflatable hatch makes the hull more stable and buoyant, and it can be used as a tender (I don't know what it means?). When it is used as a tender (I don't know what it means?), it will not hurt the side of other boats.

But it has excellent performance at the same time can not take into account the portability. The hull can not be disassembled, can not be carried in a folding bag. It takes up a lot less space than not deflating, but it still takes up some space. Therefore, we generally recommend it to those who have the conditions to store on the deck of the mother ship or on the davit rack without deflating or on the open deck after deflating. Of course its light weight also makes it easy to transport by trailer.

Compact or Folding RIBs

Compact RIBs have an articulated folding beam, which makes it possible to greatly reduce the packing volume, from taking the roof rack off to inflate to launching in 10 minutes. The hull material is fiber glass or RIMTEC molded polyester with a shallow V-shaped bottom. The crossbeam of the composite panel is firmly glued to the inflatable tube. The hinges connect the bottom to the beam, so that the beam can be folded when stored. With a large zipper bag can be packed, looks like a large surfboard. Nonetheless, the size is a bit large and these RIBs only fit under the front deck or Boom better than regular RIBs. Transported just right on the roof rack or in the luggage compartment of a station wagon.

Catamaran Sports Boats

Catamaran inflatable outboard sport boats are the best performers among the inflatable boat types. Both the improved Cats boat and its close relative, the military inflatable Sport Cats, are the next generation of the early 1980's South African coastal surf high-speed rescue boats. These rescue boats can reach speeds of 65mph (104km/h) and can be used in windy and choppy water. Sport Cats race with generally two occupants and are called zapCats in the UK and Europe, ThunderCats in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, and are included in the A.P.B.A inflatable boat circuit race in the United States. That is, similar to the water NASCAR race. Go online and google the above and you will be hooked. The Improved Cats are the traditional version of these incredible dinghies.

An ordinary flat-bottomed sports boat with two wedge-shaped water fins made of high-pressure air hoses and high-density rubber becomes a cavernous hull that provides lift for immediate takeoff, and the air cushion feels very smooth when moving at high speed. In sharp turns, the wedge-shaped fins bite the water body on the inside and slide the water body on the outside, ensuring that the whole boat will not roll over. This allows the boat to make sharp turns at very high speeds. The extra-large main airlock and extended beam of the boat can also carry more weight and maintain a more stable attitude.

Improved Cats have other additional advantages: cave hull design effectively increases speed (can use smaller motor, less fuel consumption), very flexible and accurate reverse gear handling (and all other inflatable boats are different), and more energy-saving rowing with oars. Finally, it can also be easily towed behind other power machines and sailing boats.

2. Choose the right material: Hypalon rubber cloth or PVC?

What kind of hull material you use depends on the environment you generally use it in. Two choices: PVC with polyurethane as the cover and Hypalon (face cover neoprene nylon). Both of these materials are strong, durable and reliable and can be used in any environment. But if you mostly play boats in tropical areas, then Hypalon rubber boat will be more durable because it has better UV resistance.

The construction of PVC and Hypalon boats are often different, but both are very reliable. Some manufacturers use pressure welding technology to weld pieces of PVC together, and the joints are even stronger than the material itself. Also, because the surface of PVC is denser than Hypalon, the air pressure for inflation can be a little lower than Hypalon rubber boats.

And Hypalon inflatable boats (and some PVC inflatable boats) are generally bonded together with high-strength adhesives. Compared with the automatic factory welding of PVC, this is a labor-intensive production method and the weakness of some cheap boats, so this manual work must be careful to ensure quality.