In choosing a ship trilogy, the following questions should be considered:

1. Balance the contradiction between portability and water performance to choose the appropriate bottom plate form

2. Choose the right hull material according to the use environment of the ship

3. Buy a larger boat within your budget and space requirements

Steps/Methods

1 Proper floor

The bottom structure of an inflatable boat directly affects portability, ease of installation, storage volume, and performance on water. Synthetic plastic, fiberglass or aluminum alloy hard-bottomed inflatable boats with a V-shaped bottom have good flight performance, but they must be transported and stored on trailers and hangers. Boats with a flexible fabric bottom can be folded very compactly, but at the expense of some water performance. If you want the ship to take off at a speed of at least 5mph (8 kilometers per hour), then a semi-hard bottomed ship is a must.

2 soft bottom inflatable boat

Economical boats like mini inflatable boats or mini inflatable boats are very easy to install and very easy to carry. They are more suitable for use on the coast and small areas of water, fishing or camping. Their bottom plate is inflatable, so they don't need to be removed when stored. Driven by oars or electric motors, the price of these inflatable boats like swimming rings is low, and the functions are only the most basic.

3 roll-up boat

Similar to the previous type of inflatable boat, this boat does not need to remove the bottom plate during transportation. We can open, inflate, and launch in a few minutes. The bottom plate is fabric with wooden slats on it. You don't usually need to remove these wooden strips. This boat has a tailgate, so you can use a small horsepower external hanger. The advantage of this kind of ship is its simplicity, but its flat bottom and small horsepower drive design make it impossible to take off, and it is only suitable for activities in ports and calm waters.

4 sports boats

The bottom plate of the sports inflatable boat is detachable and is generally made of composite wood or aluminum alloy. A through aluminum fixing groove is used to fasten the bottom plate from both sides to form a whole. After the bottom plate is installed, the port and starboard air chambers and the tapered keel air chambers are inflated, and the bottom of the ship is tightly formed into a shallow V shape, which makes it better in turning tracking and drainage than a punt. This type of bottom plate makes it heavier than ordinary inflatable boats, but it can be installed with a 6-25 horsepower external hanger, which runs faster and is very cost-effective.

5Inflatable bottom boat

A sports boat, by replacing its wooden bottom with a high-pressure inflatable bottom, becomes an inflatable bottom boat (sometimes called an inflatable bottom boat). It combines the excellent performance of a sports boat and the lightweight portability of a soft-bottomed boat. Its unique high-pressure inflatable soleplate (air pressure to 11psi) is very light. When it is deflated, it can be rolled in the boat. It can take off immediately after launching, and good performance can be obtained with a small horsepower external hanger, which surprised us. This is due to its smaller weight. The entire ship can be bent slightly to absorb the impact of waves, and such waves on a hard-bottomed ship may throw people out. Although a little more expensive than conventional sports boats, it has many advantages and is not mediocre. The installation time is very very short!

6 hard bottom boats (RIBs) or hard hull boats

RIBs have the feel and performance of a real "boat", proper hardness and deep V-shaped bottom of the boat. Its fiberglass hull can chop the waves like an ordinary hard-hull ship, and is not subject to abrasion under the impact of high-speed movement, sandy rocks, and diving tanks. But unlike ordinary hard-hull ships, its inflatable sides make the hull more stable and buoyant.

But it has excellent performance while not taking into account portability. The hull cannot be disassembled and cannot be carried in a folding bag. Deflated air takes up a lot less space than no air, but still takes up a certain amount of space. Therefore, we generally recommend it to those who are able to store it on the mother ship deck or davit without deflating or deflating on the open deck. Of course, its light weight also makes it easy to transport with a trailer.

Compact or folding RIBs

The compact RIBs have a hinged folding beam, which makes it possible to greatly reduce the packaging volume. It can be inflated from the roof rack to the water in 10 minutes. The hull material is fiber glass or RIMTEC injection molded polyester fiber, and the bottom of the ship is in a shallow V shape. The beam of the composite board is firmly bonded to the inflatable tube. Then use hinges to connect the bottom plate to the beam so that the beam can be folded when stored. It can be packed in a large zipper bag, which looks like a large surfboard. Nevertheless, the volume is still a bit large, this kind of RIBs is only more suitable for placing under the fore deck or Boom than ordinary RIBs. It can be placed in the roof rack or the trunk of the station wagon during transportation.

7 catamaran sport boat

The sports boat with catamaran inflatable side is the best performance among inflatable boat types. The improved Cats and its close relatives, the sporty Cats of military inflatable boats, are the next generation of high-speed rescue boats for surfing off the coast of South Africa in the early 1980s. These rescue boats can reach a speed of 65 mph (104 kilometers per hour) and can be used on high winds and waves. The sporty Cats are usually two occupants in the race. They 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. It is similar to the water NASCAR competition. Go online and google the above content, you will be attracted. The improved Cats are the traditional version of these incredible boats.

An ordinary flat-bottom sports boat, plus two wedge-shaped water fins made of high-pressure air pipes and high-density rubber, becomes a cavernous hull that can provide lifting force for immediate take-off. The air cushion feels very stable when moving at high speeds. In a sharp turn, the wedge-shaped water fins bite the water body on the inside and the water slides on the outside to ensure that the whole ship will not roll. This way the boat can make sharp turns at extremely high speeds. The ship with the extra-large main air tank and elongated beam can carry more weight and maintain a more stable posture.

The improved Cats has other additional advantages: the cavity-shaped hull design effectively increases the speed (it can use a smaller motor, lower fuel consumption), very flexible and accurate reverse gear control (different from other inflatable boats), It is easier to row with a paddle. Finally, it can be easily towed behind other power machinery and sailing ships.

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

What kind of hull material you use depends on what environment you generally use. Two options: Polyurethane for PVC and Hypalon (neoprene nylon for face mask). Both materials are strong, durable and reliable, and can be used in any environment. But if you play boats in tropical areas most of the time, Hypalon rubber boats will be more durable because of their better UV resistance.

The structure 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. At the same time, because the surface of PVC is denser than Hypalon, the air pressure for inflation can be lower than that of Hypalon rubber boats.

Hypalon inflatable boats (and some PVC inflatable boats) are generally bonded together with high-strength adhesives. Compared with the factoryization of automatic welding of PVC, this is a labor-intensive production method, and it is also the weakness of some cheap boats. Therefore, this manual work must pay attention to ensuring quality.

8 What boat is right for you?

Apart from the saying that "bigger is better", there are several considerations. One is the shelf life of the boat. A good factory and retailer can provide a longer shelf life. The second is the accessories, valves and hardware: if you are buying a boat for the first time, it is easy to overlook the quality of the equipment and accessories of the boat. The gap in this area on cheap ships is huge. But if it is not personally used, the buyer will not realize the impact of these inferior products. Good manufacturers will provide good stainless steel pull rings, sturdy aluminum oars, reliable inflation valves and high-efficiency air pumps. These will help you complete the inflating process of the boat with minimal effort.

But you still have to buy a suitable size boat!! Larger boats are obviously better to handle than small boats. The handling, load, and driving of a 2.7-meter boat and a 3-meter boat are different due to the difference in water contact area. Unless you try both at the same time, the difference is bigger than you think. Ships smaller than 2.7 can take off, but they do not perform well and will easily lose their flight status. The 10-foot (especially 11-foot) boat has less bow lift when accelerating, and can maintain flight at lower speeds. At the same time, they are not sensitive to small changes in direction, so you can drive with less effort. The large side of the air tank will also make the ship less likely to be wet. Longer boats have more space available inside, and usually the inner space of inflatable boats is limited by the shape of the large air chamber and bow. The actual length of a 9'3' boat is only 7 feet, and the remaining length is used in the V-shaped bow. Each additional foot in the length of the ship increases the internal space by one foot and the floor area increases by 14%.

Buying a smaller boat usually takes into account that it can be stored on the deck or swimming step without deflation, or it is easy to carry in airplanes and cars. Usually only two people cooperate during transportation. If you have little storage space or only you and your spouse, then an 8-foot boat is enough. You may not regret buying a big boat, but you may regret buying a boat that does not meet your requirements. If weight is the main consideration, then inflatable HP boats and high-pressure HP-V inflatable boats can be selected. Both of these boats are very good, very light and can be used with motors from 4HP to 25HP, and take off easily. Their advantages in high speed, handling and portability will make you feel comfortable to use.

Finding the perfect inflatable boat in your mind is not very difficult, as long as you choose the right material according to your preference of the boat type, according to the use environment, and consider portability and sports performance. An inflatable boat with excellent quality can generally last for 10 years or even longer. When everything that should be said is said, and what should be tried is also tried, you will find your invincible multifunctional inflatable boat.