Rigid inflatable boat
The inflated collar acts as a life jacket, ensuring that the vessel retains its buoyancy, even if the boat is taking on water.
The concept of configuring a rigid hull surrounded by an inflated, compartmentalized buoyancy tube from prow to transom originated and evolved from the problems that plagued existing rubberized fabric bottom inflated motorboats: fabric wear-through and poor sea keeping due to lack of immersed hull structural rigidity.
A solution was sought starting at Atlantic College, the first of now 18 United World Colleges, which had opened on the southern coast of Wales in 1962, founded partly by the same man who had earlier originated Outward Bound in Aberdovey Scotland during the Second World War for instilling ‘resilience’ and moral fortitude in youth.
Development of the RIB was originally undertaken by students and staff at under the direction of retired Royal Navy Admiral Desmond Hoare, who headed the 6th form (senior secondary) college.
A series of experimental and prototype solutions for effectively combining a hard hull form with a pressurized, air-filled rubber infused nylon fabric (called Hypalon) sponson lasted for over a decade.
This proved a successful modification but was rather uncomfortable at speed offshore, and so the hull was rebuilt with a shallow-vee bow entry transitioning to a nearly flat section stern.
In summer 1968, student Paul Jefferies designed and constructed a hull (X10) from fiberglass, which was not a success due to lack of strength.
However, that development led to the building of Psychedelic Surfer,[3] a twin-engined 21 ft (6.4 m) RIB, built in three weeks by two college students (Willem de Vogel and Otto van Voorst, assisted by Roy Thomson, college carpenter) for John Caulcutt, Graeme Dillon and Simon de’Ath to race in the 1969 Round Britain Powerboat Race, in which it finished 19th (out of 65 starters) and became the darling the fleet.
The first commercially saleable RIB was introduced in 1967 by Tony and Edward Lee-Elliott of Flatacraft,[5][6] and patented by Admiral Desmond Hoare in 1969 after research and development at Atlantic College.
The first commercial RIB is believed to be the Avon Rubber Searider which was launched at the January 1969 London Boat Show.
[7][8][9] The definitive history of the development of the RHIB was written by David Sutcliffe, successor head of Atlantic College following Desmond Hoare’s retirement.
On Canada’s west coast Strait of Juan de Fuca near Race Rocks students of sister Pacific College along with Atlantic College sea rescue service grads in 1974 home built the first RHIB based on the Atlantic 21 surfing, open transom version in North America and the first inboard - outboard stern drive RHIB.
In the mid-1970s Avon tubes for two 21-foot RHIBs were ordered by the recently opened sister school of Atlantic College that had been established on the west coast of Canada, the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific, at Pedder Bay near Race Rocks, British Columbia in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Meanwhile, CCG inshore rescue stations on the Great Lakes were started up utilizing 5.4 metre (18 ft) Avon Seariders in the late 1970s.
HDPE, an engineered polymer, possesses a number of properties which make it a superior marine construction material for RHIB's.
Of note, it absorbs vibration leading to a quieter, more comfortable ride, with less slamming load transferred to operators.
Their shallow draught, high maneuverability, speed and relative immunity to damage in low-speed collisions are advantages in these applications.
RIBs up to about seven metres in length can be towed on trailers on the road; this, coupled with their other properties, is making them increasingly attractive as leisure craft.
[10] The maximum speed of the RIB depends on its gross weight, power, length and profile of hull, and sea conditions.
A typical seaborne 6-metre (19 ft 8 in) RIB, with six passengers, 110 horsepower (82 kW) engines, in Beaufort force 2 is very likely to have a top speed of around 30 knots (56 km/h).
Uses include work boats (supporting shore facilities or larger ships) in trades that operate on the water, military craft, where they are used in patrol roles and to transport troops between vessels or ashore, and lifeboats.
Known as valmex it is said to have a blackout layer on the inside to reduce UV damage to the adhesives usually used to fix tubes to the hulls and various other parts.
Earlier PU had a disadvantage of aging quickly, but newer types are much more resistant to degradation when exposed to ultraviolet-light.
The issue with most of the older PU built RIBs is theUV rays and heat penetrate the fabric and, much like with PVC, destroy the adhesive bond.
Some RIB manufacturers, particularly those popular in Ireland and the West Coast of Scotland provide optional canopies which form fabric and perspex wheelhouses but can be easily removed in good weather.
Coding in the UK and the EU typically limits the number of passengers to 12 while in some countries, such as Poland, more seats are placed on the boat.
