The earliest attempt of Inflatable Boats were observed by ancient carved images of animal skins filled with air being used as one-man floats to cross rivers. These were before the days of air compressors so they were inflated by mouth. Often these images were mistaken for early scuba gear, but in fact they were the first generation of Inflatable Boats.
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.
The loss of the Titanic in 1912 and the ensuing WW1 and the losses of many war ships that fell casualty to the indefensive tendencies to the submarine torpedo, Rubber Rafts gained popularity. The main reason for such a loss of like on the Titanic was due to the unthinkable fact that there were less than half the necessary lifeboats aboard her than were necessary for each person aboard to have a space.
The SOLAS Convention in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships. The first version was adopted in 1914, the second in 1929, the third in 1948, and the fourth in 1960. The most prominent focus was to ensure that ships had sufficient lifeboats so that every person aboard the ship had access to a place on a lifeboat. [http://www.imo.org/Conventions/contents.asp?topic_id=257&doc_id=647#1]
War ships and Passenger Ships had the hardest time to comply with this policy as there were so many people aboard and deck space was not available. Many times they had to stack the Life Boats on top of one another to have the correct number of Lift Boats. Cargo ships had a lesser issue with the compliance as there was plenty of room on the ships with the low number of personnel aboard
The rubber giant Goodyear had developed a new manufacturing process for Inflatable Boats due to their R&D between WW1 and WW2. These Inflatables were predominantly Life Rafts made in a square shape using rubber cylinders with a hard floor. Since they were Lift Boats, these were stacked more easily on the decks of the War Ship and Passenger Ships. Though there were much better that the previous design, public conception held the mass production of these watercraft up and they never gained acceptance in the general publics eye.
A man named Pierre Debroutelle designed a new version of the Inflatable Boat in 1937. This model was the premier model with the now traditional U-Shaped inflatable tube. His design was so innovative that it was the first Inflatable Boat to be certified by the French Navy. Subsequently, a wooden transom was created and then patented in 1943. On modern Inflatable Boats, you will be able to distinguish the commonalities between the 1937 model and todays model.
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.
Todays modern Inflatable Boat is no longer just a Life Saving device, it has now crossed over to the recreational side of things due to its low cost of entry and it varied use. If you are looking for a boat on a budget, you definitely need to check out an 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.
The loss of the Titanic in 1912 and the ensuing WW1 and the losses of many war ships that fell casualty to the indefensive tendencies to the submarine torpedo, Rubber Rafts gained popularity. The main reason for such a loss of like on the Titanic was due to the unthinkable fact that there were less than half the necessary lifeboats aboard her than were necessary for each person aboard to have a space.
The SOLAS Convention in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships. The first version was adopted in 1914, the second in 1929, the third in 1948, and the fourth in 1960. The most prominent focus was to ensure that ships had sufficient lifeboats so that every person aboard the ship had access to a place on a lifeboat. [http://www.imo.org/Conventions/contents.asp?topic_id=257&doc_id=647#1]
War ships and Passenger Ships had the hardest time to comply with this policy as there were so many people aboard and deck space was not available. Many times they had to stack the Life Boats on top of one another to have the correct number of Lift Boats. Cargo ships had a lesser issue with the compliance as there was plenty of room on the ships with the low number of personnel aboard
The rubber giant Goodyear had developed a new manufacturing process for Inflatable Boats due to their R&D between WW1 and WW2. These Inflatables were predominantly Life Rafts made in a square shape using rubber cylinders with a hard floor. Since they were Lift Boats, these were stacked more easily on the decks of the War Ship and Passenger Ships. Though there were much better that the previous design, public conception held the mass production of these watercraft up and they never gained acceptance in the general publics eye.
A man named Pierre Debroutelle designed a new version of the Inflatable Boat in 1937. This model was the premier model with the now traditional U-Shaped inflatable tube. His design was so innovative that it was the first Inflatable Boat to be certified by the French Navy. Subsequently, a wooden transom was created and then patented in 1943. On modern Inflatable Boats, you will be able to distinguish the commonalities between the 1937 model and todays model.
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.
Todays modern Inflatable Boat is no longer just a Life Saving device, it has now crossed over to the recreational side of things due to its low cost of entry and it varied use. If you are looking for a boat on a budget, you definitely need to check out an Inflatable Boat!
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Don't even think about Buying an Inflatable Boat without checking out Wyatt Crouch's editorials on Inflatable Boats so you do not get Sunk buying the wrong one.
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