Click here to zoom in Inflatable Boats Materials: Natural Rubber and Cotton Fabric

Click here to zoom in Inflatable Boats Materials: Natural Rubber and Cotton Fabric

Click here to zoom in Inflatable Boats Materials: Natural Rubber and Cotton Fabric

Click here to zoom in Inflatable Boats Materials: Natural Rubber and Cotton Fabric

When inflatable boats were first invented, they were constructed using the same material that the Macintosh raincoat is made of, consisting of fabric that was waterproofed through the process of applying thin coats of vulcanized rubber o the surface of the fabric. This process was also known as 'proofing' in the language of the industry. Traditionally, the fabric used to make inflatable boats was cotton, but silk, which was used in the construction of airships at the time, was also popular for making inflatable boats that were lighter than those made using cotton fabric. Early versions of inflatable life rafts were essentially rubber bladders that had been covered by a layer of heavy canvas, and these life r afts were mostly manufactured by tire-making companies such as Goodyear.

Although natural rubber and cotton fabric can be used together to create a decent inflatable boat, there are major disadvantages to using this combination of materials. Rubber in its raw state is relatively soft, but the process of vulca ation, which involves adding sulfur to the raw rubber, causes the rubber to become stronger while retaining most of its original elasticity. Some elasticity is inevitably lost during the vulcanization process, however, and the stronger the rubber is made to be through vulcanization, the less flexible it becomes. When it comes to inflatable boats, both durability and elasticity are vitally important characteristics, and manufacturers have to decide upon a compromise between th e two. The result is that inflatable boats made from cotton fabric coated with rubber are not as durable or elastic as they should ideally be to stand up to the wear and tear of regular or rough use.

Using a rubber-coated inflatable boat frequently and returning it to storage after each use will eventually cause the rubber coating to delaminate from the fabric along the lines where the boat is folded for storage. Furthermore, if you re an inflatable boat without allowing it to dry fully first, the rubber coated surfaces will stick together wherever they are in contact, causing the rubber to pull away from the fabric and further delaminate when the boat is next removed from storage and unfolded.

Natural rubber also happens to be photodegradable, which means that prolonged exposure to sunlight causes the rubber to break down. Exposure to ozone is another danger for natural rubber, as contact with ozone also breaks down the rubber his severely limits the useful life of a rubber-coated inflatable boat, and if you own one for a long period of time you will most probably find that the next time you remove the boat from storage, it will no longer be suitable for use.

With the advancements in chemistry and modern technology since the days of the first inflatable boats, the inflatable boats of today are no longer made of natural rubber. Hypalon, neoprene, and polyvinyl chloride are the materials most o n used in the manufacture of modern inflatable boats. Hypalon and neoprene are both types of synthetic rubber developed by scientists to replace natural rubber in inflatable boats, and they are often used together in the construction of inf latable boats. The two substances are chemically similar, although they have radically different physical characteristics, making them suitable for use in different aspects of inflatable boats.

Polyvinyl chloride, more commonly known as PVC, is a type of plastic. While the average consumer may not see very much difference between an inflatable boat made of synthetic rubber and one made of plastic, the differences in physical ch cteristics can be significant and manufacturers must make a careful choice when determining which material to use in their inflatable boats based on the primary purpose for which that particular inflatable boat is being built.

It is for this reason that, if you purchase an inflatable boat today, you can expect it to last you for a long time, provided you take proper care of it. This is most likely not the case with any inflatable boat that has natural rubber a ne of the materials that was used in its construction.

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