Inflatable boat with an inflatable keel

Abstract

An inflatable boat 1 is formed from a u-shaped float 2 and comprises a rigid floor 6 and a hull 7 with a v-shaped cross section, made from a flexible canvas fixed to the float and held taught by an inflatable keel 8 between the floor and the canvas. The keel is an elongate enclosure formed by two flat parallel walls 9 extending longitudinally and perpendicular to the floor. The walls are braced by a plurality of flexible links 10 to enable the enclosure to be inflated to a relatively high pressure. The enclosure may be of a flat, plate type shape while the bottom edge (12, Fig 4) may be curved. The height of the enclosure may increase very rapidly from the front end to define a bow with a streamlined shape (13, Fig 4), then decrease gradually in height towards the rear of the boat. The floor of the boat may be inflatable (Fig 6) and in pneumatic communication (Fig 7) with the inflatable keel.