Inflatable boat originated in ancient Europe, and was made of animal hides, such as the legendary Noah’ Ark.The modern inflatable boat was used in navy in some countries, for example, in France, the development pattern of ZODIAC caused rapid development of inflatable boat industry both for civil use and military use. Meantime, in 1937, Pierre Debroutelle designed the first U-shaped inflatable boat, and he applied for patent for the design on inflatable boat on August 10, 1943. Till now, the inflatable boats for sport and entertainment has evolve from that design.

Today, more models and designs about inflatable boat are pushed to market. Inflatable boat is no longer a small rubber boat as accessory for large yacht, which can reach a length of 45 feet or much longer. The hull made of rigid glass and aluminium has replaced the traditional hull, and the luxurious and beautiful decorative materials, and even vessels appear in inflatable boats. Nowadays, inflatable boat means air inflation of the flow bowl of boat, about which economic factors are considered fully.

Inflatable boat is varied in type and model, like the high-speed boat specializing in requiring speed, the fully manual canoe, the drifting boat bringing people whitewater fun, the work boat with simple shape, and the fishing boat used for offshore fishing. Therefore, inflatable boats are used in water works such as hydro sports and leisure, recreation, fishing and catching fishing. At present, the material of inflatable boat is mainly PVC.

Inflatable boats have been widely used in tours, drifts, sports competitions, military surveys and adventures, fishing and hunting, meantime, the inflatable boat is also used in water engineering, flood control and sea survival, which means the usages of inflatable boat increase gradually. In some cases, using inflatable boat is mandatory, for example, the international convention for protecting the life security of personnel at sea prescribes that all the ship sailing on the sea must be equipped with ready-to-use inflatable life boats. Fact shows inflatable boat’s performance is reliable.