Rigid buoyant boat
Encyclopedia
The rigid buoyant boat (RBB) is a light-weight but high performance and high capacity boat
. Based on the concept of a Rigid-hulled inflatable boat
(RHIB), it has a tube/sponson manufactured from a solid material such as moulded polyethylene
or aluminium
and therefore being much more robust than the fabrics commonly used. Boats with foam filled collars such as the secure all-around flotation equipped (SAFE) boats employed by the US Coast Guard can also be classified as Rigid Buoyant Boats rather than "true" RHIBs as the collar is solid foam rather than inflated. The handling tends to be very similar to a RHIB; likewise they will remain afloat (buoyant) even if completely flooded. Aluminium RBBs tend to be bespoke
(custom-made to specification) or low-volume products whilst the tooling cost of rotomolded polyethylene boats tends to require these to be higher volume products. At least three manufacturers are producing rotomolded boats of this type. One supplier has demonstrated the robustness of the boats by dropping one from a crane onto a concrete car park. The U.S. Navy’s small unit riverine craft
and the Coast Guard’s Defender class 25 feet (7.6 m) boat
s are examples of RBBs.
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
. Based on the concept of a Rigid-hulled inflatable boat
Rigid-hulled inflatable boat
A rigid-hulled inflatable boat, or rigid-inflatable boat is a light-weight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a solid, shaped hull and flexible tubes at the gunwale. The design is stable and seaworthy...
(RHIB), it has a tube/sponson manufactured from a solid material such as moulded polyethylene
Polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...
or aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
and therefore being much more robust than the fabrics commonly used. Boats with foam filled collars such as the secure all-around flotation equipped (SAFE) boats employed by the US Coast Guard can also be classified as Rigid Buoyant Boats rather than "true" RHIBs as the collar is solid foam rather than inflated. The handling tends to be very similar to a RHIB; likewise they will remain afloat (buoyant) even if completely flooded. Aluminium RBBs tend to be bespoke
Bespoke
Bespoke is a term employed in a variety of applications to mean an item custom-made to the buyer's specification...
(custom-made to specification) or low-volume products whilst the tooling cost of rotomolded polyethylene boats tends to require these to be higher volume products. At least three manufacturers are producing rotomolded boats of this type. One supplier has demonstrated the robustness of the boats by dropping one from a crane onto a concrete car park. The U.S. Navy’s small unit riverine craft
Small unit riverine craft
The small unit riverine craft is rigid-hull, armed and armored patrol boat used by the U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy to maintain control of rivers and inland waterways....
and the Coast Guard’s Defender class 25 feet (7.6 m) boat
USCG Defender class boat
The Defender-class boat, also called Response Boat – Small and Response Boat – Homeland Security , is a standard boat introduced by the United States Coast Guard in 2002...
s are examples of RBBs.