Inflatable boats with rigid keel

Fibreglass keel

— keel bottom in the form of a rigid part made of fibreglass or other similar polymer.

In general, keel bottoms (of all types) are more complex and more expensive than flat bottoms, but they are better suited for high speeds and long-distance transitions: the keel provides good course stability and allows the boat to “cut the waves”, so that hitting the water at speed is not so strong. However a keel boat needs more power than a flat-bottom boat to go on planing, but the design of such boats usually allows the installation of sufficiently powerful motors.

Specifically, the fibreglass keel is considered the most advanced type of bottom. Floating craft of this design combine the advantages of classic and inflatable boats: the vessel does not sink, even having taken water "on the sides", and remains buoyant even with a fully deflated cylinder. In addition, high rigidity provides reliable support for people in the boat and allows the use of even fairly powerful motors. At the same time, a rigid case is expensive, and it is impossible to fold it after hours; the latter means that you need to transport such a boat on a carriage, and store it in a fairly spacious room.