Zodiac - the inventor of the inflatable boat

A tender? A family boat? A sports boat? Whatever boat you are looking for, you need to be sure that it is the best designed, the strongest and the safest around. Naturally, you think Zodiac, synonym to sailors the world over for quality and safety.

This international renown is the result of over 100 years of experience and innovation which began in 1896 when Zodiac was a pioneer of lighter than air balloons. Towards the end of the 1930s , Zodiac invented the modern inflatable boat. Practical, safe all-rounder, the Zodiac soon made its mark. Today the Zodiac Group is internationally recognized for its dominance in the design and manufacture of products for the aeronautical and aerospace industries. The importance of the Group and the synergy it generates allows Zodiac to undertake ambitious programs of research and development. The inflatable keel, composite floors, the Futura hull, semi-recessed valves and the H₂P air-floor are just several examples of revolutionary Zodiac innovations.

Welcome to the Zodiac World !!

Compared to traditional boats, inflatable boats offer some important advantages: they are safer, lighter, more practical and more economical.

The advantages of an inflatable boat

Reassuring stability

The stability of a Zodiac, thanks to its large buoyancy tubes and the resulting low center of gravity, is such that under normal circumstances they are practically impossible to capsize. This quality, which is essential to safe, confident navigating, is especially appreciated by divers and fishermen.

The buoyancy tubes of a Zodiac include several compartments sealed from one another by conical bulkheads. Thanks to its large air reserve, the boat will stay stable and unsinkable, even with one of the independent air chambers deflated

Security, buoyancy, unsinkability

Exceptional load capacity - The buoyancy of a Zodiac is far greater than that of a traditional boats, giving it a higher load capacity. In real terms, this Zodiac could have been joined by their colleagues or manuvered to port without taking on any water.

The inflatable design of a Zodiac makes it extermely practical. The light weight allows effortless carrying. The compact dimensions, when deflated, simplify storage. Combined, these attributes make transporting, inside or on the roof of a car that much easier.  After all, have you ever tried shutting the trunk on a traditional boat ?

Almost as light as air - Take a look at an inflatable boat. There's fabric, a wooden tansom, fittings and...the air contained in the inflatable keel or in the buoyancy tubes which gives the boat its shape. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that a Zodiac fully inflatable can be up to 3 times lighter than a comparable traditional boat.

The advanced design and light weight of a Zodiac requires smaller outboards than conventional boats to give better performance. Advanced materials and good residuals make maintenance straight forward and resale relatively easy. Whether on the water or out of it, with Zodiac boating can be economical.
Economical

Strongan Duotex: a new generation of fabric

Perfectly airtight and remarkably durable, this fabric has undergone intrinsic testing down to molecular level to ensure the perfection of its components. Result, a new formula for it's coating around a support cloth wich set new limits for resistance against cuts (more than 50%), abrasion (up to 50%) and climatic aggressions.

5 Year manufacturer's warranty

Zodiac has been building boats for over 50 years, offering its customers a long history of service, warranty and spare parts. By choosing Zodiac, you will be covered by a 5 year manufacturers warranty on the fabric of your boat, a warranty that is valid in almost 80 countries around the world.

Thermobonding: a Zodiac exclusivity

Imported from aeronautical techniques, our industrial, robotised thermobonding process guarantees a constant level of quality as well as precision and maximum durability.

Constant draconian tests

The consistency of the raw materials and the air tightness and tear-resistance of the welds are checked by a full range of tests carried out on our boats, all exceeding the levels that you are likely to expose them to.  For the ultimate assurance of reliability, every range is constatntly testing in real world situations in all weather conditions and with all types of loads.