Patten Inflatable Dive Boat

[cmburch]

Thanks for getting us out of the toilet and back on the OP's original post. I really like the idea of multiple tubes and if I could get it as a tax write-off then I would consider it. Or if I had a good amount of disposable income.

 

[Nemrod]

Five foot seas? :O

The Patten Company - 561.588.8500 - the premier provider of inflatable products for the Aviation/Aerospace/Defense industry.

I am changing my mind on ths, I would not buy one but anyone giving them away send me one, I sorta like them. I would rather have a good fabric bottom boat or a RIB.

Here is one thing I am impressed with, they made it on purpose--on purpose--for diving. Very few compnaies have ever made dive specific boats for the public. Boston Whaler has, Ocean Kayak has, perhaps a few others and now this Patten boat. Pretty neat in that they are marketing to divers. This is an area that is overlooked by all boat manufactuers--small dive capable craft. Sure, any center console or similar can be outfitted for diving and most all good quality inflatables make great dive boats but the concept of building in dive specific features is really neat.

My design would be a panga inspired RIB with mid mounted jet drive (no danger to swimmers, snorklers, divers, fish, turtles, manatees etc) and a transomless design so that you could walk off the boat and scoot back on, swing down/flip up full width boarding ladder for those who cannot "scoot". I would offer models between 16 and 22 feet. The center console pilot station would be over the mid engine to conserve space, seating and tank storage molded in along the sides.

Please feel free anybody to build it.

Nem

 

[RAWalker]

It is well made and well thought out but as stated inflatables don't have any value here in the US.
That said if it were priced right I'd consider it but at this time I find it too expensive considering it lack of residual value.

 

[onfloat]

I guess I miss the point. How hard is it to fall out of the boat?

 

[NEWENGLANDCHARTERS]

Perhaps the intent of the original post was in reference to urination, however I got to thinking about it and I think that pooping on plane is an even greater benefit of the floor hole because it eliminates the problems in keeping toilet-paper dry on a small boat. Furthermore, there could also be some benefits realized in the form of hydro-colon therapy which is becoming quite popular these days. The only real issue I see with it is protecting the other passengers from the spray.QUOTE]



I can see the Maiden Voyage. : I Christen thee Vessel " Bidette"

Here is your LOGO Hull Grapics.

Ill Take a Boat to Field Test in New England if they want to "Saturate" the Market!

Capt Walt

 

[Nemrod]

I guess I miss the point. How hard is it to fall out of the boat?

If you have ever dived from an inflatable then you will know the problem is not the getting out but the getting back in. There is very little place to put a hard mounted ladder so most try various sorts of rope ladders and over the tube contraptions that may sometimes sorta work. Smaller boats like my Novurania Canguro(14ish feet) it is possible to give a mightly kick while grabbing over the side to a handle mounted to the floor and slide over the side like a walrus. I suspect that as time goes on I will find that more challenging. Then I would turn around and grab the valve on my wife's tank and lift her in. I may find that increasingly challenging as well. As tough as the fabric is on these boats the constant wear and tear of crawling over the tubes does them no good with all of the metal buckles and stuff divers carry. I am sure the opening in the floor concept was their attempt at solving the crawling over the tube problem.

Another design that might work would be using a cat (catamaran) tube design with a flip down front section, a hinged forward floor that becomes a walk in and crawl out "ramp." Kind of like a landing craft.

N

 

[onfloat]

I dive from an inflatable quite regularly. Doff the gear and climb in, leave the gear attached to a tag line until we're ready to pull it in. Still don't see the point.

 

[Scared Silly]

I thought for giggles I would revive this old thread. If folks want to truly try out these boats head down to St. Croix and dive with Cane Bay Divers as they have a couple of them. When we first dove with them in 2003 we used this boat they are still using them today. I thought the hole in the floor was a great idea and it does work quite well for exiting the water. You can do a typical beached whale exit for the first person but after other can be helped in very easily.

One thing that I like to do when exiting the water is stay under the water until I am ready to exit. Then I head to the ladder. Bobbing on the surface is not my thing. So these boats are very much to my liking.

 

[mitsuguy]

I thought for giggles I would revive this old thread. If folks want to truly try out these boats head down to St. Croix and dive with Cane Bay Divers as they have a couple of them. When we first dove with them in 2003 we used this boat they are still using them today. I thought the hole in the floor was a great idea and it does work quite well for exiting the water. You can do a typical beached whale exit for the first person but after other can be helped in very easily.

One thing that I like to do when exiting the water is stay under the water until I am ready to exit. Then I head to the ladder. Bobbing on the surface is not my thing. So these boats are very much to my liking.

Hmmm, wonder if I got to dive with you????? I'm Cody, one of Cane Bay's instructors...

I absolutely love these boats. I have dived off many many boats and can tell you, these are the easiest small boat to dive off of, at least in warm, tropical waters...

Entries - three ways: 1) sit on the floor, feet in the hole in the bow, make sure your gear is on and ready to go, tuck and roll forward with an empty BCD... 2) backroll over the side (this doesn't work so hot if you have the bimini top though) 3) toss your gear in the water and don it there

Exits - two ways: 1) (first person back on boat): surface in the hole, inflate BCD, remove weight belt if needed, set on deck, remove BCD and allow to float in the hole, then you can either exit like you would a pool (the deck is only maybe 5" above the water line), or shamu style up onto the deck, then simply pull your gear up - then help your buddy with their gear, etc 2) clip your gear to the side of the boat, swim to the stern and climb up onto one of the pontoons (literally an inch out of the water and hand holds on both sides), over the transom, then pull your gear up... there is ZERO need for a ladder on one of these boats - I can even go over the side up by the bow without gear on...

Reliability - amazing... we literally use these every single day... I have had one of ours out in 8-10' seas and it handles great, only myself and another instructor that day though - wouldn't be too fun completely loaded down... With an Evinrude 75 horse motor, they'll clock 30 knots unloaded and I think probably the only thing in the water is the last foot or two of pontoon and the prop... We have more outboard engine issues than boat issues... When we are diving with our 36' Newton dive boat, many times, we will need to shuttle tanks and gear out from our beach... We have easily loaded 26 tanks, 10 or more gear bags, and more...

We did change a few things from how Patten originally sets them up - we move the console as far back as possible, then we built two seats for divers to sit on, with their backs to the side - we outfit them to hold 6 divers... just in front of the seats are 6 tank holders, 3 on either side...

Maintenance - we adapted their air filler to a 1st stage reg, and we just hook it up to a tank, top off the pontoons and we're good to go... that's literally it... there is no other boat maintenance performed, except to wash it with fresh water (not required even), and checking oil level in the engine... We can put a boat in the water with zero prep on most days... after the boat is out of the water, we run fresh water through the engine, spray the whole thing down and park it...

As far as bilge, you really need to see the boat to appreciate the bilge... we had one loaded completely wrong with gear and tanks (too much weight in the bow, completely overloaded) the other day to where anytime we would accelerate, some water would come in... we just lived with it as we didn't have to go far, but ended up getting 3-4" of water in the bottom... pull up to the big boat, tie off the bow, and by the time we had the stern tied off, all the water was gone... later on in the day, we shifted some of the tanks back about a foot or two, and no more problem... this was also on our underpowered 50hp boat so it couldn't even think about getting up on plane with that much weight in it...

So, weight in the bow you ask... yup... when you don't want to use it for diving, or need extra floor space, we have fiberglass boards that cover the front opening... one downside, the floor up front, when no boards are in place, and only the fabric zipper is holding it in, will not support a persons weight multiple times... we have had people stand on it, but it destroys the zippers... they are easy enough to replace though...

One last thing, in rough seas (up to 10'), I prefer these to our Newton - the Newton rocks and rolls, these "climb up the hill, then down the hill" They are also ideal for shallow water - they have about a 5-6" draft without the motor, with the motor, maybe a foot and a half...

 

[Scared Silly]

Hello Cody, yes we dove with you guys a a couple of weeks ago. I think you were on the boat when we did Armageddon and Alien ???