Brig E 480

Lightly Used and Dry Stored

Brig inflatables are constructed from either vinyl or Hypalon with the latter common on all higher quality boats. So what’s the hype with Hypalon you may ask? Simply put it’s a more robust material and has greater resistance to both UV exposure and punctures. It’s also considerably more expensive, but with judicious use and stored under cover the tubes should last for at least 15 years.

Construction of the Brig involves fixing the Hypalon tube to a fibreglass hull, moulded to a deep V shape to cut through water smoothly. The air filled tubes – around 0.3 Bar – provides stability at rest but lift almost clear of the water when underway.

The fibreglass hull is the rigid component of the Rigid Inflatable Boat – RIB – and the tubes are the inflatable section. In the case of the 480 there are five separate chambers in the collar for an added safety margin in the unlikely event of a puncture.

For such a small boat the carrying capacity of eight people is something of a surprise but such a payload explains the popularity of inflatables as tenders to large cruisers.