Introduced in the 1980s, Hard Bottom Inflatables have always defined the State of the Art. Since our founding, many others have entered the market for rigid hulled boats with inflatable tubes surrounding the hull. While the popular term RIB denotes this entire class of boats, the inaccurate acronym came about because the correct term, HBI is our trademark! HBI still defines the market.

The creation of HBI was sparked by an innovative idea: employ a removable tube system attached to a first class hull form and gain the benefits of a conventional hull with the unique features of compliant tube-based topsides. The founders engaged the naval architecture firm C. Raymond Hunt Associates to draw the lines for boats ranging from11 feet to 40 feet. Starting with a blank sheet of paper, the designers drew on their world renowned experience with deep-v hulls and introduced a startling improvement in the capability of boats in this size range. By employing the ground breaking method of field replaceable tubes, the architects were able to lower weight, deflect spray and soften the ride resulting in a new world standard for performance.

To this day, every HBI employs a Hunt designed hull and a user replaceable tube system. Tubes are still available for every HBI that has ever been built!