Zodiac FC420 Inflatable Boat

Triad marine is the leader in Zodiac Military Profesional products in Texas. Remember this post titled "Another Zodiac FC420 to be used by a Fire Department" well there have been plenty more sold by Triad Marine since then!

The Zodiac FC420 is a versatile inflatable boat constructed for professional and military usage. This boat has features that set it apart from other professional use inflatable boats such as the intercommunicating valves. These valves allow the boat to be used with a rapid inflation system. This boat also has heavy duty construction and is made of hypalon/neoprene fabric.  The boat is 13'9" and weighs around 265, making it a good size and weight for portability and stowing.


Many of our Texas agencies are equipped with the Zodiac FC420 boats, largely thanks to TEEX. They have chosen the Zodiac F boats as their boat line of choice based on the ease of deployment, construction and consistency. The Zodiac FC420 is a great size for the fire departments as a search and rescue boat that can be portable but still big enough for the job.

The Zodiac FC420 boasts an impressive payload capacity of 1,918 lbs. and  23.19 sq. ft. of usable floor board space, allowing searchers plenty of room to make a rescue. The Boat is rated for 50 horse power and it is recommended that you put 30 horse power on it, but is nicely outfitted with 40 horse power. Triad Marine can equip the boat with a Yamaha or Evinrude E-Tec engine. Both manufactures of engines offer 40 horse power, the differences are Yamaha is a four stroke 40 horse power motor available with electric start and a tiller handle the Evinrude E-Tec is a two stroke motor and is available with manual start and a tiller handle. (*Evinrude engines are only available to Government Agencies*) 


A quality boat with 2 quality engine options allows Triad Marine to fully cater to the needs of our first responders in Texas. Triad Marine is first class in the delivery, after sales care and repair of you Zodiac FC420. Choosing Triad Marine as your source for Zodiac Military Boats gives you distinct advantages of working with a dealer who cares about you, your boat and keeping you on the water. Priority servicing as well as complete follow up knowledge set us apart when we sell these boats.

Triad Marine will be happy to quote you a boat but in addition to that we will explain the things about the boat and motor that make it relevant to you and your situation. We pride ourselves on customer service and satisfaction.

Zodiac Pro 12 Man In Action Used By a Fire Department

  A chance to see a one of the boats we sold doing it's job!

  The Jamaica Beach Fire Department bought a Zodiac Pro 12 Man Inflatable Boat powered with a Yamaha F75 HP Outboard motor. We showed you some pictures in this post.

  Saturday October 23, 2010 they put the boat to use, working to rescue stranded boaters. You can read the full story here. 

(Photo from Police News)

  Thanks to the hard work of the Jamaica Beach Fire department and their Zodiac these boaters were rescued. Good Work Guys!

Inflatable Boat Care Part 1-Pump It Up

Achilles Inflatable boats reccomends 2.8 PSI for the working Pressure of their hypalon boats

There are a few things that go into caring for and inflatable and during the month of October we will showcase them.

This week we will discuss running the boat at the proper pressure.

It is important to know the working pressure of your inflatable boat and to make sure the boat is all ways at that pressure before putting it in the water for use.
Typically most hypalon boats will have a working pressure of about 2.8 PSI to 3.0 PSI and most PVC boats will have a working Pressure of about 3.0 PSI to 3.3 PSI (check the owner's manual for the exact working pressure of your boat make and model as it varies by manufacture).
Inflatable boats are mostly volume air so inflating them with the provided and recommended foot pump will not take as long as one may think. You could purchase a small 12 volt inflator but note you will still need to finish with the foot pump to achieve the proper working pressure...
NEVER USE A COMPRESSOR!
Inflatable boats have baffles inside them which divide the chambers and compressors can damage these baffles causing all kinds of problems for your boat and even make it unsafe to use.

There are pressure gauges available for use but if you don't have one you can simply pump with the foot pump until no more air will go into the boat ....You can't over inflate with the foot pump.
Most customers will tell me they did not know the boat should be up to pressure before every use, these are the same customers who are generally having performance issues or possible leak issues. Pumping the boat up hard is key to performance, leak prevention and even puncture resistance.
Even if you wake on a cool morning top the boat off, even f it is going to get hot in the afternoon even though the boat will expand some it will not cause the boat to pop. They are designed to expand and contract when needed.