Above you see  pictures of a Zodiac FC420 Military Professional Inflatable boat. This boat is 13'9" when inflated. Below you will see how versatile and easy to transport these boats can be, we packed 2 of them into a Honda Odyssey Mini Van using the storage space and area where the third row would be.  We are not transporting motors for these 2 boats so we are able to use the van.

There you have it, Inflatable boats even the big awesome military kind can go where no fiberglass boat has gone before.

Those same boats can be used for many applications below are some pretty cool examples!

If you want to know more about inflatable boats please contact us!

Sold Boats for the Week

Today we delivered 2 boats from 2 different manufactures for 2 totally different purposes. Inflatable boats just have that sort of versatility.

This is an Achilles SG156 Inflatable Boat that will be used by a Fire Department in Magnolia Texas.

This boat typically comes open and is used with a tiller handle motor, but at Triad Marine we can customize your inflatable boat to meet your needs. We added a jockey style console seat with remote steering for the motor. We hope this boat has many good years on the water working because that is what it is for.

The next boat to leave the store sold is a Zodiac Pro Open 650

This boat will be used as a coaching boat for kids that sail, not by the sailing organization but by their parents. The mom plans to use it to capture good pictures of the kids doing their thing.

The boat is 21'4" and is powered by a Yamaha F150 Outboard Motor. This boat will be fast, stable, and fuel efficient. It will not require a large tow vehicle and can also be used for some family fun.

The removable tube set on this boat makes it a real winner as it can be replaced if needed and it can be removed for repair if a customer lives far away from here. They would be able to ship just the tube set using UPS or Fed Ex rather than bringing the whole boat.

Meet "Jibby" as it will be called

Happy Boating "Jibby"

Zodiac Pro Series Boats

Today I want to talk to you about a versatile RIB (rigid inflatable boat), the Zodiac Pro Series Boats offer a range of sizes, 2 color choices in one fabric choice and one color choice in the other fabric choice. In addition they also offer the boats in a host of ways ranging from open with no seating for use with a tiller steer motor to fully rigged with many seating configurations and power options.

The boats also feature a removable tube set making them ideal for people in commercial settings, it allows them to purchase and extra tube set that can be put on the boat if the original is punctured and in need of repair. This keeps them working while the tube set is being repaired.

This boat is now offered in a series called the Bayrunner which provides a different seating style to make it a family friendly Bay style boat. Zodiac Pro Series boats start at 13'9" and go up to 20'8".

Triad Marine will be happy to talk to you about your options when choosing a Zodiac Pro Series boat and how to make it the perfect boat for your application.

Other advantages of the inflatable boats are the stability , buoyancy, and weight. The lighter weigh will allow you to use a smaller tow vehicle as well as make it more manageable in the long run. Inflatable boats can be used anywhere you would use a fiberglass or aluminum boat. Just remember to care for them properly and run them inflated to the proper pressure.

Come and see the Zodiac Pro 500 boat at Triad Marine we have the open models here leaving all of the options up to you! The Pro 500 is 15'5" in length and can take a maximum of a 70 horse power motor. Let us help you decide which way the Pro 500 will work best for whatever you do on the water.

Pro 500 (9 Man) $10835.00 open boat in Red PVC or Grey Hypalon in stock and ready to become your dream boat!

**pictures are examples and actual product may vary**

Show & Go Video Series Part 1

Thank you for taking the time to watch our Show & Go Video Series. Keep an eye out for part 2 coming soon ...Inflatable Boat Care and Cleaning

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!

Help Me Choose a Dinghy

To RIB or not to RIB: That is a Great Question!


As a Sail Boat owner you already know that maximizing space is the key to happy functional sailing. We intend to provide you with a few tips to choose the best dinghy option for your boat. Everyone wants a RIBs Rigid Inflatable Boats…But do you have room for an RIB? Will you be able to get it on the boat? Sometimes these questions can invole things like davits, motor lifts and swim platform mounts. If you determine you can make it happen there are lots of choices out there, choosing a quality RIB from a trusted manufacture can make you love your inflatable. We offer Zodiac and Achilles, both companies are trusted and tested through the years, The Achilles RIBs come in a deluxe and a light version making the options wide open to creating that perfect inflatable boat experience.

What if you are not in the “boat” for a RIB that’s fine too we have a great option for you, it is a high pressure air floor inflatable boat. These are offered by both Zodiac and Achilles and we would be happy to sell you either but today I would like to talk to you about the Zodiac Fastroller with the ACTI-V Floor and Keel. There is no other air floor inflatable boat like it. The Zodiac Fastroller is a PVC boat which gives them the ability to Thermobond or as we say “weld” the seems, by having welded seems you can get the pressure of the floor up to 11 to 11 ½ PSI versus a hypalon boat with glued seems that just have a working floor pressure of 8 to 8 ½ PSI. The Zodiac Fastroller also has a high pressure keel as the keel and the floor fill from one valve, not only is this convenient but the rigidity of the keel will give you a better performance over all. It is easy to inflate and deflate the average weight is 75 lbs and it stows in a bag. This option is great for boats with limited space you can roll it up put it away and when you need it again just inflate it, that’s right no assembly, no floor boards to get in place and no headaches.

There are also boats with wooden floor boards and the inflatable boat options are limitless, having a dealer who knows about the boats and the brands that stand the test of time can be a real advantage. We are here for you we not only sell the boats but we repair them that’s right a full service dealership specializing in fewer products so we can provide the best answer to every question even ones like “ To RIB or not to RIB”

Zodiac Fastroller 310

Zodiac Yachtline Deluxe 420

Spring is right around the corner... don't be left on the dock while your friends play on the water...

You can get this high quality Zodiac Yachtline Deluxe 420 infltable boat with a 60 HP Yamaha Outboard motor  for $25830.00

Pictures are samples if you would like pictures if the actual in stock boat email us at sales@triadmarine.com

We will be happy to go over all of the features this boat has to offer.

Zodiac Pro 12 Man to be used by Jamaica Beach VFD

This is a Zodiac Pro 12 Man with a four stroke Yamaha 75 we added the light bar, lights, the reflective lettering and several other accessories to make this boat perfect for rescue use.

Another Zodiac FC420 to be used by a Fire Department

The Zodiac FC 420 is becoming a favorite among Texas rescue agencies of all kinds. With a host of features and portability, the Zodiac FC 420 is definitely unmatched in the inflatable world. The inner communicating valves, ability to use fast inflation kits, and the speed tubes are just a few features that make this boat perfect by design. See more here FC 420 Specs

Zodiac SRMN (Sea RIB Marine/Navy) 600

Zodiac SRMN 600 with Yamaha Four Stroke 150 Horse Power engine!

Boat came in bare and we added helm and seating custom to the customer's specifications.

Let our military professional sales personnel help you chose the right boat for all of your applications.

Not to worry if a big boat like this is not in your department's budget we certainly have many options and will help you choose what will work for you and your budget!

Zodiac Yachtline Deluxe 340

This is a great tender plenty of power to pull the kids on a tube or just to get to town and back. If you want to discuss all the great features of this boat let me know. It sports a reliable Yamaha F40 engine as well as seating for four and storage space for plenty of things. This little beauty is 11'2" and dry weight boat and motor is 631 lbs. Great deluxe boat for a smaller yacht. This boat is also on sale and ready to go play on the water today. Call us at 281-334-0815 or email arust@triadmarine.com

Thanks for looking, have a question about inflatable boats, life rafts, EPIRBs, PLBs, or other live saving equipment call, email, comment or find us on Twitter, Myspace and Facebook.