IRB Craft and Motor Information
Inflatable Rescue Boats are made by Arancia. They have a solid floorboard with footstraps for the crewperson and driver to use for extra security. The floorboard is inserted into the inflatable part of the craft consisting of four inflatable compartments, three pontoons and one keelson. The two back pontoons are specially shaped for structural strangth, they have cone shapes at the front and back. The front pontoon is attached over top of the two side ones over the cones. The back ones must be inflated first to ensure that the cones maintain their shape, inflating the front first may cause the cones to invert. The pontoons are inflated to 23kpa and the keelson is inflated to 27kpa as recommended by Arancia.
Essential equipment carried in an IRB at all times are:
A blunt ended knife (blunt ended to reduce the risk of hull puncture) used to cut foregin objects from the propeller.
Two paddles used to paddle to shore in the case of engine failure.
A rescue tube used by the crewperson if the patient is somewhere that the IRB can't easily access.
Lifejackets are to be worn by IRB operators for safety in case they fall out.
A radio (optional) waterproof to communicate with others while in the water.
The motors used are modified Mercury 30hp 667cc two cylinder two stroke outboard motors. They are bought stock standard and sent away to be modified for surf lifesaving purposes. A stainless propeller and propguard are fitted, the propguard is to maintain swimmer safety and the propeller is to compensate for performance that the guard takes away. The transom brackets are strengthened to handle the forces encountered when hitting a wave. The brackets are fitted with stainless spindles for ease of mounting the motor to the hull and for added strength. The powerhead is sealed with a small wire and tag to ensure that it does not get tampered with in order to keep racing fair. The exhaust is routed through the middle of the propeller to give a little extra propulsion and to reduce running noise.