Zodiac Nautic

Zodiac Nautic finds its origins in the Société française de ballons dirigeables et d’aviation Zodiac (Zodiac airships and aviation French company), which specialized in the production of airships. In the late 1930s, one of its engineers, Pierre Debroutelle, invented one of the first prototypes of inflatable boats. In 1937, the Aéronavale, the French Naval Airforce, commissioned several boats from Zodiac.[2] The company started marketing to the general public in 1949. Zodiac received a lot of publicity in late 1952 after Alain Bombard made a crossing of the Atlantic in a production model of a Zodiac inflatable boat called L'Hérétique.[2][3][4]

Despite a lack of advertising, Zodiac was inundated with civilian orders, leading to the company having to change the design of their boats to suit the market. At this time, better materials also became more readily available, so the company moved away from its traditional roots of using materials for balloon production.[3]

In 1963, Zodiac was producing 200 boats a month, which wasn't a sustainable number for the business. Zodiac opened a temporary workshop in Courbevoie, expanded its already established factories and increased its workforce which allowed the company to begin producing 17 boats a day.[3]

In the 1960s, the company turned to the leisure industry to accommodate the “vacationers” and their growing interest in recreational boating.[5] Zodiac boats were brought into the mainstream in the late 1960s as Jacques Cousteau equipped his Calypso with several of Zodiac's boats.[2][4]

In 2007, the company sold its Marine division to the American investment fund Carlyle.[3]

The buoyancy tubes of Zodiac boats have several compartments, separated by waterproof partitions. Due to its air reserves, the boat can stay afloat easily with a heavy load, even with a deflated compartment.

Zodiac inflatable boats are commonly used by the United States Military and the RNLI, however, these are Zodiac Milpro (Military and Professional) boats, which is a separate company also created during the breakup of the Zodiac Group in 2007.

The word "ZODIAC" is a registered trademark for rigid-hulled inflatable boats.