XR-Mariner™

A Patent-Pending Fabric for Inflatable Boats
Technology that Blows Hypalon® Out of the Water

The earliest inflatable boats were made with inflated airtight animal skins and used by an Assyrian King to transport his troops across a river back in 880 BC, according to the Guinness Book of Motorboating. Since then, demands on inflatable watercraft have evolved significantly. Inflatable boats are now used around the globe as emergency lifeboats, in search and rescue missions, for military transport and special operations, security patrol, law enforcement, and in recreational activities.

Seaman Corporation has monitored and participated in the changing needs of the inflatable boat market since the early 1960’s when founder, Norm Seaman, introduced the company’s first boat fabric. Based on real market experience and a recent intensive field testing effort, Seaman Corporation developed XR-Mariner, a fabric that is specifically designed to stand up to the challenges that modern inflatable boats face.

"When we learned through our market research that there were issues with the Hypalon products that currently dominate the high-end inflatable boat market, we set out to offer the market something far better," commented Richard Seaman, President and CEO of Seaman Corporation. "We based XR-Mariner’s core formula on our X-Boat product, a material that has been successfully performing in the market for more than 20 years."

The Patten Company, a leading United States based innovative designer and manufacturer of inflatable boats based in Lake Worth, Florida, has been using Seaman Corporation's X-Boat material for the past 15 years in military, rescue and commercial applications.

"X-Boat product characteristics are consistent from run to run. It's a long-lasting, UV stable fabric that has no trouble holding air," commented Robert Patten, Jr., the Patten Company's Director of Research and Development. "Seaman Corporation has by far the best quality control system I have seen in any fabric manufacturing facility."

Tom Carnes, President of TEC Innovations, a marketing company that sells Patten's inflatable boats chimed in, "I’ve owned a boat made with X-Boat material for the past eight years. I'm really impressed with how the material holds up under the sun. I have seen other products grow brittle and lose their color after just a few years. There's really nothing else like X-Boat on the market."

XR-Mariner combines the knowledge Seaman Corporation gained from its experience with the X-Boat product with XR Technology, the core formula for the company's highest performance fabrics. XR-Mariner's proprietary high strength base fabric is coated with a revolutionary formula that incorporates DuPont™ Elvaloy®, a polymer recognized for its advanced, long-term weathering properties. The result is a product with abrasion, tear and puncture characteristics that rank higher than Hypalon as well as other competitive products on the market. XR-Mariner has superb flexibility and UV resistance, for longer life and longer lasting colors.

While it can be bonded using Seaman Corporation's recommended adhesive, which has a 15-year performance record with the X-boat fabric, XR-Mariner has the unique feature of being sealable using dielectric, hot air or sonic welding techniques. Fabric with welded seams is proven to be stronger, hold air better and last longer under the sun than competitive alternatives, like Hypalon, which rely solely on adhesives for seaming.

"Based on the results of our extensive testing efforts," reported Seaman, "we truly believe that XR-Mariner is now the finest material available for the recreational inflatable boat market."