Inflatable rescue boat

Inflatable Rescue Boats (IRBs) are rubber boats with an outboard motor used in surf lifesaving. IRBs have been used for all forms of surf rescue, retrieval, and service by Surf Lifesaving in New Zealand, Australia, and Del Mar, California since the late 1980s.

IRBs are made of rubber and consist of four inflatable tubes - two side tubes, a bow tube and a keelson tube. This specific feature coupled with the obvious fact that they are used in the water, has coined the term "rubber duck" or simply "duck" to describe an IRB. Typically the rubber is coloured a shade of red termed 'Rescue Red' although a particular make of craft manufactured by Arancia come in a shade of orange. They have a rigid floor piece and a rigid transom for fitting an outboard motor (usually 25 hp). This motor is capable of providing a maximum drive speed of between 25-30 knots on flat water. 2-Stroke fuel is stored in a flexible fuel bladder and is secured by 4 clips to the floor in the bow. An IRB is crewed by two people - an IRB Operator/Driver and an IRB Crewman. The Operator sits on the lower half of the port side pontoon where he operates the outboard motor to control the boat. He has a single foot strap to help him stay in the boat. His left hand can hold on to a strap on the port side pontoon and his right hand operates the outboard motor by means of a tiller arm and throttle. The Crewman sits on the upper half of the starboard side pontoon. A handle is attached by a rope to the nose of the boat for him to hold with his left hand, while his right hand may hold a strap attached to the starboard pontoon. He balances the boat and allows it to go over large waves before they break without flipping. He also assists when going through a breaking wave, commonly referred to as "punching-through". As of 2011 only one foot strap is available for a crew member.

In 1969, after returning from life guard duties in the UK, Warren Mitchell of the Avalon Beach Surf Lifesaving Club, had the idea for a rescue craft that could be deployed quickly under varying surf conditions and was adaptable to different Australian beaches. The first IRB he developed was in conjunction with the Dunlop Company and utilised a 20 hp outboard motor. It measured four metres in length and set the precedent for the familiar IRB we now use today. In 1978 the Mk I Arancia IRB was tested at Piha, New Zealand. During the test the first ever IRB rescue of a swimmer washed up on rocks was performed.

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