The Seamaster is a very versatile boat. It makes a great family boat for day use on lakes for fishing as well as exploring those ocean coves and beaches to swim, snorkel or dive.
By design, the Seamaster has a deeper V fiberglass hull and a smaller tube diameter than most of the other Polaris RIB designs. This design provides for a large amount of available inboard space that is equal to or greater than other manufacturer’s boats of equal length. In our experience, the Seamaster is the most comfortable boat for length and as it is built both rugged and spacious the Seamaster RIB also has a large carrying capacity.
The inside deck width on the Seamaster is 42” with an overall width of 6’6”. The tube set diameter is 18” with 5 separate air chambers . The standard boat comes complete with wide protective overlays and tracking strips which are bonded onto the underside of the tube. These additions not only provide added protection to the underside of the tube set: the added tracking strips also provide additional directional stability.
As of 2016, the Seamaster series boats have been in production for about 28 years and is the model that has been Transport Canada certified for Emergency standby and for Shepherding liferafts. The 16’6 Seamaster is also the basis for our 5 M SOLAS Approved and Certified (self-righting) Rescue boat.
APPROVED EMERGENCY FIBERGLAS RIGID HULL
(Seamaster PO1, PO2 & PO3)
This is the same base boat as the Seamaster fiberglass RIB however it has some upgrades to bring it to the prescribed Approved Emergency standards. The tubes must be orange in color and each of the 5 air chambers must have both flush mount inflation valves and overpressure relief valves. The hull and deck are constructed from orange fire-retardant resin and the tubes and hull are finished with retro-reflective tape.
Like all Polaris Seamaster RIBs it has a non-skid deck surface, a fabric capped transom and a formed aluminum transom bracket which also includes structural knee supports.
The Approved Emergency and SOLAS Approved Rescue boats differ from the standard Seamaster as they require a full perimeter tube topside lacing cuff / lifeline retainer, three 5’ paddles with inboard retainers and a 3 or 4 point, heavy duty, lifting sling bases There is a requirement for each of these boats to carry the minimum required ancillary equipment which Polaris can supply with the boat upon request.
The inspector on the larger vessel, whether a pleasure yacht, a tugboat or ferry boat, will advise on the type of approved boat (if any) that will be required.