The Patten Company

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For over 50 years The Patten Company has created the standard in design and quality for life rafts and inflatable boats. Patten’s high speed combat and rescue craft have been sold to the military and government agencies since the 1950’s. From this experience we now bring to the public the patented semi-rigid, thru the floor entry, dive boat.

In 1934 a Navy plane crashed into the ocean while performing military maneuvers. The pilot apparently died because he was unable to survive the elements of the sea long enough for the rescue ship to reach him. He had no life raft equipment.

Several years later, in 1939, Fred F. Patten, brother of the lost airman, pioneered the development of the inflatable life raft to save lives where his brother’s had been lost.

Following World War II, Fred Patten founded The Patten Company Inc. in Worchester, Mass., manufacturing inflatable life rafts for military aircraft and soon became the major supplier of these products to the government. Current life rafts range in size from one man to fifty persons. In 1955 the Patten Company relocated to Lake Worth, Florida.

The company has done extensive development work on life rafts, inflatable boats, and specialty inflatable products. NASA outfits Astronauts (from the first Apollo mission to the current Skylab program) with life rafts manufactured by The Patten Company. Since the 1950’s Patten has been designing and building combat and rescue inflatable boats.

The Patten Company is the country’s leading manufacturer of life saving equipment. Their state of the art research and development (along with three generations of expertise) make Patten a mainstay of the industry.