Grand Raid
Zodiac’s Grand Raid has been around for quite a bit of time and within its lifetime has become the stuff of legend and lore. For me it’s the first (bateau pneumatique) that I came to see and recognize as a Zodiac, unique, capable, mysterious, and oui, French. My whole interest in the ocean or water in general has always factored in a Zodiac, and more often than not it was a Grand Raid. I see old pics of me in the Arctic on a Grand Raid, or tropical jungles again with a Grand Raid, on a ship with a Grand Raid, begin to see the pattern here? There are many Zodiac and Zodiac Milpro models that come to mind like the FC470, or Bombard Commando for instance but as things happen, they just seem to happen more… in a Grand Raid.
Places you’d see on a map or globe at school were likely explored and charted with the help of the unassuming Zodiac Grand Raid. Supplies and medical help were delivered with the same capable boat that Legionnaire’s used to conduct missions or marine biologists used to film documentaries. It’s likely the very image seen in your head when you think of an inflatable boat, it’s ubiquitous and flies under the radar of scrutiny because it’s so known in the zeitgeist simply as what you imagine an inflatable boat (bateau pneumatique) to be.
The Grand Raid is many things to many different users but “ami numéro un” to all who’ve had the pleasure of its company. French at its core, global with its presence, Zodiac’s Grand Raid continues to inspire and deliver the stuff of legend to today’s discerning user.
The Grand Raid is foldable and transportable adding to the mystique of it’s haze grey history. Without fanfare the Grand Raid plucks cold, wet and tired people out of danger, it brings the groceries, it delivers the mail, it’s a wolf or a shepherd, it never asks for anything except to go to work. The Grand Raid exudes confidence and trustworthiness in its capabilities making your job and your life the only reason for its existence. Zodiac’s Grand Raid carries more weight and offers more stability than other boats and is content to patrol the Amazon or spend a lazy day catching fish with the children.
The team here at IBC has always been fans of Zodiac’s Grand Raid models, we probably always will be. Grand Raids just work so well and seemingly never end up in the repair shop for anything other than a simple patch repair. While the Zodiac Grand Raid has stood the test of time it doesn’t rest on its laurels. The Zodiac Grand Raid is so near perfect in its original design that it steps readily forward to volunteer for use with electric outboards thereby continuing the mission with future generations of explorers and adventurers. There’s a good chance that the very first boat on another planet will be a Zodiac Grand Raid rolled and ready to go once we begin the next phase of mankind’s journey.
If you’re ready to take the next step in your journey, need to equip a dept., or you just want to eat a sammie while reading a book, consider a Grand Raid.
The Inflatable Boat Center
2041 SE Powell Blvd.
Portland Oregon 97202
(503)235-2628
inflatableboats.com