Patent ID: 7275494

Claim:
An inflatable bladder for use in a boat having an inflatable hull portion, the inflatable bladder including: (a) a bladder made of a flexible material, the bladder including a valve receiving opening at a valve location in the material making up the bladder; (b) a valve body having a portion traversing the valve receiving opening; (c) a first valve positioned in the valve body at a first position within the area defined by the valve receiving opening in the bladder material; (d) a first flange extending from the valve body around the periphery of the valve body, the first flange extending generally in a plane transverse to a longitudinal axis of the first valve, and the bladder material around the entire periphery of the valve receiving opening being sealed to the first flange; and (e) a second flange extending from the valve body around the periphery of the valve body at a location outside of the volume encompassed by the bladder, the second flange extending generally parallel to the first flange and being spaced apart from the first flange and the bladder material sealed to the first flange.