Small Craft Stories: Inflatable Technologies
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We’re on the lookout for stories from every corner of the boating world—small boat builders, fix-it shops, gear makers, and everyone in between. No matter the size of your operation, we’d love to feature you in a piece and share your story with our community. Shoot us an email at tim@smallcraftsales.com and tell us a little about yourself.
This week we're featuring Inflatable Technologies THE National Raft Repair Specialist located in Denver, Colorado. Owner and Head Glue Sniffer Zach Sack is shown in the image above.
Years ago, a good buddy borrowed my AIRE Super Puma for a weekend float. After taking out, he loaded it on the trailer… and then didn’t tie it down—other than the winch point. He then proceeded to drag it down a dirt road, carving a 6-foot by 1.5-foot hole in the tube and grinding about a foot of frame into a modern art sculpture.
Somehow, Zach Sack at Inflatable Technologies brought her back from the dead and made her river-worthy again. I was legitimately flabbergasted.
Since then, he’s done custom tweaks on a bunch of my boats—D-rings, handles, random “hey-can-you-build-this?” ideas. Basically, if you can dream it up, Inflatable Technologies can make it happen. They do much of the warrranty work for many of the nations leading raft companies as well.
SCS: In one sentence, what do you do?
ZACH: We are a full service mechanic/maintenance service shop for inflatable rafts, outfitter fleets, paddle-boards, and many other inflatables, as well as a custom inflatable manufacturer.
SCS: How many shops like yours are around the country?
ZACH: There are less than a handful of shops in the country with similar capabilities, mostly on the east and west coast.
SCS: What was the spark that pulled you into boatbuilding/repair/design?
ZACH: I started repairing boats for the raft company that I worked at. I realized there were 50 capable raft guides but only one person that knew how to repair them.
SCS: What’s your philosophy on boat repair?
ZACH: Never cut corners and always try to preserve the value of the inflatable.
SCS: Give us a quick tour of your workspace.
ZACH: Upon entering you'll find a dozen or so boats in various stages of repair in the center of our workspace, dozens of pallets with rafts on pallet racking around the perimeter, and the equivelant of a boat scrap yard/antique store in every single nook and cranny for those timeless classic rafts that nobody has parts for.
SCS: What’s one tool you can’t live without?
ZACH: The "pusher", which is a modified heavy duty paint scraper that has been machined to be perfectly smooth. The idea was derived from overseas manufacturers that use a similar tool made of bamboo.
SCS: What do people misunderstand about your work?
ZACH: The complexity and amount of time required to be positive that a repair won't fail on the river. Many people can "slap a patch on", hoping that it holds. When brought to Inflatable Technologies, the repair is completed, adhesive cured, and the inflatable is 24 hour tested post repair.
SCS: Your favorite boat to build/repair/run — and why?
ZACH: I get asked this question a lot. My favorite boats? Broken ones. My personal fleet of rafts are mostly 40 year old classics, mostly Avons. It's really just nostalgia, that's what I ran when I was first starting out as a guide.
SCS: What does the small-boat world need more of right now?
ZACH: Navigable Water! Just kidding, or am I.
SCS: Anything exciting coming up?
ZACH: Every winter and spring the new outfitter rafts arrive at our shop for logos/branding. Our first shipment is scheduled to arrive in February, with an anticipated 500 new rafts shipping in by the end of May. This is our kickoff to the busiest time of the year which will run through July.
SCS: Where can people follow your work or reach you?