Did Uli Boards go out of business?

[Dealmaker]

Need my Uli board repaired.
No one answers the phone there and it just hangs up after is says to leave a message, so one can't leave a message...nice!  .
Their web sight is dark as well as their social media activity.

Doesn't look good for me! Anyone know for sure, and any advice on where to go next to get one of their product supported?

SOL

[Wetstuff]

SOL... You might want to contact one of the companies that repair river rafts or inflatable boats.  They make patch kits - you might check https://www.nrs.com

Jim

[steamroller]

yes i think they did a couple years ago actually...the company was bought and sold at least three times...then i think maybe 2 years ago they went under...it was right about the time that foilsurfing took off... went to them wanting a inflatable foilboard and they said....maybe...then nothing ...so i guess maybe not...


if you get one of those patch kits from ....nrs.....that glue is suuuuuper strong if you do it right...its basically like contact cement....you coat the board and coat the patch....let them dry to the touch while separate apart...then heat both surfaces simultaneously with a hair dryer and smash them together...keep heating with the hair dryer while pressing together with you hands inch by inch  for about 3 min...then let cure over night...next day the patch will be permanently  bonded...can't get them apart no matter what...

BUT...you gotta apply the coats smoothly no ripples in the glue surface as it dries otherwise it'll cure with bumps and ridges under the patch and air will find a way to leak  out...ive only done it a couple of times with success...i usually took all my repairs to them to fix

[Dealmaker]

Thanks for the feedback guys, very much appreciated!

Is this THE Steamroller?! 
I appreciate the detailed repair methodology.
Unfortunately my dilemma is not as simple as a hole/air leak. What I have is what looks like a few areas of delamination of the very top layer of rubber of my 10' Steamroller, so it looks like there's a couple of bubbles, one at each of the two front fins. This one was stored in my garage up close to the roof, so maybe the heat did this? The board otherwise looks to be in really good overall shape so it was kind of a bummer to see this.
Not sure what the fix is for that, other than to cut off the bubble and re-apply new rubber per your technique, but that seems sketchy to the novice Uli repairer (me).
Any ideas?

yes i think they did a couple years ago actually...the company was bought and sold at least three times...then i think maybe 2 years ago they went under...it was right about the time that foilsurfing took off... went to them wanting a inflatable foilboard and they said....maybe...then nothing ...so i guess maybe not...


if you get one of those patch kits from ....nrs.....that glue is suuuuuper strong if you do it right...its basically like contact cement....you coat the board and coat the patch....let them dry to the touch while separate apart...then heat both surfaces simultaneously with a hair dryer and smash them together...keep heating with the hair dryer while pressing together with you hands inch by inch  for about 3 min...then let cure over night...next day the patch will be permanently  bonded...can't get them apart no matter what...

BUT...you gotta apply the coats smoothly no ripples in the glue surface as it dries otherwise it'll cure with bumps and ridges under the patch and air will find a way to leak  out...ive only done it a couple of times with success...i usually took all my repairs to them to fix

[deepmud]

Jack's Plastic Welding - they used to do a bit of SUP - and mentioned repairs via welding - like doing ALL the seams,  before I'd seen any new ones "welded" . Best shot at a real repair I think, but I'm just an internet surfer FWIW - I can't find all the stuff about SUP that I used to see. They do the self-bailing floors - which is basicly a SUP shaped like the bottom of the raft - still.

https://www.jpwinc.com/?v=89d269ea9f2e

[supmmmm]

There’s some contact info at bottom of this link -not sure if it’s still valid.

https://web.archive.org/web/20180823053448/https://uliboards.com/

[TallDude]

Thanks for the feedback guys, very much appreciated!


Unfortunately my dilemma is not as simple as a hole/air leak. What I have is what looks like a few areas of delamination of the very top layer of rubber of my 10' Steamroller, so it looks like there's a couple of bubbles, one at each of the two front fins. This one was stored in my garage up close to the roof, so maybe the heat did this? The board otherwise looks to be in really good overall shape so it was kind of a bummer to see this.
Not sure what the fix is for that, other than to cut off the bubble and re-apply new rubber per your technique, but that seems sketchy to the novice Uli repairer (me).
Any ideas?

The material / fabric used to make inflatables is called a drop-stitch. What sounds like is happening to your board is, the drop-stitch cords holding the top and bottom together are failing. Sometimes you can see a little bubble in the bottom just below the valve. When they cut the valve in, it cuts a few of the drop-stitching cords. Without the connecting cords the bottom just bubbles up / bulges. The lateral force that the fins apply right at the base, would more than likely brake the cords. I've heard of the cords rotting out because of moisture getting in the boards. Not really repairable....

[10generation]

Anyone know the type of valve they used?  I've got one and need to pump it up, need to find the valve.

[CRSurf]

Hello, I’m in Costa Rica, south of Tamarindo with a ULI Fat Ass Quad. It was stored inflated on a rack, in the house, in the shade, wasn’t too hot. I’d noticed that it had gone down so I pulled it down to look at it. I fixed a couple of leaks on the seam so I could get some air into it. See the attached 2 x photos, it’s now blown up and bubbled around the fins. It looks as though the drop stitch has failed. I’d been trying to contact ULI since December, it was only when I saw this post that I realized they had gone out of business. I wasn’t aware how the ISUP’s were fabricated, from TallDude’s post above, it seems in 2 x pieces, top and bottom, with the drop-stitch cords that hold the top and bottom together. I’m a mechanic and Chief Engineer so I’ve repaired things for a lot of years. But this to me seems to be unrepairable. Please any input from people who have worked in the construction of ISUP’s, or if anybody reads this that used to work at ULI, steamroller posted above, I remember when he was in the videos for ULI -

    1. Anyway to repair this ULI fat ass quad or is it to be thrown away?

Wish I had known about this drop-stitch issue before I purchased it. I have a real issue with something that cost me $1,400.00, is unrepairable and I have to throw it away.

Thanks, any advice and input is appreciated.

[Green Water Sports]

I believe this is the current version of Uli: http://ulilife.com

Older (non fusion) style boards had the outer layer PVC glued to the inner drop stitch core. This glue is a failure point with heat and age. Current premium level boards are heat laminated/welded/fused at this join and ballooning failures like this are extremely rare to non existent now.

Drop stitch threads may not have failed but the PVC outer may have come unstuck from the drop stitch core. This is, unfortunately, terminal.

As far as general repairs go. These guys can offer advice and repairs: via phone/video chat/with photos and will receive and ship boards:

Inflatable Technologies - Raft Repair - Colorado
Zach Sack
https://www.raftrepair.com
+1 (303) 922-3111

Sealed Air Repairs - Orlando
Stephen Norman
https://sealedairrepairs.com
+1 (407) 427 0525

I can't speak for Uli, but inflatables usually use a Halkey-Roberts valve.

[CRSurf]

Green Water Sports thanks for your input.