though I never used Sal's services, I had a strange interaction via phone when inquiring on services to repair an inflatable kayak. They wanted payment up front (didn't know that lack of business etiquette/professionalism still existed). When I asked about guarantee/warranty, he shot back a rather snide reply, but did end text saying he would warranty work for 6 months... Don't know how good a job he would have done but first interaction was a red flag! read more

They didn't even try to understand what could be done :( They said we don't go to fix. You have to bring it. It is big bubble tent and cannot be transferred. read more

Sal's Inflatable Services - Boat Repair Near Me - Alameda, California

Sal and Sylvia are awesome. Wonderful, very nice people. My Achilles inflatable was ripped in the big storm we had up here at Tahoe. Sal answered my texts on Sunday. He's going to repair it this week. read more

Truly a great business to work with. If ever there were people who went above and beyond the call of duty to help their customers, this is the one. They really know their business --- and they excel in working with and helping their customers. I purchased some equipment and electronics from them and they asked how much experience I had with both, and I had to admit that it was minimal. Not only did they show me tricks for operating the gear, but went into detail about storage, maintenance, and even the registration process. I had a lot of questions and each was answered capably -- but they wanted to know that I understood what I'd been told and shown (without condescending about it). I called once, having some difficulty with the gear and I was invited to stop by the shop. When I arrived, they went through the process involved, not only explaining it to me, but then having me do the physical task. Sal remembered me and asked if I was maintaining the equipment, and took some time to show me steps (and tricks) for maintaining it. I offered to pay for their time but I was refused, telling me that I'd already paid for it. Sal asked if I'd had lunch and told me the best places nearby to patronize, even recommending their specialties and "best dish" -- even letting me in on the secret about the best place to park. What's more, the purchase was at a very fair price -- especially considering the ton of customer service and support they put into the deal. They were generous with their time -- and they've always answered my questions, even if the correct answer at the moment was "I don't know..." (and they made they effort to find out the answer and call me back). I appreciate the courtesy shown, as well. I called during a busy day and they promised to return the call, doing so after normal business hours -- and phoning me back the next day to make certain that my questions and needs were all answered. I heartily recommend this company, the staff and owner. I don't think you'll find a better group of people anywhere to work with. read more

Sals has been doing our life raft for years. They are friendly, timely and thorough. I highly recommend them for any private or commercial work. read more

We requested a price quote from Sal's to repack our life raft. After two phone conversations we never heard back from him. We made a third and fourth request via phone and text messages but received no response. We finally were able to speak with a woman on the phone. She was very pleasant, apologetic and promised us we would hear back from Sal shortly. We never received any communication from him. I know this company receives stellar reviews but we were ultimately forced to go out of state (Portland, Oregon) to have our life raft repacked and recertified. From what we have learned it was substantially cheaper in Oregon but a bit more of a hassle. Sal's is the only company in the Bay Area that is USCG Certified to repack life rafts. The next closest repacker is in Long Beach, California and Crescent City. That's unfortunate in that Sal's has no local competition. I fear that the quality of his interaction with us is a reflection of one who owns the local market. read more

Look no further if you need any inflatable services! Extremely knowledgeable and always helpful whether you have a question, need repairs, or certified servicing. Many times Sal and the team have helped us save money too. They also provide rentals for trips. Sal's Inflatable Services is a staple among our important marine resources. read more

Sal's Inflatable Services - Boat Repair Near Me - Alameda, California

Anything to do with inflatables such as life rafts this is the place to go in the greater SF bay area for service or buying new.

wanted to get my life raft repacked for a 27 foot salmon troller, sal told me it was too old and it would cost too much money, instead he recommended for me to buy a new one, so we talk about it and decided that a 4 person coastal life raft would work for me, so about 5 months goes by (I guess the factory was back ordered), and I get a call saying he received my order, but to his mistake, he ordered the wrong one. so after that he put the right order in and it shows up a couple weeks later, great I'm thinking, until I see it, it must have been twice the size of my original life raft, well I still take it and try and put it on my boat, it was just too big and heavy for my 27 foot skipjack. Size and weight was an important requirement to me that I expressed to him when we talked and so I was trusting him to recommend me something close to what I originally brought in for him to repack. So, I ask him if I could return it. sal says he already lost money on the deal from him ordering the wrong life raft to begin with and that I should just try and sell it my self lol, you kidding me!? like I just spent $3,000 dollars on a raft that I can't use and he is saying that he lost money. it felt like this dude was just trying to upsell me the whole time, I patiently waited 6 months on his error, and I still don't have what I originally needed... 0 stars This place sucks read more

Sal and Silvia worked with me to choose the correct life raft for my planned trip to Alaska in my Defever 44 trawler. They are completely knowledgable and helped me understand the options and make the right decision. I highly recommend them. Peter Benziger read more

Top notch service here. These guys have more experience than anyone in the area and will give you a straight answer. read more

Sal's Inflatable Services - Boat Repair Near Me - Alameda, California

They answer the phone and my questions, with straight forward information, thanks Sal. I would bring my boat to you next time I have a problem. read more

20 years ago I bought a Swtilik MD2 from Sal at the Pac Sail Expo, got a great deal on it. Never used it, sold it for almost what I paid for it a few years later. Since then every time I have reason to call or shop inflatables I call Sal first - in 50 years of boating he can still talk sense in to me and it's not spending cents... He talks straight up logic and science, which in many instances is not his most profitable conversation. I trust Sal. read more

I purchased a Zodiac with a friend but the seller had made some recent repairs that were not noticeable until you hit the water a few times, so when the seams became unglued, i went to Vallejo Boat Works and they referred me to Sal's, I called him and he instructed me to remove the outboard and bring it over, He inspected the boat and said that it would take several hours to clean and re glue it so it would be better if I was to do it myself, He helped me roll the boat and put it in the back of the SUV to be safer on the road and nothing would come a part, great service and friendly help, I purchased the glue from him and he told me that if I had a problem or if I just had any questions to call him, I can not state how much help these people are. They are the best. read more

Had my old inflatable boat repaired here. A+ customer service A+ turn around time A+ repair quality Everyone there was a pleasure to deal with, from beginning to end. read more

Even though I told Sal upfront that we would be picking up our catamaran in France and would not be able to buy from him because of logistics it didn't stop him from offering a lot of excellent advice. He's a guy I'd do business with for sure...A straight shooter in my book for sure!!! www.svSeaOdyssey.com read more

Sal's shop is all you will need to maintain your Inflatable. Sal will go into detail in troubleshooting your problem and going through basic training on your Achilles. He does this to stress how the fundamentals of ownership will effect the enjoyment, safety and lifetime of your craft. Sal is also very interesting and knowledgeable and is easy to be around. I've been to numerous other inflatable shops and there is no comparison. You can become expert on your vessel and get the best repair for your boat. His shop is full of high end survival equipment for big clients so that shows you the breadth of the shops skills. Not a cheap place to get your inflatable fixed and you may for them to finish the job the correct way but it is the best job around for both the near and long term life of your vessel in my opinion. read more

I can't say enough good about Sal's. In my latest dealing (failed to Yelp others) he did a tricky repair to my Zodiac where the Weaver pads for attaching to the swim platform were coming off. Sal noted that the previous pad had weakened the main fabric and he said he'd have to "think about" how to fix it, and if the cost was too high he'd let me know. Well, miracle on miracles, he miraculously installed two new pads with reinforcing fabric and they are working out splendidly. Sal is simply the highest skilled and most honest person you could find. We are very lucky to have him in the Bay area. read more

My Zodiac needed some adhesive glue to reconnect two old sections and after finding and using some glue online that failed I called Sal's for help. For several years I had seen Sal's advertised online but thought he was just a boat dealer. I drove to Alameda and was surprised to see his business was more of a warehouse with extensive inflatable boats and offshore survival raft repair and re-packing. Not a typical "sales" only retail operation as expected. Sal was there and spent considerable time looking at my photos of the previously used & failed glue and sold me a very specialized type of glue for my Zodiac from his personal stash (normally it would have to be ordered). Very surprising how inexpensive his glue was versus what I paid for the previous glue product that failed. Best of all is he spent 15 minutes explaining thoroughly explaining to me how to strip off the old glue then how to apply the glue in three phases before connecting the two sides. I am most appreciative of his time and excellent service, and would go out of my way to recommend him. Thank you Sal! read more

Sal's inflatable is great! They replaced the battery in my personal eperb. My friends bought their dingy here and another sailor is renting a life raft and sat phone for a trip down the coast. What great service to the community! read more

It's the little things that make me a loyal customer. I bought an Achilles dinghy from Sal's a few years ago, used it very little, and sold the sailboat and stored the dinghy for a couple of years in the garage. When I took it out to check it recently, it was not holding air well and I wondered if I had damaged it. A quick consultation on the phone with Sal's -- who found our transaction in his records -- and he suggested things to check. I did as suggested and found the problems were minor, of my doing, and easy to fix. No profit to Sal's for being helpful, but I certainly will recommend this place to my still-sailing friends. read more

Great service and speedy turn around. If yiu want your inflatable fixed properly, sals is the place to go. Mine was done on schedule and everything was done properly. Don't go for a cheap fix, go to sals. read more

I have dealt with Sals twice; renting a Viking 4-man raft for an offshore race, and having my McMurdo EPIRB serviced. Both experiences were good. It is worth noting that Sal is a frequent guest at Safety at Sea training sessions in the SF Bay area, demonstrating raft deployment, righting and other safety issues. Highly recommended. read more

Sal's Inflatable Services has been performing the service on my marine emergency equipment for four years. They are exceptional--fair, honest, and reasonable. It is a pleasure to conduct business with both Sal and Silvia. Brett read more

I cant recommend this business. I had some concerns when I brought in my raft and other items. It is a poor indicator when an office and facility is a disorganized mess, and my concerns were proven correct. All the paperwork I brought in with my items has go missing, it took an inordinate amount of time to accomplish the work, and I had to follow up on them repeatedly to get a finish date. I did order a special item to go along with the repairs, but it is unclear if that extended the time for repairs, or if they just did not order it in a timely manner. Is the work OK? Hard to say, but my experience with them makes me worry that if they cant run the business well, then the work may be problematic as well. Time will tell I suppose. read more

Well known as The place in Bay Area for safety at sea equipment Good to deal with. Wish they were open Sat AM as it real hard to get your stuff there sometimes read more

do not bring your inflatable to this crook for repairs !! i repeat : do not bring your inflatable to this crook for repairs !! i called today to get a estimate to have a "fill valve" replaced on my 11 1/2 foot zodiac and after describing the problem in detail i got an estimate of $250.00 !!!!! when i expressed my feelings that i thought it was a bit high for what should be a routine repair he told me "if you don't like the price....do it yourself" then hung up on me !! i called back to confirm what just happened and a woman this time answered the phone. (his wife ??) i explained to her what just happened and expressed to her that i was a member of the fire department and our compnay has contracted work with this company in the past and how disgraceful it was to have someone deal with their customers in this manner. she agreed completely and said she would investigate. apparently the rude individual who hung up on me was listening on anopther phone line and interupted the conversation by saying " i am not going to apologize" for hanging up and he was busy and "did not have time to deal with customers like me". i explained to him that his business depends on all customers and that his attitude will eventually result in hurting his business. he did not seem to be concerned that he was speaking with a customer who has brought him business in the past and concluded the conversation by saying he was "too busy" to continue talking. my advice to any potential future customers is to think very carefully before doing business with this person who thinks so little of his customers !!! our company will no longer employ this "jerk" to repair or service any of our rescue inflatable boats in the future !!! in reality he problable is ready to retire and does not care any longer about his company reputation or showing professional courtesy to any future customers. trust me : take your business elsewhere !! or like he told me "do it yourself" read more

It's family owned and runned. Sal is very knowledgeable and spends as much time as you need to understand the equipment and services. Silvia runs the front office and is very personable and enjoyable to deal with. I bet she actually runs the entire business and her Husband just happens to work for her. I have rented EPIRBs, survival suits, flare kits and rafts over the past 7 years. read more

I was referred to him to get some work done, but his behavior was so unprofessional that I ended up taking my business elsewhere.

This is a great business to work with. I was visiting in Redding, California, when I noticed that my battery on my ACR Personal Locator Beacon was about to expire. I contacted several authorized places in the San Francisco Bay Area to see who could do the job, how much, and how long would they have it. It has to be done by ACR authorized technicians. Two businesses e-mailed me back, Sal's and a nearby competitor. Both gave me their prices to do the job, including shipping costs, and Sal's was much more reasonable in cost. His competitor was definetly trying to gouge me on the battery cost, and he would need it a lot longer than Sal's. Sal's was charging 60% of what his competitor wanted, and they had it back in my hands inside a week. No kidding. Plus, they installed new screws and gaskets on the unit, and tested the unit after battery installation, with a performance report. Silvia worked with me, and we kept each other informed in order to get it in and out quickly. I don't know about the rest of their business because I was never there. But I am very impressed with the courteous service and professionalism. They treated me great, and I would definetley recommend them for your ACR needs. read more

Sal has been helping me acquire a hard to find part for my 10 year old inflatable dinghy. After many calls, much time looking into catalogues and the like Sal helped me acquire the needed part at the lowest possible price. I'll come back! read more