FlowRider, Inc. has been on a global service mission lately. That mission is extensive, as there are over 215 FlowRider® products operating around the globe, and we want them to look as good as possible. One recent refurbishment project was a complete overhaul of the FlowBarrel® Ten Double at Yas Waterworld in Abu Dhabi.
Yas Waterworld was recently named the “Best Water Park” by the Middle East and North Africa Leisure and Attraction Council (MENALAC). The MENALAC award recognized the achievements of YAS in providing guests with the best possible experiences, and with the competition of other leisure options within close proximity, it came out on top by providing a wide range of world class attractions. Two of those world class attractions are the FlowRider Double, and the FlowBarrel Ten Double. These are the most popular surfing simulators in the world.
We installed this barreling joy toy at Yas back in 2012. It has been in operation for over 5 years and it is still the world’s largest surfable sheet wave, with both a right and left breaking barrel at approximately 3 meters in height under full power. A combined 1500 horsepower pumping millions of gallons a day for five years will bring any attraction to its’ “knees” and our product at Yas has certainly stood the test of time, but it was in need of some “spit and polish.”
BEFORE
AFTER
Most in the know, know where to come for their fix – that would be the services department at FlowRider Inc. Lead by Zak Tolli, this refurbishment project was a massive undertaking of logistics, demolition, and finishing, but we sent over 50+ years of sheet wave experience to handle the task. Terry O’Rourke, Adam Gale, Jeff Ranta, and Zak, have been building, servicing and operating FlowRiders for a looooong time – they probably don’t want me to remind them of how long, and they are all still young! They are part of a great group here that love their jobs, and that love transcends to our valued partners, through service, workmanship, quality and work ethic.
In a little under 45 days, and with the tremendous support of Yas Maintenance Support Manager, Sudheesh Kandi, the wave was transformed and looks as good as new. It was your basic foam and vinyl transformation that was developed years ago by the FlowRider team – ‘team’ being the key word here. If you need assistance, give Zak a call. We have a team of experts to assist you. Many talk about it, we just do it……….. whoops, apologies to Nike!
