Fat Paddler medium sticker, cockpit of Boréal Nanook

Upon receipt of my new kayak (actually a second hand ex-rental from Sydney Harbour Kayaks), one thing became clear. I needed to clean it up and make it NOT look like a rental yak!

Flashback - the Nanook when still a rental. Note front sticker...

So armed with a bottle of white spirit, a blunt paint scraper, some cut-polish, a pile of rags, my ipod plugged into speakers and a six pack of Bundaberg Dark & Stormies (rum & ginger beer) I set out to clean up the kayak. This mainly involved removing old SHK stickers which had been placed liberally on each side of the kayak, front and back. Once removed, a little white spirit to clean excess gum off the boat, and then a little cut polish to clean up the decal areas.

Fat Paddler medium sticker on front hatch, Boréal Nanook

Once clean, I went to work placing the new Fat Paddler stickers. Firstly I discovered the big stickers I got were TOO big. This meant that for the side cockpit mounts, and the front hatch, I was going to have to use the medium stickers. Getting a clean placement of the vinyl stickers on the boat proved very difficult, and a slow carfeul process, due to the curve of the kayak and the propensity of the stickers to form folding air channels.

Then came the biggie, the one spot on the kayak where the big sticker could find a home, on the stern of the boat. This one went without a hitch, and the re-brand was complete. Now I just need a name for the boat.. and I’m swing towards “Pudding”. Later!

Large Fat Paddler sticker, kayak stern, Boréal Nanook

Large Fat Paddler sticker, kayak stern, Boréal Nanook