Thanks to Kevin Mansell for this article

Always one for the soft touch as I walked around the London Boat Show I was convinced, along with a couple of companions, that I really needed some leather balsam for protecting my shoes. I parted with my £10.00 and walked on my way. Some time later, I stumbled across some fibre glass polish, now this was interesting as my 20 year old Nordkapp was starting to show its age. Whereas £10 seemed a huge amount, I was far more willing to part with £40 to protect my beloved sea kayak.

I returned home with two types of polish with the aim of writing a review of the one for fibre glass. I followed the instructions and sat back to review my handy work. With my hand on my heart I felt unable to write a review as I didn’t want you, dear reader, to make the same mistake as me and part with their hard earned cash.

Price: £10.00

Each week I did use the leather balsam on my shoes never realising that I held in my hand the key to restoring my kayak to some of its former glory. That is untl Chris said, “Have you tried the shoe polish on your kayak?” Somewhat sceptically I applied the polish. It was quick and easy to do and the impact was amazing. Almost instantly, scratches appeared to disappear and the colours were restored.

Once the kayak was on the water the droplets glistened in the sunlight, it was just like paddling a new kayak. The great thing is that it only takes a matter of minutes to reapply the balsam, therefore it can be repeated on a regular basis ensuring that your precious kayak maintains its perfect looks.

The product is “Renapur Leather Balsam”. Forget your shoes apply it to your kayak!

This and more hints for those interested in Kayaking can be seen on the seapaddler website www.seapaddler.co.uk/polish.htm