Decalling borrowed canoes

looking for some perspective on this so as not to get it wrong..

If you borrow or rent a canoe from a local club, and want to put your sponsors decals on it, should you/ do you ask first?

after the race, who's resposible to remove them? often crews are gassed or distracted and walk away to focus on post race recovery and fun... what's the right thing to do here?

Submitted by Openocean on Tue, 08/21/2012 - 9:54am



you borrow/rent the canoe you give back as you recieved it .


#1 Tue, 08/21/2012 - 11:15am


It can be extremely frustrating to loan your canoe out and get it back covered in stickers. In my opinion:
1) Always ask permission first.
2) Remove the stickers after.

But, I don't think any sponsor will be all that offended to not have their name on a canoe for just one race.


#2 Tue, 08/21/2012 - 12:31pm


As the late great N.N. would say." you can borrow my truck, you can stay @ my house, you could even sit in my kitchen with my wife and eat my food. but dont you ever, ever, ever touch my canoe.


#3 Wed, 08/22/2012 - 10:34am


I agree with Luke
1) always ask
2) always remove ASAP (so you don't leave sticker residue)

I will add
3) say thank you

Also, do what you can to keep your sponsors happy. If your sponsor agreement is with a handshake, great. But don't be afraid to create and sign a sponsor agreement between you/your crew/your club so expectations are the same on both sides. Spell out deliverable and add dates. You should include when you need $$$ by or when product should be delivered. I've found that most sponsors appreciate professionalism (not to be confused with being pushy) and happily sign contracts. Most of sponsors are business people, and successful ones at that! They are use to contracts.

I've seen clubs/crews spend money thinking they were getting sponsor $$ then the sponsor never delivers the cash or backs out. On the other end, I know sponsors that have expectations of what they are going to get out of the deal (i.e. their sticker is going to be on your canoe for EVERY race you do) and when that expectation is not met, they get mad/disappointed/fustraited. This could jeopardize future partnerships.

Paddling sponsors are few and far between. Keep them happy while keeping your integrity.


#4 Wed, 08/22/2012 - 1:06pm


Was it Primo donna?


#5 Fri, 08/24/2012 - 10:55am


I work in the signage industry... decals can be made with low tack adhesive that can be used for short term usage provided the surface you are placing the decal is clean and without any mega chunks taken out of it... usually best not to place over existing decals as that may damage what is already there. Most sign shops would be more than happy to help you with creating decals that would suit your needs. If you have any questions about decals, shoot me an email.

As for placing decals on rental canoes... in my mind, it would be best to ask the owners first and then return the canoe back in its original condition...

If your paddlers are too gassed to return the canoe in its original condition you should ask them how they would like their own canoe returned to them.


#6 Fri, 08/24/2012 - 12:31pm


Goo Gone or Chief Firewater are great for removing old sticky stuff. The latter of the two is non-toxic and citrus oil based. If you only put the stickers on for a single race they should come off pretty easy. Then just rub on a little Goo Gone and you're pau.


#7 Fri, 08/24/2012 - 3:37pm


What's wrong with you just telling them before hand whether they can or can't. I don't mind stickers on there. I just spent about three hours taking stickers off from multiple lend outs. It only took that long cause I let them sit too long. The residue can be a pain to get off though if you don't have the supplies. So if you rent and you don't want to take them off yourself then leave some Chief Firewater in the canoe.

Does anyone have that OC Mafia sticker that was on Kapa'a? It was on my canoe but got taken off (which is the only one I didn't want taken off due to it's nostalgia) If someone has an extra one I'd like to get it.

Is a representative of OC Mafia listening and if so can you provide a middle man to drop one off!!


#8 Fri, 08/24/2012 - 6:28pm


they can take the paint off sometimes.


#9 Sat, 08/25/2012 - 3:31am


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