The Proper Care and Feeding of a Boat Shoe

The Boat Shoe

One prep essential that goes in and out with popular fashion is the boat shoe. For the prep set, however, the boat shoe is a timeless choice that goes with anything. While browns are the most common, and most traditional (and the favorite of the elegant Muffy Aldrich of The Daily Prep), they come in a wide variety of colors and styles. They even come in cloth and sneaker variations, although today's Behavior post is mostly dealing with the leather varieties. I, personally, am partial to the navy. I have both a Bass version and a Sperry version, and while I'm still breaking in the Bass, I probably like the Sperry a bit more. Other makers are Dexter, Sebago, LL Bean, and Quoddy.

The Right Boat Shoe

The first thing you need to know about taking care of your boat shoes is to buy a pair that will last. Due to the increase in popularity many manufacturers are spitting out boat shoes with thin, cheap leather and weak construction. Some are not even true leather. I recently realised that the boat shoe had reached the lowest common denominator when I found $14 pairs in Kohl's that were faux leather and so thin I doubt they could actually withstand any time on the water. I knew we had reached the point of oversaturation when I found a $7 pair made from shiny plastic at Target. Not only will this article be entirely useless if you go with a pair this cheap, they probably wouldn't last a single season. Even with natural leather products, you need to be really careful. If you don't recognise the brand, and can't find information about it online, just move on.

My suggestion, if price is an object, is to forgo a new pair entirely and shop around for a second hand pair. Plenty of decent Sperry's end up in thrift stores, Goodwill, and on ebay. Other brands also become available from time to time. I purchased the Bass shoes above for a mere $10 at Plato's Closet (a chain of resale shops) and until coming to me they were almost certainly unworn (I suspect wrong size or gift without ability to return). It's always worth keeping an eye open.

Cleaning the Sole

All right, assuming you now have (or more likely, have had) your boat shoes and they need cleaning, let's first consider the bottom of the shoe. Given that many boat shoes have a white, off-white, or light grey sole, the bottom can get pretty dirty, pretty fast. This not only makes the shoe look increasingly disgusting as time goes on, if you do sail, you are much more likely to track dirt onto the boat. Since (good) boat shoes are specifically designed to be non-marking, if the shoe has a lot of dark marks on the bottom, you may find that without keeping them clean, you will essentially undo the non-marking design and scuff the deck anyway. This is one of several reasons why, as surprising as it may sound to people who do not sail, you should always clean and prep your boat shoes before going out to sail. Below you can see the difference between a sole that hasn't been cleaned in a while, and a sole that has been recently cleaned.


Find an old toothbrush and some toothpaste. It can be cheap toothpaste, although, for obvious reasons, I am a fan of using whitening formulas. Find yourself a sink to do this over. Rinse the toothbrush and put just a small dab of toothpaste on it. Use it to scrub the sole thoroughly. Don't worry too much about getting some on the leather, but try to avoid blobs. Keep adding water until you get a nice foam across the length of the sole. In downward strokes, scrape the toothpaste (and all the dirt) into the sink. When you've scraped off all of the toothpaste you can, take a rag and wipe anything else off the sole, and do so strongly so that the swivel pattern will open up and you'll grab dirt hidden inside it (the swivel pattern is what gives boat shoes such a strong grip in water, you want to keep them clean and unblocked). Repeat this process until you are satisfied with the results. For extremely stubborn marks, use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. They work extremely well. Repeat the process for the sole edges and in the case of Sperry's, the top of the soles that jut out from under the leather. You may need to dislodge dirt and grime by running a finger nail (or something like a finger nail) over the ridges. Do not use a Magic Eraser on the leather, although I've had some success with tennis shoes, there are chemicals in the Magic Eraser that can affect certain colors and dyes.

The Rest

The next step is to clean the leather. You can repeat the process for getting toothpaste, but make sure to scrub very gently. At this stage, you're mostly making sure any surface dirt is knocked off or wiped away. Once you are certain all the grime that will come off gently has come off, lightly rinse the outside of the shoe in the sink, but not so much or so long that the leather actually absorbs the water. Time enough for that when you're out sailing! Wipe the shoe down with a rag and let dry.


Once the shoe is dry, you're going to want to get a leather cleaner and conditioner. You can buy them separately or together. Mink oil is often recommended as a separate conditioner. I actually use Meguiar's Gold Class Rich Leather Cleaner and Conditioner, which I originally used for the seats in the car I had before I moved to Japan, but found that it works well on cleaning and restoring any type of leather, including shoes. If you're using separate cleaner and conditioner, use the cleaner first and follow all directions. Usually it's as simple as spraying onto the shoe, letting it sit for a minute or so, then wiping the shoe down. Conditioner is then rubbed in much like shoe polish. For combined, you just rub it in much like shoe polish. You will be amazed how quickly your rag turns black because it pulls out all the dirt that has seeped into the leather. The shoe will also look cleaner and brighter with a natural shine, but not a faux plasticy or oily shine, because the conditioner is in the leather not on top of the leather. Work it in until you're satisfied. The leather will also be noticeably softer and more supple, and will show that it has aged well even while you maintain a regimen of caring for it. For lighter colored leather or brightly colored leather, I would also suggest using a water-proofer spray, which will help protect colors that don't take as well to the mottled aged look that the darker colors, especially brown, look best with. Regardless, once you establish a pattern, do it before every single sailing session, and if you're one of those people who don't sail, but still wear boat shoes, try to establish a regimen for it anyhow.

To The Boathouse...!


You say your boat shoes are prepped? Great, help me get this thing out to the dock, daylight's a'wastin'...