Boat names

[David Patterson]

Continuing to search for a next boat elicits naming concerns, or at least imaginings. One boat worth consideration, an Alberg 30, has the attractive (to me) name DRAGON FLY. That one would be worth keeping, probably. One of the best passages on names in the recent boating literature is from Gary Geddes' Canadian bestseller (2001) Sailing Home: A Journey Through Time, Place and Memory. While talking with his crew/cruising buddy, Geddes records:
"Listen to these," he said, reciting a dozen names. "Dream Boat, Betty J., Integrity, Native Chief, Naughty-Yachty. And here's my favorite: French Kiss, with a tender named Smooch. What is naming but the expression of a desire, an assertion of power, the evocation of a loved one or place? Or simply the wish to appear clever or sophisticated in the eyes of the minuscule portion of mankind that pays attention to boats? In naming a boat, you isolate something life itself has in short supply, but which the time at sea may restore."
A CD28 I'm interested in appears to be nameless. Possible names are on my mind when I wake in the morning, sometimes. Should a name have an easy quick nickname implied? A large sloop, which I watched lifting and falling on a mooring for some months was simply and aptly named "Bob." No diminutive needed. Another boat I heard of is called Needs Must (as in the ancient saying, "needs must when the devil drives"). Musty? Ultimately, only the owners need to be satisfied.

[Neil Gordon]

"RUTH-LESS," one of my favorites, hangs on a mooring in Scituate. Yes, there's a back story.

Think about how any name you choose (or keep) will sound on VHF.

[tjr818]

One of the most clever that I have seen lately

No Problem.jpeg

[David Patterson]

Right! One NW pleasure boat is called CACKLING GOOSE. There really is such an animal, apparently, but when a voice repeats it several times on VHF I can't resist a laugh.

[Paul Clayton]

A boat's name is a completely personal and individual preference. Personally, I don't care for cutesy puns, bragging names or overly long names. Some names are so common that there seem to be half a dozen on them in every marina - no offense if you sail "Dream Catcher," but which "Dream Catcher?" The one in slip 63, 119 or 205?

A woman's name is always suitable, as is a virtue, or most anything evocative of the great days of sail. A friend sails a Cherubini Hunter by the name of "Spotted Dog." He had the idea of changing the name to "Troubador," an inoffensive but common and unimaginative one, but when I told him stories of just how important spotted dog was in the life of the sailing-ship sailor (see Tilman for references), he decided to leave it unchanged.

Looking at my copy of "Best of Uffa," I see Vigilant, Valiant, Giralda, Thetis, Zest, Spica, Brambling, Latifa, Dyarchy, Lexia and Dorade, all of which sound like boats I would like to sail.

I spend most of my sailing hours aboard "Valor" and "Marian Claire."

[Sea Hunt Video]

S/V Bali Ha'i was originally named by the prior owner from whom I acquired her. He and his wife enjoyed the musical South Pacific and Bali Ha'i was/is one of the songs in that musical.

I have spent a lot of time in the South Pacific and Pacific Rim area. I liked the name Bali Ha'i and decided to keep it.

All was well until a large 40 foot sailboat (Beneteau) arrived at the sailing club. The owner named his sailboat "Bali Ha'i". I once received a 2 a.m. phone call from the sailing club security officer asking if I had allowed teenagers on my sailboat. After determining it was not a prank call I asked "how many teenagers" I was told 8-10. I then realized it must be the 40 ft Beneteau; my S/V Bali Ha'i could not fit 8-10 adults or teenagers.

From that day on, I have always referred to my Cape Dory 25D as "S/V Bali Ha'i Junior". The owner of S/V Bali Ha'i Senior and I have become good friends. He is a much more active and accomplished sailor than I am.

[Steve Laume]

Do not name your boat, On the Rocks, or Surfs Up. I have seen these boats busted and abandoned, on rocky shorelines, with these names. There is also a catamaran, named Hope, left far back in the marsh and long abandon on BI. Any reference to drinking or drugs is just plain stupid and asking for trouble. So no High Times, ON the Rocks or Party Time, please. I worked on a 60' motor yacht, named Destiny, right out of high school and although it is one of those rather common names it certainly changed mine. Due to the nature of relationships these days it is best to use only your mother, grandmother or daughter's names, if you want a woman's name. Just in case things don't work out and you get to keep the boat, Steve.

[Paul D.]

Great winter thread.

Our boat was named 'Christine Lynn' when we took her over. I was fine with the name and we considered keeping it. Carmela, my then and present partner for life, was sort of OK with it too. However, realist as she is, she did mention that if I was to have a mistress, shouldn't it at least not be named after a female. I suggested what about "Bob".

We wrote down about 40 different names and went back and forth between a few of them over the winter. My nephew Johnny, who was finishing college living with us at the time and a fantastic bowman, added much comic relief during this stage. We eventually settled on "Femme du Nord" which is the name of the longest (50 days) wilderness canoe trip for the young women (16-19 years old) from YMCA Camp Menogyn, where I worked. It is an honor to be selected for that trip - which is an unsupported expedition on the far northern rivers and lakes of Canada, sometimes all the way to the Arctic Ocean. One must be a badass paddler and have a stout expedition mentality to go. You get your name on the wall and thus become immortalized. Femme du Nords usually stay good friends for life. We thought that a fitting name and it also kept a sense of the feminine for me, which for some reason was important.

In the Apostle Islands, there are a fair number of charter boats with names like "401K", "Other Mistress" "Joker's Wild" and "EZ Livin". I am sure I am forgetting some of the better ones! I think a good name is one you can feel good about and yes, repeat on the VHF without difficulty or raising eyebrows - unless you like raising eyebrows.

Just like our boats, I think you should be able to look back on the transom from the dinghy, read the name and feel content. It should represent a little about the boat from your perspective. Put some thought into it, she may just become a character in a vivid story. This is one of those rare times where we can actually be the author.

p.s. When adding a name to the transom, don't forget to curve the lettering moderately downwards at the ends. When you apply it to our curved transoms, it will read straighter from abaft. If you design a flat drawn name, it will curve fairly severely upwards at the ends when you apply it!

Photo: John D.

[David Patterson]

Excellent name, FEMME DU NORD, by my lights, on an excellent boat. I notice that I lean toward the mythological and even philosophical names. But I also want a warm diminutive from it. I've been very satisfied with CLOUD GIRL, CLOUDIE for short. So much so that I carried it forward from a prior boat. It reminds that I found her at 8300 feet altitude, in a Rocky Mountains ranch yard. The reference, though, is to a local Native American tribal myth, probably based in fact. On their 17th century tribal migration from above the Great Lakes, pushed west by white immigration to the East Coast, the Arapaho people were uncertain as to destination. A teen aged girl dreamed that they should travel until they came to where the clouds were born. Anyone who has seen the clouds stream eastward over the Front Range, from Boulder Valley in CO, the Arapaho Eden, would agree they found the birthplace. The Cheyenne subsequently taught them Plains living, as they had the displaced Sioux before the Arapaho. Or so the stories go. My boats have taken me even farther west, where the clouds stream across the Olympic Mountains, and across imposing Vancouver Island. Cloud Girl's dream, though I am not Arapaho, seems to have worked for me as well. Perhaps I will keep the name, when I find a next cruiser. I don't know how it sounds on VHF. I rarely communicate that way.

[Neil Gordon]

>>We wrote down about 40 different names and went back and forth between a few of them over the winter.<<

Once your list is narrowed down, I suggest drawing a simple outline of a transom, adding a name, and living with the sample on the fridge for a bit.

>>... names like "401K", ...<<

I worked with a fellow who named his boat "BONUS," for obvious reasons. Better for me is "QUICK PICK," owned by a local lottery winner.

>>I think a good name is one you can ... repeat on the VHF without difficulty ...<<

While your sample is on the fridge, do some practice radio calls. Having the Coast Guard ask, "Say again. How do you spell that?" while you're taking on water might make you wish you had picked a different name. Keep in mind that in an emergency, the person on your end of the radio might be a less experienced guest. As an aside, it's a good idea to post emergency radio instructions, including your boat name, near the VHF (the real one, not the pretend one on the fridge).

>>When adding a name to the transom, don't forget to curve the lettering moderately downwards at the ends. When you apply it to our curved transoms, it will read straighter from abaft. If you design a flat drawn name, it will curve fairly severely upwards at the ends when you apply it!<<

Short names work better than long ones!

[Neil Gordon]

When I first met a young, single, dock mate some years ago, I asked about "GLORIA," and was told that it was actually his dad's boat and that Gloria was his mom. A typical date for him went something like this:

[Within 10 yards of transom]
Date: Umm, who's Gloria?
Tom [sheepishly]: Oh, that's my mom.
Date: You named your boat after your mom?
Tom: No, actually, my dad did; it's my dad's boat.
Date: Wait. You said YOU had a boat!
[Skip to following weekend; repeat with new date!]

Finally, after what seemed to be years of begging, he and his dad agreed on a price and Tom bought GLORIA. The first thing he did was change the name, to "FINALLY!" As I said to him just days later, "The first thing you did was take your mother's name off the boat? You, my friend, will need years of therapy!"

[Warren Kaplan]

I named my boat Sine Qua Non. Which means, "An essential element" or "an irreplaceable object." And she sure was in my life until I lost her this autumn.

One of the best names I ever saw, I saw on vacation on St. Croix, USVI. I was staying in a hotel overlooking a boat anchorage. I saw a very large gold plater on a mooring there. The boat must have been 70 feet and just gorgeous. Definitely a megabucks boat. On the transom was the name MARGIN CALL. Any of you familiar with the stock market will understand!!

[Neil Gordon]

On the transom was the name MARGIN CALL.

POSITIVE CARRY, a huge mega, was anchored in the Hudson near 79th street last September. The name was enough to give me cause to write my Congressman regarding eliminating tax breaks for hedge fund managers.

[David Patterson]

Then there are dinghies to name. Simple if all you want is to repeat your cruiser's name, as in T/T [Boat Name], where T/T stands for "tender to." Sometimes they are just left un-named, I observe. Mine deserve names, for I rely on one heavily. First for 8 years was a 1985 (I think) 8' Sinbad, made in WI. The poor thing was left at the mooring, on the lake on which my early cruising was done, while I sailed about. Since all it was was a shore boat, never getting to make the (typically short) cruise, I named it Windin' Boy. [When Victrola record players first came on the scene, they needed winding regularly. In the pleasure houses of New Orleans a boy was hired at a nominal fee to do the winding. They witnessed all, but did not get to participate, often nonetheless becoming devoted to their patroness. Hence the old blues song: "I'm your winding' boy, don't deny my name." David Bromberg's sanitized version is worth a listen.] Short names seem most apt, I guess. I know one called Her Majesty, shortened to Madge. Puff, Bob, Lil' Bit, Dink, Tag Along, and so on can be seen. Hard dinghies seem to get a name more often than inflatables, at least as marked. My current dinghy is a CD 7' 7" "Dink". I've been calling her Lagniappe, since she was a surprise gift, of sorts, to my cruising life...even though I did have to buy her. I'm not sure there is room on the stern for such a long name. Will she become Lani for everyday?

[Neil Gordon]

Then there are dinghies to name.

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