Boat names

[tjr818]

I always enjoyed the punt in the comic strip Pogo. It had a different name at each end and sometimes a third or forth name on the sides.

Indefatigable, I always thought was appropriate for a hard working dink (if it was blessed with a very wide transom).

[Neil Gordon]

I always enjoyed the punt in the comic strip Pogo. It had a different name at each end and sometimes a third or forth name on the sides.

Just to confuse the enemy, or at least entertain the readers.

Not unusual for warships to have sported different hull numbers port vs. starboard. At a higher level, in WWII Third Fleet and Fifth Fleet were the same ships, just transferred between Admirals Spruance and Halsey.

Didn't James Bond have a car with rotating license plates (sort of like the rotating ads they have at sporting events).

That said, one name per transom seems best, and given how boats feel about their names, it's hard enough to find even one that fits.

[Jeff and Sarah]

We use "Prerequisite" because my wife and I agreed we would not have kids until after we owned a boat. Our powerboat is "Toboggan" because we use it as a winter boat (and I think it is funny that Sarah, along with everyone else from the South, thinks Toboggan means "hat" when it clearly means "sled").

My favorite boat name of all time (other than Prerequisite and Toboggan of course): Never Again IV

[Jim Walsh]

I read many years ago that the waterfront criminal element soon discovered that checking the dinghy dock made their life of crime more lucrative. All they had to do was find a dinghy with "T/T" emblazoned on it and the yachts with the best chance of the owners not being aboard to repell uninvited "guests" was readily apparent.

[Bill Goldsmith]

Loonsong is the third name for my 32, and I am the fourth owner. The first owner named her "La Vie" which I love, and is still inscribed on a brass plate in the companionway (I read somewhere that after changing a name, you still need to keep some evidence of the old name somewhere on the boat. Those with opposite opinions should know that Loonsong has safely carried my family friends and me through thick and thin with the best of luck. Perhaps that's also because I like to ensure my black box is as full as possible.) But I digresss....

The second owner (according to the documentation history) named her "Nastapsie." Best research indicates it is a rude retort in Turkish, glad it was removed.

My immediate prior owner named her Loonsong. We don't have many loons in southern New York, so I toyed with changing the name for a short while. Some research revealed a cool fact about loons in history--fishing schooner skippers caught in a fog bank near the coast of Maine would listen for the loon song. Common loons typically sit on the coastal ocean water within a couple hundred yards of the shore. Hearing the loon song would be a natural warning that the vessel was dangerously approaching the shore and should turn away. A natural fog whistle. Also, loons are great swimmers and flyers, but are extremely awkward on land. Great name for a sailboat, so I kept it!!

[Neil Gordon]

I read somewhere that after changing a name, you still need to keep some evidence of the old name somewhere on the boat. Those with opposite opinions should know that Loonsong has safely carried my family friends and me through thick and thin with the best of luck.

Yup, it's one or the other and nobody knows for sure!

I compounded "SANDERLING" off the transom about 20 years ago. The white rag I used turned very blue as the paint came off; it's been safely kept on board for two decades.

[David Patterson]

Those who begin superstitious, closing the gaps in their knowledge with fantasized beings, forces, and causal chains, tend to remain superstitious...however!...the more I sail the more superstitious I have become. Not about sailing on Fridays; instead I've gotten genuinely superstitious regarding most forms of certainty, no matter how I wish for it. The more certain I find myself being about timing, winds, or anything to do with passage-making, the more I "feel" I am somehow spoiling my chances of success. Words of possibility pepper my notes: maybe, probably, perhaps, if, try, attempt, and so on. Also, plan B, C, and D seem proper to have, especially when passaging under sail. Likewise, as I cruise under sail the more my boat seems to me to be a sentient being with personality traits. Complaints about her seem seriously out of place, no matter the real limitations she may have. I've come to feel pretty comfortable with my sailor's superstitions. Why not with boat naming? Neptune may notice, after all.

[Neil Gordon]

The more certain I find myself being about timing, winds, or anything to do with passage-making, the more I "feel" I am somehow spoiling my chances of success.

You want certain? How about, "God Himself couldn't sink this ship!" How'd that work out?

[casampson]

I've had my 77 Typhoon for two summers now, and my wife and I still can't agree on a name. The perverse side of me wants to name our boat "Albatross," because I'm fairly clumsy taking off and landing, but I do fine in between. Fortunately, perhaps, my wife will have nothing to do with it. We've tried out dozens of names, but to no avail. The only name we keep coming back to is Delilah. Our last name is Sampson and it works, from a biblical point of view anyway. With any luck we'll agree on something by next May.

[GeorgeH]

My Congressman lived on a boat in Washington DC named Unsinkable II. I asked him what happened to the first Unsinkable and he said (drum roll)... It sunk.

[Tom Keevil]

We are the third owner of our boat, which has been called Rover since the beginning. We planned to change the name to honor our mothers, Doris and Anna - calling it Dory Anna. I still think that is a great name, but there was too much inertia to do the Coast Guard paperwork, remove the old name, etc, so she's still Rover.

It's a bad name for the radio; "Rover, over."

We named our dinghy Fido.

We named our dog Schooner, and we are the only people we know with a dog named after a boat and a boat named after a dog.

[fmueller]

I bought "Jerezana" in the fall of 2013. From the existing paperwork I can see she has had that name since 1994, at least. So I felt somewhat compelled to keep her named as I found her.

I say it Jer ("air" with a j) ... e (short e) ... zana ("Anna" with a z) - accent on "zan".

I like the idea that a boat retains it's name through ownership changes if possible, and luckily I liked the sound of name she arrived with - sort of exotic to my ear - although I suspect it might just be a mashup of Jerry and Suzannah! She is CD 27 hull # 204. If anyone knows anything of her prior life I sure would like to hear about that ...

The great 12 meter "Nefertiti" made a big impression on me as a young fella, just for the mysterious sound of her name. In recent years I've seen Nefertiti again along with a few other great old 12's (including "Intrepid") racing in the Opera House Cup off Nantucket. What is amazing to me is that 12 meters were made of wood well into the 70's

Some of these fine old boats have found a second wind (so to speak) as charters ... no one would dare to change their names - would they?

cheers - Fred

http://www.americascupcharters.com/nefertiti.html

[Steve Darwin]

The tender to twelve-meter NEFERTITI was KING TUT. Tender to twelve-meter CONSTELLATION was CHAPERONE (always like that, appropriately descriptive). Tender to Concordia yawl LUNA is MOTH. Other boat names I've seen written upside-down include: DON'T PANIC and FIASCO. INDEFATIGABLE might seem pretentious, unless it's the name of a Dreadnought - or a rowboat.

[Dave H]

My favorite boat name story goes back to the 2000 - 2006 era, I was crewing at the local racing club. Some of the boats had their slogan written on the side, and the name on the transom. During a pre-start commotion I noticed, written on the side, "Nothing Comes Off Faster!" So I was very curious what the name of this boat would be. As the transom came into view - "Honeymoon Pajamas."

I changed the name of my new Intrepid 9M to "Sandpiper."

I first encountered Sandpipers at Bay of Fundy in Aug. '99, and the Sandpiper migration had begun, they travel so far. We were told that 70% of the Sandpipers would fly due south, 3000 miles over water to their destination, and the remaining 30% would follow along the east coast shoreline. I have read that birdwatchers worldwide keep an eye out for sandpipers because due to these long flights they are sometimes blown off course, and there is no telling where they may turn up.

[Squid]

I had to settle for my second choice.... My Commodore didn't think my first choice was a good one.... I do agree that you should think about how it sounds over the VHF.... My first choice was going to be S/V Rosie Palm...... But this is what we settled on.

You can see the possibilities for naming the Dink...