Boat names - what are yours, why?

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Dec 28, 2009
397
Macgregor M25 trailer
My Grady is named KARFRE and the Mac is KARFRE 2. It is the first three letters of my wifes name "Karen" and the first three of my name.
Fred
 

Squidd

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Sep 26, 2011
890
AMF Alcort Paceship PY26 Washburn Wi. Apostle Islands
"FREE WILLY" imagine the diferent reasons for my boats name. I am 52yo and divorced for 10 years now. I won't tell you why the name just let your imaginations run wild!
Ummm..You like whales..?
 
May 31, 2004
858
Catalina 28 Branford
When I bought my boat, it was on the hard for the winter. I didn't have a new name in mind, but figured I had all winter to come up with something. However, my wife surprised me with a birthday party, and many of the gifts were hats, tshirts, bags, etc. with my boat's old name on them. Seeing as how I didn't want to insult anyone, I kept the name (something that had great meaning for the PO, but none to me).

The idea of a new name for the boat sat on the back burner for a couple of years until my family took a vacation to the Big Island of Hawaii. I had been to Hawaii twice before, but not since my honeymoon. I was once again entranced by the people, the beauty of the scenary, and the musical language. When I was taking a hula lesson with my then nine year old daughter (no snickering), the teacher sang the old touristy anthem "Hukilau" for us to dance along with. After that, none of us could get that tune out of our heads. I decided then and there to re-name my boat "Hukilau". It reminds me of my family in paradise.
 
Feb 1, 2010
210
Hunter 33.5 El Dorado Lake, Kansas
We named our boat the King after Elvis Presley because it had his band logo on the side TCB It was also made the year he died.
 

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mm2347

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Oct 21, 2008
241
oday 222 niagara
Boat Names

I think boats ought to be named after exceptional women.
So do I. My mother and sister, of course both exceptional woman are Drea Mary McCormic and Drea Mehne. What could be more fitting than to name my boat "Drea M.". I didnt consider the "dream" untill I stood back and looked at the just painted name on my "new" boat.
 
Jun 3, 2004
70
ODAY 28 bayside
naming sailboats

I think people ought to name their boats anything they want in a
"free country" .. even if in doing so they may expose their
conscious awareness or the lack there of...
don't you?
 
Sep 2, 2009
339
Hunter Vision-32 New Hamburg, NY
Nepenthe

I bought my boat as a get-away during a messy divorce. My ex's name is "Jo" so a few of my friends thought an appropriate name would be "No MoJo"

Rather than have a name that reminded me of her, I wanted something to make me forget ... thus Nepenthe. From Homer's Odyssey, a magical potion given to Helen by the Egyptian queen Polidamma to make her forget her troubles and feel happy.
 
Mar 1, 2010
12
Gulfstar Sloop St. Augustine
Named the boat, "Soul Survivor"...a play on words to my life: On one hand I needed to improve my mood (soul) with new horizons and (two) step away from the depression of losing my best buddy and sailing cohort, and the fact that I have no family.

I'm now the "soul (sole) survivor"...doing what (we) had planned and trying to keep disappointment and depression at bay.
 
Jan 23, 2012
1
Catalina 355 Frenchman's Bay
So many names...

Like some others, I got divorced, met a fantastic new lady, and decided to fulfill a dream of sailing the Great Lakes. First boat was a Catalina 270 and my first thought was to name it after a great lady. Trouble is, her name is Mary Jane, and I didn't want to put up a red flag to the drug people every time I sail into an American port.

The PO had named it Bula Matari, which can mean either 'Breaker of Rocks' or 'Breaker of Bones'. I didn't like the connotations of that at all. So I ended up settling on Oculus, the Latin word for the organ that provides my income as an Optometrist, and allowed me to afford a boat in the first place.

There is, however, a sneaky pun in there too. Oculus also refers to an opening or hole, so I like to tell friends it refers to the proverbial hole in the water into which we pour our money.

My new boat awaits a name. Oculus? Oculus 2? Based on all I've read in this thread, I'm leaning back to Mary Jane. It is her real name, it's traditional, easy to say and understand, and after 5 years, I'm more convinced than ever as to her greatness!
 
Jan 23, 2012
1
Vagabond 47 Saint Leonard
My sailboats have all been named "Sirens Call". Each of the boats have exerted their call but the name reminds me they also come with a level of risk if you are not attentive. Another friend named his boat "Seventh Lady" since he was married with five daughters, she was the seventh lady in his life.
 
Jun 25, 2004
4
Hunter 260 Slidell LA
We called ours Ataraxis, which is a psychological term meaning "state of mind free from stress and anxiety". It describes our condition when on board. It also puts at the top of list before the race, even though we are usually at the bottom by the end. :)
 
May 26, 2009
46
Oday 28 West Vancouver
"I have always thought that sailboats’ names should evoke the elemental
beauties of stately motion on the water"

I fully agree with that, but would also suggest that names be carefully chosen for easy identification by others, possibly for many years to come. Obvious and common names could result in many duplications in a given area.

As a VHF radio course instructor and examiner, I would caution against any name which might be confusing, hard to distinguish, or difficult to repeat, especially when faint or through transmission difficulties. Calls to a local boat, for example, named Bonbon (easily confused with Pan Pan) have put Coast Guard Radio on alert more than once, to my knowledge. Another is named after that once-fashionable drink, Mai Tai - easily taken for an Australian calling "Mayday".
 
Jun 9, 2004
963
Hunter 40.5 Bayfield, WI
The first boat I owned was a 1980 Seidelmann 24.1 and after much arguing with the soon to be ex we settled on "Summer Wind", my fav song by Frank Sinatra. The second boat, a 1988 Capri 22 became "Social Hazard" so named because at the time I was Commodore of our racing club and had managed to ruffle a few feathers. The third boat, a 1985 Hunter 34 was named "Jolly Swagman" by the PO who was from Australia. I liked it when I found out what the name meant (hint: the song Waltzing Matilda) so I kept it.
My current boat, Emmanuel I named after the 1970's porn star. Don't ask why.
 
Dec 1, 1999
2,391
Hunter 28.5 Chesapeake Bay
My boat is named "CrewZen." It's what I do with the boat, and the state of mind it puts me in.
 

JohnS

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Sep 25, 2008
177
Islander (Wayfarer/McGlasson) 32 St Georges Harbor
brett.kessler said:
"EUDAIMONIA" ... a perfect name for our '76 Ericson 32-II.

Only now, I have to spell it for the harbormaster...every single time!
Looks like it might be pronounced like a Jamaican saying "You da mon, yah!"
 
May 12, 2010
237
Macgregor 25 Southern Maryland
We named our C-22 Tadpole. A small humble creature in the midst of a life changing metamorphosis. It reflects our lives and circunstances. By the way, I am thinking of making it "S.S. Tadpole". Is it okay to add the "S.S.", or would it be presumptuous?
Nope. I think it would be cool.
 
May 12, 2010
237
Macgregor 25 Southern Maryland
When we purchased our Sunbeam 37 it had a "cute" name and neither my wife or I liked it at all. We spent a bit of time coming up with Ziamar for the new name. It comes from the fact that we've both lived in New Mexico for a long time and there is a Pueblo west of Albuquerque, named Zia Pueblo. If you look at the New Mexico state flag, the symbol on it is the Zia sun sign. That's where the Zia part comes from. Since we now live part time in Puerto Rico and we have a Spanish heritage the mar part just means sea in Spanish.
Nice. A really cool meaning. I never knew about the Zia sun....
 

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
Palmetto Moon. We named ours for our state flag. We're very "Statriotic" here in South Carolina.
 

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