The name game

[DR David M Parker]

to the end of the world

The 28 footer I designed and built and the Yachtcraft 42 that I kit- built were named Dawn Treader, after the mystic ship that carried King Caspian to the end of the world...( chronicles of Narnia) The other dozen or so ships that I have owned have kept thier own special names.. Laguna, from France, Astrea, the last goddess, Restless..Spirit #5, Butterball, My Yellow J-24,Southern Exposure, and My last, Psyche... I Loved them all!Oh! I forgot the only power boat I ever owned, together with a bunch of diving buddies.. We named her The "Edmond Fitzgerald" because of her tendency to sink...

 

[Karin Conover-Lewis]

A name is a name

I don't like renaming boats unless I cannot live with the previous name, and that, fortunately, has not been a problem so far. My current boat is a Rawson 30 ketch called "Escapade," which has been her name since commissioning in 1963 by the previous (and original) owner. What's not to love there? Her dinghy had gone unnamed, however, so I have dubbed it "EscaPod."New homeport of Marinette upon having just moved Escapade from Long Beach, California.

 

[Elliot]

Our little boat!

Like everyone else my wife and I struggled for a new name for our first boat. It used to be named the Polyanna, which was not really a bad name. Well, in the end we decided on Tiramisu. That's the fancy desert and translated from Italian literally means "a pick me up".I wish I was sailing right now!

 

[Michael Janocik]

Boat Name "Holy Sea"

I know it's not popular and perhaps even objectionable right now, but I am a devoted Catholic - or at least try to be. So I view all things as great blessings, especially our new 19 foot sailboat. So when we got her, we wanted to name her something that would express gratitude for the creation of water, sun, wind, and all those glorious little creatures. In honor of the "See of Saint Peter" or the Vatican, which is also known as "Holy See" we named our boat "Holy Sea" We designed the graphic and created it using Adobe Photoshop. We've had loads of compliments and have even been approached by strangers trying to commission us to design their boat graphics. Quite flattering. We are very proud of our name and graphic. Though we wish the American Church would get its act together.

 

[David Galloway]

Make it a contest!!

A friend and I just purchased a Pearson 30 (project boat.) We are going to rename it and decided that with our limited intellectual capacity (buying a project boat is proof enough)we would let our friends and fellow club members help us out. We have been collecting "offered" names. We are having a boat drop in at the yacht club dock in a couple of weeks, go over the names, select one and the winner gets a bottle of Mum Champagne. We plan on going to do the renaming ritual and use it as a reason for another party.

 

[mark weiland]

name game

We kept the name on our boat, as we did not wish to offend Neptune with changing it. In addition, the name, Cooler by the Lake, is very well known to everyone who lives anywhere near Chicago. It is the single most common statement coming from weather reporters, and is good advice for any who come to sail with us.

 

[Kim]

We were scared, but....

There were so many nay-sayers that told us it was bad luck to re-name a boat, but the name of the boat simply wasn't "us." Our 72 Catalina 22 was named Humbug. Apropos for the older gentleman who sold it to us, but not for us 30-somethings. Well, he gave it to us really, I guess the $1 was just a formality. Thus the new name.... GRATIS.

 

[Roger Holmes]

Brilliant Choice

I named my boat after the British expression Brilliant which is an expression that everything is great and marvelous. That's Brilliant.

 

[John New]

Dulcinea

Since owning a sailboat is thought by many to be a quixotic affair, I renamed my 1981 Hunter 27 after Don Quixote's idealized mistress, Dulcinea. The font used on the stern lettering is called 'Pablo' since it is modeled upon Picasso's signature style, and I added Picasso's portrait of Don Quixote and Sanch Panza.The dinghy's named 'Aldonza' after the serving wench that Don Q mistook for the Lady Dulcinea

 

[John McDowell]

The Ericson 30 is in San Pedro at the moment where we just bought her. My wife and I plan to move her to Lake Mead, Nevada at the end of the summer when we get most of the "project" work done. We decided on the name when driving home after working on her all week-end. Seems that if she is going to be doing so much travelling without a steady home then "Gypsy Woman" sounds like the perfect description. For some reason she feels like a "Gypsy" and of course "Woman" requires no explanation. My previous boat was named "Startacker". It was the perfect boat for night sailing in Lake Mead with the cloudless skies and wonderful night sailing in the summerThank YouJohn & Candi McDowell"Gypsy Woman"

 

[Glenda Mayo]

Naming the Boat

We did a history study to name our boat. The native indians called Pensacola Bay "Achusi" andwe named our boat that. It makes for interesting conversation and gives locals a tidbit of history.

 

[bill]

boat name

After having a Hunter 25 pocket cruiser for a few years we traded up to a flat out race boat.Named the boat "Pandemonium." Sailed that for about a dozen years. Replaced that with another race boat. The name for the newer boat was was obvious--"chaos," because after pandemonium comes chaos. The great hunt is on again to find the right name and keep the string alive. "Melt Down" is among the leading contenders.

 

[Bob Nowak]

Mary Merry

The previous owner had to let Mary Merry go because of heath. He was very upset when I took possession of her and asked me to "treat her well" as if she were family member. His wife's name was Mary and he sees the boat every once in a while. Although I don't particularly like the name (It's confusing on the radio) I don't have the heart to change it

 

[King Elliott]

King James and King Louie

A buddy, Jim, and I had bought a 28-foot Irwin, and discussed our wives names (Linda and Betty) as names for the boat, along with about 100 other names I pulled off the internet. After reviewing all these and other names, we decided to just name it after ourselves, the "King James", and as the front of the King James Bible says, because "All other versions diligently compared and revised." Later, we sold that boat and another friend, Jerry, and I bought our current 30-ft Hunter. Since we didn't know of any royalty named Gerald, we decided to use his middle name, Louis, hence, the "King Louie." So far, we have not encountered any other boat with the same name! King Elliott

 

[JoAnn & Bill]

Water Music

We named our boat Water Music both because of the musical meaning and the fact that the cable of our retractable keel "hums" when we're sailing!

 

[David Frinsco]

I am a Jimmy Buffet fan and have been for about 30 years. I grew up in Pensylvania and now live in Houston. It was my enjoyment of Buffet tunes that made me want to be a sailor. Once I tried it, I was hooked. I have owned 3 boats and they have all been named after Buffet tunes. My current boat is named "One Particular Harbor" It is a lot to put on the back of a boat but if you ever listened to the song you would agree that it is a good boat name.

 

[Allen Freeman]

Warm and Gentle

I wanted to rename my Hunter 35 something that just the mention of her name would make me feel relaxed. I settled on "Southern Breeze". Naturally, we had a renaming ceremony...first we had to "de-name" the old name, and then ask the Gods of the wind and sea to approve the new name. Of course, we had to bribe them with plenty of the appropriate drinks. It turned out to be quite a dock party.

 

[Sharon M. Beach]

Our Oday 28

We named our previously owned Oday 28 "Michael's Dream" in memory of our 18 year old son whom we lost in a car accident on October 26, 2002. He had been so excited about learning to sail, it was a way to always have him with us when we left port. Coincidentally, "Michael's Dream" is also 18 years old. And yes, we did a renaming ceremony to keep all those greek gods happy, using "Good Luck" champagne!!!

 

[Mary Jo Bibby]

Windependent

I had a very hard time deciding on a name. I finally narrowed my choices down to about 20. Then I e-mailed the list around to everyone I knew to vote on their favorite. Counted up the votes and declared the winner -- "Windependent." (On a side note: I "won" the boat in a divorce settlement. Considered briefly calling it "Knot His," but decided that was just a little too cruel.

 

[Roland K. Landsness]

Sufficient

The name of our boat (5149) is "Sufficient for our Purposes" The name came from my partner. He said that his now deceased father was frugal (tight). He said anytime they went to buy something, if they were given a choice between a good one and a cheap one, they invaribly took the cheap one with the comment (this will be sufficient for our purposes).