The list tells a pretty simple story: There's no shortage of puns out there involving variations of words like "sea," "knot" and "aqua."
While sea puns seem to be most popular these days, at least among Boat U.S.' members, there's a large camp of boaters that are very deliberate and intellectual when it comes to boat names. I enjoyed reading some of their posts in this Wooden Boat forum thread on boat names. Take this description provided by the gentleman or lady who goes by the screen name noquiklos, for example:
"Our boat is named "Quarlo," after a local legend about a Chimakum Indian warrior by that name who befriended a dragon, and brought peace to his people. Our other, smaller boat (24', 1935 racer) is named "Frolic," an apropriate name, considering her sailing abilities. We named our 7'7" Nutshell Pram "Gambol" because we like to frolic and gambol on the water. Our 10' Zodiac with the outboard is called "Noquiklos", named after the fire breathing dragon that Quarlo befriended. Have fun with your boatname, but avoid being too cute. Classic literature is a good source for boat names, as is local legend." Now that's classy.
I have actually learned a lot by looking up boat names with historical and geographic references that I've seen in my travels. Names like Bretwalda, Lakahi, Kalevala, Kia Ora, and Bucephalus. Kudos to those boat owners; it's pretty neat to be able to get an education walking around a marina or a yacht club with a smartphone and some time to kill.
It's worth mentioning that there's also a strong tradition of bestowing women's names on boats. These are normally names of goddesses, or a persons mother or muse, and these days the tradition seems to remain strongest among workboats.
So what type of boat name would you choose? Before you finalize that new boat name, consider this: Are you going to feel comfortable saying this name over the VHF to marinas or, most importantly, to the Coast Guard if you are in need of assistance?
Every spring, Boat U.S. comes out with a list of the top 10 most common boat names from the prior year. 2013's winner: Serenity.
The list tells a pretty simple story: There's no shortage of puns out there involving variations of words like "sea," "knot" and "aqua."
While sea puns seem to be most popular these days, at least among Boat U.S.' members, there's a large camp of boaters that are very deliberate and intellectual when it comes to boat names. I enjoyed reading some of their posts in this Wooden Boat forum thread on boat names. Take this description provided by the gentleman or lady who goes by the screen name noquiklos, for example:
"Our boat is named "Quarlo," after a local legend about a Chimakum Indian warrior by that name who befriended a dragon, and brought peace to his people. Our other, smaller boat (24', 1935 racer) is named "Frolic," an apropriate name, considering her sailing abilities. We named our 7'7" Nutshell Pram "Gambol" because we like to frolic and gambol on the water. Our 10' Zodiac with the outboard is called "Noquiklos", named after the fire breathing dragon that Quarlo befriended. Have fun with your boatname, but avoid being too cute. Classic literature is a good source for boat names, as is local legend." Now that's classy.
I have actually learned a lot by looking up boat names with historical and geographic references that I've seen in my travels. Names like Bretwalda, Lakahi, Kalevala, Kia Ora, and Bucephalus. Kudos to those boat owners; it's pretty neat to be able to get an education walking around a marina or a yacht club with a smartphone and some time to kill.
It's worth mentioning that there's also a strong tradition of bestowing women's names on boats. These are normally names of goddesses, or a persons mother or muse, and these days the tradition seems to remain strongest among workboats.
So what type of boat name would you choose? Before you finalize that new boat name, consider this: Are you going to feel comfortable saying this name over the VHF to marinas or, most importantly, to the Coast Guard if you are in need of assistance?
- See more at: http://www.boat-talent.com/selecting-a-boat-name.html#sthash.rIkwFtlB.dpuf
