Humans love naming things that are precious and important to them. Naming boats has been an age-old tradition. The history of ship naming dates back thousands of years, with several pieces of evidence suggesting that the naval community in Babylonia used to perform ship launching and naming ceremonies in the third millennium BC.
Another age-old tradition is to refer to a boat as female. This comes from the ancient idea of a female figure such as a mother guiding and protecting the crew.
Some urban legends suggest it being a bad omen of renaming a boat, naming your boat Titanic or Unsinkable, or naming your boat with a name starting with the letter O.
So, if you are on the superstitious side, you would want to choose a name for your boat that will stick, here are a couple of pointers of things to look out for when choosing a name for your vessel.
- Remember when branding your boat keep the spacing for your boat name in mind. It must appear clear and easy to read. A general pointer is to stick to a limit of 33 characters and 3 words maximum.
- Remember that the name of your boat will be used in VHF communication therefore it is advised to have a name that is easy to pronounce. Over VHF Radio the boat's name is generally called out three times, this must also be kept in mind and carefully considered when choosing a boat name.
- Don’t name your boat after anything that implies danger on the water, for example, mayday or Man Overboard.
Taking the following aspects into consideration may get the name-giving juices flowing:
- The name of your boat should give you a good feeling or even make you smile every time you hear it.
- Your boat has got a personality and mixed with its appearance this should set you on track to finding a name.
- Boats are often named after a woman that the owner would like to pay tribute to, a wife, mother, or daughter. Although a wise old seafarer once said the curse of renaming your boat is at the dock, if you choose to name it after a girlfriend, that could choose another sailor tomorrow.
- What will the boat be used for, fishing, family time, adventure, waters sports, commercial, this could narrow down your name selecting process.
- Do you have a favorite animal, number, or color you would like to include in the name?
Now that you have a guideline, we look forward to seeing your unique boat name on the water!
