Choosing a boat name is a lot like choosing a name for a baby: itâs a very personal decision.
With our first boat, we were just so excited to be embarking on our adventures that we didnât give much thought to the name. Our second time around, we knew that we were, in effect, choosing the name weâd be known by.
Listen in for what was wrong with our first boatâs name, and the things we considered the second time around.
Prefer to read? Take a look at A New Name for Our Boat
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Carolyn Shearlock has lived aboard full-time for 17 years, splitting her time between a Tayana 37 monohull and a Gemini 105 catamaran. Sheâs cruised over 14,000 miles, from Pacific Mexico and Central America to Florida and the Bahamas, gaining firsthand experience with the joys and challenges of life on the water.
Through The Boat Galley, Carolyn has helped thousands of people explore, prepare for, and enjoy life afloat. She shares her expertise as an instructor at Cruisers University, in leading boating publications, and through her bestselling book, The Boat Galley Cookbook. She is passionate about helping others embark on their liveaboard journeyâmaking life on the water simpler, safer, and more enjoyable.
Charlotte Caldwell says
We canât listen to your podcasts unfortunately as we donât have enough bandwidth. It it possible to have written transcript?
The Boat Galley says
Yes! If you look just below the podcast âscreen,â youâll see a link to a corresponding article.
Charlotte Caldwell says
Duh! Thanks Carolyn. This subject is such an important topic. So many boats have unpronounceable names. Never mind weird!
The Boat Galley says
No problem!
The Jedi Fisherman says
totally right
Jan Bogart says
Our sailboat is named Vixen, and now our traler is Vixen II. A S&S sloop built in 1946. They were named after Santaâs reindeer. My husband always says he glad he didnât get Cupid or Prancer!
Lewis Sipfher says
One good test is the âthree-time hailâ as per VHF. An example NOT to follow: have seen a boat named âOK OK OK.â Imagine hailing âOKâ NINE TIMES to call this boat. Nuh-uh, I sez
Brad Fisher says
Our â95 370. In the Ca Delta.
Bill DuPont says
My wife and I own an independent book store. We purchased a new boat(new to us) last year. A bit of a play on words, the boat became Buy The Book.
Brenda Harbottle says
Carleen Hone says
One sweet lady on a monohull we passed as we were cruising yelled âI heard your boat name on the vhfâŠnow I get itâ! Continuing the sort of classic rock theme, we may call our new tri Thunderstruck (that boat was hit by lightning so there will have to be a TON of bubbly to appease Neptune!) Cool podcasts Carolyn Shearlock.
The Boat Galley says
Yeah, I get it! Cute!
Lewis Sipfher says
Are you buying Fiatâs boat?
Carleen Hone says
Lewis Sipfher nope. Another.
Boni Rothmann says
I changed mine from Excelsior toâŠAsilomar (ârefuge by the seaâ), courtesy of dr, Wayne Dyer, r.i.pâŠ.I did the whole ceremony
Boni Rothmann says
Ad, being an artist, couldnât bring myself to get stickersâŠthey look cheap to me. Hand painted new stripes and nameâŠ.not sure how to post pics for you!
D and Don Wogaman says
Weâve had painted on and vinyl and vinyl lasts way longer. Paint lasted three years, the vinyl thirty years. We went with vinyl again.
D and Don on SOUTHERN CROSS
PS Carolyn I did not see any camera to post a photo.
Carolyn Shearlock says
The camera to post a photo is for those who are posting their comment on Facebook. Unfortunatly, you canât post a photo on the comments here, but they DO get imported when posted in a comment on Facebook.
D says
Thanks!
D
The Boat Galley says
In the âcommentâ box, youâll see a camera icon either to the left or right (depends on your device and operating system), click it and youâll be prompted to upload a picture.
The Jedi Fisherman says
yup<3
Boni Rothmann says
Tried to send you a pic of AsilomarâŠhave to figure it out. BTw, Iâm a bohemian barefoot gal myself! Cheers to us!
The Jedi Fisherman says
anyone love as much as me
Anonymous says
I once had a boat neighbor couple, who really a pet peeve over silly, cliche, confusing names on other boatsâŠ.to the point that they actually named their sailboat âObscure Referenceâ lol
Anonymous says
I came up with the name â The $2 Oar â for a boat I never even got on the water!
I made the mistake of mentioning the name in a public online forum. Now, I canât use that name if I wanted to. Itâs everywhere!
Chris Avila says
Iâve been trying to find a name for my boat for a long time. Nothing seems to fit. Iâm sure when it comes to names that profanity it way out of line but are other names illegal to use?
Carolyn Shearlock says
I canât find any restrictions on boat names, but yeah, you donât want a name that you canât say on the radio (and the VHF regs do prohibit profanity). I donât know if things like âMaydayâ are strictly illegal, but you certainly wouldnât want to use it.