Boat name feedback

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Channel Islander's picture
Channel Islander
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Boat name feedback

Hello friends,

I've just purchased C36 #255 and wanted to run a couple of names by such a knowledgeable and experienced crew.

=> Maximum Value

=> Half The Fun

Any opinions? (Part of my doubt ius that these require too much explanation but it will perhaps help to know that I am both a former computer engineer and a former powerboat skipper.)

Thanks,

Nick

PS I promise to raise weightier topics in future...am sure I'll have lots of questions!

Nick Tonkin
*Former* Website Administrator, C36/375IA
*Former* owner, C36 tr/fk #255, Santa Barbara, CA

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LCBrandt
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Nick, that's a tough challenge...to give advice on what to name a boat. I humbly suggest not being in too much of a hurry to decide on a name.

That's the same advice I always give folks who have just adopted a cat: given a little time, the cat will let you know what name is right for it. You wouldn't want to name your new cat (or new boat) 'Fluffy', when after a couple weeks getting to know it you find that its real personality is that of, say, an 'Igor'.

Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
 

Channel Islander's picture
Channel Islander
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Of course Larry, I agree. My son was unnamed for three days until we figured out who he was, so I know what you mean! Just trying to weed out non-contenders at this point! The two I mentioned have met with blank stares in general but I wondered if sailors would see them differently, that's all :)

"Maximum Value" came to me because in computing 255 is a special number, the maximum value you can store in a basic byte. For me it's more of a pun on the hull number, not a proclamation of how I expect the boat to turn out . . . that's a lot of pressure, like "Salvation" or something!

I've always left the names of boats alone as they come to me, even ones I don't particularly love, but this boat was (re)named after someone's young niece and it feels too personally connected to the PO, hence the decision to change.

Nick Tonkin
*Former* Website Administrator, C36/375IA
*Former* owner, C36 tr/fk #255, Santa Barbara, CA

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Steve Frost
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The names suggested would take some explaining to most folks, the name has to speak out to you, if thes do, go for it. Nobody has a clue as to what my boats name means Cepheus dream, it has meaning to me and there is a story to go with it.

As for simple easily understood names one of my favorites that I saw years ago was Sailbad the Sinner.

Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas

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stu jackson c34
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Names are personal, it's your boat, your choice. That said, many folks suggest that you attempt to use the name when you're using the VHF to see if it makes sense or if you have to repeat it or spell it all the time. There also seem to be a lot of "motorboat" type names cropping up on newer sailboats, cutesey things like "Office," three or four word names, and others I've tried hard to forget, compared to more "traditional" sailboat names.

Heck, if YOU like it, that's ALL that matters. :)

Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)

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deising
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I met a new member of our cruising club (70% power, 30% sail) a few years back. My name tag lists our boat name as Diva Di. He inquired, and I said my wife's girlfriends call her 'Diva' because she always seemed to get what she wants (that's how she got me). 'Di' is the nickname for Diane. So, I named my boat after my wife.

Without hesitation, he said, "me, too!' When I looked at his new name tag, the boat name was 'Wet n' Wild!'

Duane Ising - Past Commodore (2011-2012)
s/v Diva Di
1999 Catalina 36 Hull #1777
Std rig; wing keel, M35B, Delta (45#)
Punta Gorda, FL
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/diva-di/

Channel Islander's picture
Channel Islander
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Ha ha , not the first time he has used that line I would wager!

Nick Tonkin
*Former* Website Administrator, C36/375IA
*Former* owner, C36 tr/fk #255, Santa Barbara, CA

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richie30
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Posts: 158

My boats were

Airborne
Hurricane
Binea
Pazzo

They all had meaning for me, PAZZO means wacky or crazy in Italian.....
(you would have to know me to see the fit)

The right name will come to you....my wife and I spent more time on a boat name than we spent naming our kids!!

Take care.
Rich

Rich

Richard & Joan Bain
PAZZO Hull#1670
1997 Catalina 36 MK11
Bayfield, Ontario

My Day Job Below
www.richardbain.com
www.bineapress.com

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richie30
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And further to my boat named Hurricane....
A bit of fun at times on the VHF in stormy Hurricane.....Hurricane.....Hurricane.........

Rich

Richard & Joan Bain
PAZZO Hull#1670
1997 Catalina 36 MK11
Bayfield, Ontario

My Day Job Below
www.richardbain.com
www.bineapress.com

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GloryDaze
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One of the funniest names I've ever seen on a sailboat
"Below Me"

Carl Wehe
1985 C36TM #443
Hillsboro Inlet,FL

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dejavu
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My only rules for boat names are 1. It has to have a personal meaning or story behind it and, 2. It can't make me sound like an idiot on the VHF.:p

Mike

Deja Vu
1991 MK I # 1106
Marina del Rey, CA

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LCBrandt
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'Curmudgeon' is a name I'm saving for a next boat.

Occasionally one hears a boat name that makes you laugh out loud. Such was a name we heard while cruising the San Juan Islands a few years ago: 'Hasenpfeffer'. Would be a great name for a racing boat...it is a dish in German cuisine, peppered rabbit.

If I ever own a small boat like a Catalina 18, I want to name it 'Doesenoeffner', which means 'Can Opener' in German. I envision fitting the first half dozen letters on the transom with the rest of the name having to bend around the side of the hull.

Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
 

Channel Islander's picture
Channel Islander
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Nice! Love all these stories.

So can anyone dig "Half The Fun" ?

- nick

Nick Tonkin
*Former* Website Administrator, C36/375IA
*Former* owner, C36 tr/fk #255, Santa Barbara, CA

deising's picture
deising
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[QUOTE=Nick_Tonkin;10523]So can anyone dig "Half The Fun" ?[/QUOTE]

Nick, you explained 'maximum value' but not 'half the fun.' It could mean that half the fun is getting there, which we sailors like to say, mainly since we spend a lot of time getting there.

Or, since you were a former powerboat skipper, it could be interpreted that sailing is only half as fun as rapidly converting large quantities of hydrocarbons into noise, stink, and wake. [no offense intended there ;)]

I suppose I would be curious exactly what 'half the fun' meant to the owner. If you are going for mystery, that could work.

Good luck!

Duane Ising - Past Commodore (2011-2012)
s/v Diva Di
1999 Catalina 36 Hull #1777
Std rig; wing keel, M35B, Delta (45#)
Punta Gorda, FL
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/diva-di/

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plaineolde
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Posts: 753

It took me forever to think of a name for my C36. I asked my wife for help, but she said it was up to me. The pressure was on. Then one day I was standing in front of our bookcase looking for something to read, and I saw a book on John Lennon, titled "Imagine". That's it...!!!! So the boat became Imagine... with the three dots to make it a dynamic thing.

First boat, back in the 80's, was easy. Since it was my first boat, and I'm an amateur musician, "Prelude" fit.

The boat in the slip next to me is called "You're Dead a Long Time"; but I've never seen anyone on board. Hmmm.

Gary and Cathy Price
1997 C36 Mk II Tall Rig/Wing Keel Imagine...
Hull # 1617
Worton Creek, Md.
Northern Chesapeake Bay

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Channel Islander
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Duane, you're right twice! "Half The Fun" was to [sarcastically] evoke the powerboater's critique while celebrating what sailors know to be the truth about sailing. Also, I almost never take the boat out unless I'm going somewhere, no racing or whatnot, so it's usually true that even a good sail getting there is only half the fun.

Plaineold, I love "You're Dead A Long Time", like "Carpe Diem" but edgier . . . not sure if it passes the VHF test though! :)

Nick Tonkin
*Former* Website Administrator, C36/375IA
*Former* owner, C36 tr/fk #255, Santa Barbara, CA

stu jackson c34's picture
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[QUOTE=plaineolde;10525]

The boat in the slip next to me is called "You're Dead a Long Time"; but I've never seen anyone on board. Hmmm.[/QUOTE]

That's one of those "four word boat names" that make little sense to me. Just "Imagine" (PI:)) saying THAT on the VHF!!! :eek:

Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)

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Steve Frost
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As for how the name sounds on VHF, one of my customers always insists on an N number for his aircraft that ends in 4Q. When contacting center initially you give your full registration number, such as 364Quebec, subsequent transmissions are acknowledged with the last two charicters of that number in his case 4Q.
He usually says it respectfully.

Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas

caprice 1050
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Posts: 345

One of the funnyest names I saw was on a power boat "My Last Boat III"

__/)__/)__/)__Capt Mike__/)__/)__/)__
Punta Gorda Florida
1990 Std WK M35 Hull #1050

Solla Sollew
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Posts: 74

As some of you either know or can guess, “Solla Sollew” is from a Dr. Seuss book and it has nearly the same connotation as the more familiar “Shangri-La” from Hilton’s “Lost Horizon”.

Solla Sollew’s name is usually mispronounced or misspelled. People also assume it means something in some other language. Such was the case when this lady pulled up in her little boat and engaged me and my dock neighbor in conversation. She was out and about trying to drum up business for her pump-out service. With the upmost tact, she asked me twice “Does it mean something [I]in Jewish[/I]?” :eek:

Well...I wonder why she’d assume that (Italian being the more common guess). Anyway, I though the question was ridiculously funny. I could only tell her “I don’t think so.”

Lesson: Make sure the name is easy to pronounce, spell, and its meaning is abundantly clear. That’s assuming such things are important enough (to you) to even be concerned about it. In my case - not concerned at all.

Marc & Susan Garcia
"Solla Sollew" #1473, Mk.II
 San Buenaventura, Ca.

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Steve Frost
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French names many times are used by non French speaking people as are Hawian names as they sound classy or exotic. One of my boats, my Santana 20 I named Joie De Vivre, often when asked its meaning to those who did not know, I would tell them it means "my colostemy bag is full" in French, it tended to take the romance out of the name.

Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas

BudStreet
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Posts: 1127

[quote=Steve Frost;10540]French names many times are used by non French speaking people as are Hawian names as they sound classy or exotic. One of my boats, my Santana 20 I named Joie De Vivre, often when asked its meaning to those who did not know, I would tell them it means "my colostemy bag is full" in French, it tended to take the romance out of the name.[/quote]

ROTFLMAO!!!!

Molly Malone
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Posts: 19

An old friend and a sage sailor once advised me to always run a new name idea though the "MayDay" test eg ... Mayday Mayday, this is[I] One Crazy Guy[/I] over. There are times when you would want the world to really take you seriously.
Other bad ideas: [I]Fugetaboutit, Just Kidding, You Can't Be Serious, Why Knot
[/I]
Tom Smith
[I]Molly Malone [/I](Yes, there is a reason)
1994 Mk 1.5
Wing Keel, Std Rig

Tom Smith
Molly Malone
1994 Mk 1.5
Std rig/wing keel

pierview
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Posts: 582

I agree 100% with Tom on the Mayday test... I've seen boats with names like "Wet Dreams" and "Booger"... though both were power boaters and we all know those guys have a lot of class... all of it low!

French type names look cool on the stern but trying communicating them to the CG in an emergency (or to a dock master coming into a strange harbor for that matter) ... they'll be asking you for the spelling for 1/2 an hour before they get to the real serious questions like "describe your boat",
"what color is it", etc.

Chuck Parker
HelenRita 2072 Mk II
2002 Tall Rig - Winged Keel
Atlantic Highlands, NJ

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