I know this is probably a little silly, but . . .

I'm considering buying a boat that I otherwise like, except the name, which
I don't. I believe there is an old nautical superstition that it's bad luck
to change a boat (or ship) name. I'm wondering how commonly this is done,
and does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Steve H.

About a year ago, someone posted an excellent solution which sounded
workable. Get a large rubber mallet, the kind mechanics use for putting hub
caps on. Smack your boat on the bow, nice & hard, right at the tip. It
should stun the boat so it won't know it's being renamed. Everything should
go smoothly. Check vital signs while the sign painter is working, in case
the ship needs more anesthesia.
-Doug

"Steve Helling" wrote in message
...
I know this is probably a little silly, but . . .

I'm considering buying a boat that I otherwise like, except the name,
which
I don't. I believe there is an old nautical superstition that it's bad
luck
to change a boat (or ship) name. I'm wondering how commonly this is done,
and does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Steve H.

On Tue, 23 Sep 2003 14:07:41 -0500, "Steve Helling"
wrote:

I know this is probably a little silly, but . . .

I'm considering buying a boat that I otherwise like, except the name, which
I don't. I believe there is an old nautical superstition that it's bad luck
to change a boat (or ship) name. I'm wondering how commonly this is done,
and does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Steve H.

From the thoroughly wonderful San Francisco Bay sailing rag, "Latitude 38" ("25
years of sailing mischief"), comes this article about renaming:

I once met a man in Florida who told me he'd owned 24 different yachts and
renamed every single one of them.

"Did it bring you bad luck?" I asked.

"Not that I'm aware of," he said. "You don't believe in those old superstitions,
do you?'

"Well, yes," I said. "As a matter of fact, I do. And so do a lot of other
sailors who wouldn't consciously do anything to annoy the ancient gods of wind
and sea. Out there, you need all the help you can get."

Actually, I've come to the conclusion that it's not so much being superstitious
as being careful. It's part of good seamanship. That's why I had to invent a
'de-naming' ceremony some years ago to ward off bad luck when I wanted to change
the name of my new 31-ft sloop from 'Our Way' to 'Freelance'.

I needed a formal ceremony to wipe the slate clean in preparation for the
renaming. I searched in vain for one. But research showed that such a ceremony
would consist of five parts: an invocation, an expression of gratitiude, a
supplication, a rededication and a libation.

So I sat down and wrote my own ceremony. It worked perfectly. 'Freelance'
carried us thousands of deep-sea miles and enjoyed good luck all the way.

The ceremony should be read with flair on the foredeck before a gathering of
distinguished guests. Or it can be mumbled down below by the skipper alone if he
or she finds these things embarassing.

The libation part, however, must be carried out at the bow, as was the original
naming ceremony. And I would advise you to use nothing but the finest champagne
and to pour it all on the boat. One thing the gods of the sea despise most is
meanness, so don't try to do this part on the cheap.

How much time should you leave between the de-naming ceremony and the new-naming
ceremony? There's no fixed limit. You can do the renaming right after the
de-naming, if you want. But I'd prefer to see a gap of at least 24 hours to
allow the demons time to clear out.

Oh, and one other thing - you have to remove all physical traces of the boat's
old name before the de-naming ceremony. There may be official papers with the
old name on them, of course. If you can't destroy them you should at least keep
them well out of sight in a locker during the ceremony. But don't neglect to
wipe the name out in obvious place - bow, stern, dinghy, oars, logbook,
lifering, charts and so on. Likewise, do not lace the new name anywhere on the
boat before the de-naming ceremony is carried out. Hoo-boy, that would be
tempting fate.

The ceremony:
"In the name of all who have sailed aboard this vessel in the past, and all who
may sail aboard her in the future, we invoke the ancient gods of wind and sea to
favor us with their blessing today.

"Mighty Neptune, king of all that moves on the waves, and might Aeolus, guardian
of the winds and all that blows before them: we offer you our thanks for the
protection you have afforded this vessel in the past. We voice our gratitude
that she has always found shelter from tempest and storm and enjoyed safe
passage to port.

"Now, therefore, we submit this supplication, that the name whereby this vessel
has hitherto been known, '_________', be struck and removed from your records.
Further, we ask that when she is again presented for blessing with another name,
she shall be recognized and shall be accorded once again the self-same
priveleges she previously enjoyed.

"In return for this, we rededicate this vessel to thy domain in full knowledge
that she shall be subject to the immutable laws of the gods of wind and sea.
"In consequence whereof, and in good faith, we seal this pact with a libation
offered according to the hallowed ritual of the sea.

Now pop the cork, shake the bottle and spray the whole of the content over the
bow. Then go quietly below and enjoy the other bottle yourselves.

- John Vigor

©1997 Latitude 38

www.out-of-the-blue.info/dename.html

There's another version of the same ceremony at
www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/rename.htm, but you should get the idea.

Joe Parsons

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
About a year ago, someone posted an excellent solution which sounded
workable. Get a large rubber mallet, the kind mechanics use for putting
hub
caps on. Smack your boat on the bow, nice & hard, right at the tip. It
should stun the boat so it won't know it's being renamed. Everything
should
go smoothly. Check vital signs while the sign painter is working, in case
the ship needs more anesthesia.
-Doug



Ouch!

db

"Steve Helling" wrote in message
...
I know this is probably a little silly, but . . .

I'm considering buying a boat that I otherwise like, except the name,
which
I don't. I believe there is an old nautical superstition that it's bad
luck
to change a boat (or ship) name. I'm wondering how commonly this is done,
and does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Steve H.



I have given in to the superstition. I managed to remove the name of
a boat I bought several years ago but can't seem to bring myself
to re-name her.

Im thinking..

"If it ain't broke..."

db

p.s. I can tell you that "easy-off" oven cleaner WILL take that paint off
where others fail. NOTE: have PLENTY of rags/papertowels ready.
If you don't, the paint will just run down and adhere itself again.
Oh ya...The letters don't generally stay together when that happens.

"Don ßailey" wrote

p.s. I can tell you that "easy-off" oven cleaner WILL take that paint off
where others fail. NOTE: have PLENTY of rags/papertowels ready.
If you don't, the paint will just run down and adhere itself again.
Oh ya...The letters don't generally stay together when that happens.


Easy Off is great to use on those old nasty oil and cosmoline soaked
gunstocks on military surplus rifles!
Does a fantastic job, sucks the crud outta the pores.
RINSE WELL afterward.

Never have cleaned an oven with it, though.

Bad JuJu, dude.
JR

Steve Helling wrote:

I know this is probably a little silly, but . . .

I'm considering buying a boat that I otherwise like, except the name, which
I don't. I believe there is an old nautical superstition that it's bad luck
to change a boat (or ship) name. I'm wondering how commonly this is done,
and does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Steve H.

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Roughly 9/23/2003 4:26 PM, JR North wrote:

Bad JuJu, dude.
JR


I'd agree... But then, my dad's Chris has been "Commando" for over 60
years, and my Glastron has been "Blue-Boat" for over 35. We haven't even
dared to *think* about changing them.


--
~/Garth
Almgren
*******
(To e-mail me, look in a mirror)

"Garth Almgren" wrote in message
...
Roughly 9/23/2003 4:26 PM, JR North wrote:

Bad JuJu, dude.
JR


I'd agree... But then, my dad's Chris has been "Commando" for over 60
years, and my Glastron has been "Blue-Boat" for over 35. We haven't even
dared to *think* about changing them.


--
~/Garth
Almgren
*******
(To e-mail me, look in a mirror)



"Blue-Boat"...

Damn, why didn't I think of that one.

I might have to borrow it.

db

Around 9/24/2003 6:55 AM, Don ßailey wrote:

"Garth Almgren" wrote in message
...

Roughly 9/23/2003 4:26 PM, JR North wrote:


Bad JuJu, dude.
JR


I'd agree... But then, my dad's Chris has been "Commando" for over 60
years, and my Glastron has been "Blue-Boat" for over 35. We haven't even
dared to *think* about changing them.



"Blue-Boat"...

Damn, why didn't I think of that one.

I might have to borrow it.


Yeah, we're big on originality (and color coding) in my family.
Commando's predecessor was Green Boat, and Blue-Boat's tow vehicle is
the Tan Minivan.


--
~/Garth
Almgren
*******
(To e-mail me, )