After a good night's sleep, The Captain is back to carry on sharing his boating know-how.  Today's subject is Naming Your Boat.

1.       Once you have taken the step of buying your boat the next thing is to name it to make it yours. If you are in a consortium then this needs to be a collective agreement on a name as the name will determine your boat’s character or the character of the group.

2.       Once named that will be the name which stays with your boat so think carefully, this is your pride and joy do you want to be the joke of the marina for years to come?

3.       If you need to change the name of a boat there are superstitious ceremonies you must undertake as it is unlucky to change a boat’s name. Do you need the hassle? Check out  Boat De-naming Ceremony by John Vigor on the internet

4.       Remember when you radio the coast guard or the lock keeper you and they have to keep a straight face when giving out the name of your vessel.  This is no trivial matter in an emergency situation your life could depend on it. Pinky or Perky may sound like great names when you are in the pub, but not quite so clever after a rough day on the water.

5.       Make sure that the name is not a tongue twister as spelling it over the radio in an emergency could cause a serious delay.

6.       Keep the name to a reasonable length if for no other reason then if you have a small vessel it may not fit.

7.       Just because you think it is a cool name if you need to sell the boat the name could put off a potential purchaser. How will you feel about someone else riding about in the boat you named after your wife?

8.       Once you have decided on a name then comes the making of the stickers. Think carefully about the actual font.  This can also affect the look of your boat .  Check out the difference between hard or soft vinyl lettering (the best option but cost slightly more)compared to “printed stickers”which look tacky very quickly.

9.       If you are putting the stickers on your self make sure that they are level, everyone will notice if they are not and take pleasure in pointing this out to you regularly.  Spray a thin film of water where your logo is to be, peel off the backing then line it up, the thin film of water will allow you to slide most decals around a bit, once in place use your exhausted credit card to squeeze the water out from the middle towards the outer edge in long sweeping strokes.

10.    Once all the water is gone you can remove the cover film and enjoy!!

11.    Think carefully about the colour of the lettering.  It is suggested that using the same colour as the boat trim is best.

When all else is said and done though a name is very personal and it is your boat.