I’ve had some odd looks and a rude comment or two from people when they see names on my kayaks. I thought this was a time honored tradition. I’m fond of my boats and have names on both of them. Is it silly to bother with names on small boats?
No!
It’s your boat and you can name it if you want to. I have names, just never actually placed any kind of label on the boats. My folks wanted to christen my first yak with the traditional bottle of champagne. You’re not silly!
-Toddy
Yes… its silly.
It’s silly, but it’s your boat. Customize or think of it however you want.
I don’t name boats (well, maybe if its more than 25’), bicycles, cars or any other vehicle or vessel that I would trade in an instant for one better.
Haha!
my girlfriend’s first comment after the purchase was “so, what are you gonna name it?” stumped, i actually never thought of naming it. but after a few ultra-enjoyable trips the boat and i have indeed connected …maybe even on a metaphysical level. i’m comfortable in it, and now comfortable in naming it. still, nothing comes to mind. i’ve a blue manitou 13 by necky, btw. any suggestions would be helpful of course! i was thinking along the lines of: chakra, namaste, impreza, or bob.
I’d go with
"Bob".
I affectionately call my little yellow yak “Buttercup” but I haven’t actually put the name on the hull. Hadn’t thought to do so, but maybe I will.
Name it and tell them to STICK IT…
good grief
we have the yellow boat, phoebe’s boat, blythe’s boat, the long boat, the red boats, the canoe, etc pretty generic. i did name my ‘long boat’ charlette because its a smaller volume pygmy queen charlotte. its still called ‘my long boat’. individual names would be so esoteric that nobody would know which one i was talking about
Danny, we don’t use words like
’esoteric’ here.That might be a fightin’ word, but who would know?
I have two
"Bignana" and “Kanana”
guess what color they are?
Go ahead and name your boats, paint it on the bow. Who gives a FRA what anybody else thinks!
I named one
I have several boats and refer to them by their model name given by the manufacturer. All except one which I call Rascal. It is a home built stripper and is named for the raccoon in the story by Sterling North of the same name. The eleven year old boy in the story had a liberal father who allowed him to live his own life. “He even let me build my eighteen-foot canoe in the living room.” he said of his father while describing a long list of boyhood embellishments. That is the moment that I as an eleven year old myself knew I would become a paddler.
Now that I have told this story here on the internet it won’t be quite so esoteric when I refer to the Rascal.
Paul
I’ve named mine in the past…
Think of yourself as observing naval tradition or whatnot…If you spend time in coastal waters I’m sure the big motorized boys will appreciate this(as I’ve seen some that have painted names on their launches) on Ozark rivers and lakes you may get strange looks. Nauturally, some of those looks will be because your boat is named!
Your mileage may vary.
4CaPrijon
4th boat, Capri by Prijon.
Yes, but I blush…
…at the names I use when the flip me into cold water.
onl;y one
I named my yellow sailboat the Bananna Split but never found any names for my kayaks. I’ve owned a dozen and stil own 7.
My last one, a green Loon 138 I got used for father’s day for $100 was so ugly I named it the Green Goblin.
I plan to sell it but that is the only kayak or canoe I’ve ever named.
Yes
We name ours. The girls named their kayaks and I’ve named our canoes. I’ve got the name on some of them with plastic letters but not all of them.
I agree with those who say do what you want and enjoy it.
Silly? My dad, the Moose, 6’3", 260#, farm hand, oil field rough neck, MP, and district attourney, named our first canoe “Honey” after his sister. Call him silly and he might come back from the grave and…
What kind of person cares anyway or judges if someone else enjoys naming their boats and putting the name on it? Someone who needs to do some personal growth work no doubt. May they all find what they need, a different outlook on life. But if they want to be jerks about it they can deal with the consequences of being ignored and losing us boat namers as potential friends, eh?
Only The Purple Haze
Of my six boats only my 18’ Kevlar Shearwater has a name. She is the Purple Haze.
oops sorry string
sometimes i forget my upbringing. hey we are hoping to be back at jocassee after july 4, maybe we can meet you on the valhalla lake : )
Paddle
I’m going to paddle (insert name). Be ready for a few jokes. It might be fun.
I named one canoe
after my daughter. She’s taken many canoe and camping trips in that boat with me and always had a great time (for her 16th birthday she wanted us to go on a canoe/camping trip, just her and I. Needless to say I was very happy to accomodate). She’s put a lot of good vibes into that vessel, so that canoe is aptly named, “Meri-Heather”.
My other canoe is named after a local fusion band, “Dimension X”. So when friends ask of my whereabouts you know the reply’s going to be… “I’m out here somewhere in dimension X.”
I named mine but I never painted it on ,
The ride.
The Dagger.
The KIWI.
Alyssa’s boat.
And the Canoe.
My Dads old Grumman was sha-t-jays:My sisters and myself Sharon,Teresa,Jackie,John,and Josie.I cant seem to take it off and rename it,after he had it named for 38years and respect for the MAN I guess this canoe will always be named.