renaming a boat

i just bought a new to me boat. it is the first boat i have owned that already had a name on it. when i told my mother-in-law that i planned on renaming it she said "if my father was still alive he would not allow you to do that, he was a a life long lobstermen and he never changed the name of a boat because it is badluck". now i am not a very superstitous person but the thought of badluck on the boat is not something i want to be thinking about.

what is your opinion and have you renamed yours?

the name of the boat is "Greek Missed", i don't know what it means as i got the boat from a dealer.

Re: renaming a boat

you have to de name the boat and rechristen it. C & P without the "
"http://www.48north.com/mr_offline/denaming.htm"

"http://www.commanderbob.com/art19.html"

Re: renaming a boat

Here's a good read: http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/rename.htm

Re: Do it

Re: Do it

gcboat said:

Here's a good read: http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/rename.htm

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Interesting...as a cultural artefact, but complete nonsense. Name your boat whatever you want and enjoy it, don't let superstition ruin your pleasure for one minute and make you sencond guess your needs.

If you want to have a ceremony for FUN after you have completed the hard work of restoration or refitting, go for it. Have a BBQ with your friends and have one of the ladies open the champaigne and toast to your voyages.

In fact, that sounds like a great idea for how I'm going to rename my boat after I'm done. It used to be named "Gee Bee" after the original owner whose initials were G.B. Since I never met the guy and I don't like the name well enough to stick with it, I'm changing it to "Ruffian" after the famous horse and a personal connection to that story.

Re: renaming a boat

I agree OV1961 - it is full of lore and superstition. I'm getting ready for a name change on mine soon and I'll be doing exactely as you recommended. I did participate in one of those "formal" changes ONCE - that was enough. It's a wonder the guy didn't make us wear robes or something. Yea, a good BBQ with lot's of barley pops for all, coupla' bottles of the bubbly and I think that should be just enough. Now I just have to come up with a name

Re: renaming a boat

Last year, one week after renaming my 28' Century (w/out ceremony) it caught on fire a couple miles off shore.

Re: renaming a boat

I've heard a lot of things about changing the name of a boat. I was never superstitious about it until about 13 months ago. A buddy of mine that had been my friend since childhood bought an old river fishing boat from a widow up near Stephensport, KY which is about 60 miles up river from us. He had named the boat 'Lucky Lady', and my buddy changed it to 'Norma Jean' after his wife.

One month to that day his boat showed up at 3 a.m. in the morning at the Newburgh Lock & Dam without him on it. An investigation was launched, and the river dredged from Owensboro to the Lock & Dam, but he wasn't found at the time. When Spring rolled around some fishermen found him in a pile of jammed logs around French Island #2. They figured the reason he wasn't found earlier on was because the river had been up the previous fall, and in the spring it tends to drop a few feet.

That was enough to make me superstitious about renaming boats, and I'm not one on superstition.

Re: renaming a boat

now i am really getting superstitious, looks like the ceremony is the way to go. thanks guys for the replies.


luckyinkentucky, very sorry to hear about the loss of your buddy.

eriediver, sorry to hear about your loss

Re: renaming a boat

"Vigor's Interdenominational Boat Denaming Ceremony " Interdenominational?? Yeah, sure. Pure paganism. Gods of the wind, gods of the sea, King Neptune. I don't know about other religions, but no Christian or Jew would dare to dabble in that stuff. 1st and 2nd Commandments. That's all I'm saying.

Re: renaming a boat

F_R said:

"Vigor's Interdenominational Boat Denaming Ceremony " Interdenominational?? Yeah, sure. Pure paganism. Gods of the wind, gods of the sea, King Neptune. I don't know about other religions, but no Christian or Jew would dare to dabble in that stuff. 1st and 2nd Commandments. That's all I'm saying.

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Agreed.