How to change a boat’s name

This past weekend we decided to put off some of our typical knuckle-busting boat projects and finally get to the important task of officially changing the name of our ship.

Those of you that have been following us know that when we acquired our boat, she had big green hideous dragons on both sides of her bow that we promptly removed. She was also given the equally hideous name of Fafner by her previous owners, a name that she did not like very much.

We had chosen the name Terrapin before we had even began boat shopping for two reasons. First, like terrapins, our boat is an aquatic, self contained home that protects us from the elements and it is slow. Very slow. The second reason is that we are shameless deadheads and ‘Terrapin Station’ is one of our favorite songs.

We got both the name and logo as adhesive vinyl cutouts. We simply had to peel off the backing, stick it on and smooth it out.

Before we get ahead of ourselves here, it is important to point out that you cannot just go changing the name of a boat willy-nilly, lest you may tick off the gods of the sea and wind. Now, those of you that know us also know that religion and superstition are not really our thing. However, when it comes to pissing off Neptune, why take a chance?

The ceremony to change a boat’s name involves several invocations to Neptune, Poseidon and Aeolus, the god of the winds as well as some booze, and plenty of pomp and circumstance.

First we had to appeal to Neptune to strike the old name from his records for eternity, then we pass around the champagne, pour off most of it to the gods, appeal to them to accept her new name and then pour the rest of it over the bow for the official christening.

Yes, even the kids had a taste of the champagne, but they are crew too and thus entitled to the perks.

The finished product: A properly renamed vessel, some good karma with the sea gods and a happy crew. Finally having her name on the stern gives us a great feeling of satisfaction, like we are no longer living in limbo with her, and we think the new logo on the bow looks amazing!

Apparently, even the gods were pleased and we were rewarded by a beautiful sunset to end our weekend. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight …

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Aimee Nance is currently ‘cruising’ around the world with her young family. You can follow their adventures on Sailing with Terrapin.