Boat name generator

How to choose a name you will not regret

Say it out loud on the radio first. A name you will call to a bridge tender or a marina on VHF should be short, easy to spell and impossible to mishear. Two or three syllables work best, and puns that only make sense written down tend to get lost over the air.

Think about the boat's character and how you will use her. A sleek sport yacht can carry a playful name, while a bluewater cruiser that you might sail into foreign ports benefits from something that travels well across languages.

• Keep it under about 20 characters so it fits the transom and documentation
• Check that it reads well upside down in a reflection, some do not
• Search for other documented vessels with the same name in your area

Renaming a boat and the tradition behind it

Sailors have long believed that renaming a boat without ceremony brings bad luck. The usual custom is to remove every trace of the old name, hold a short denaming ceremony that asks Poseidon to strike the old name from his ledger, then christen the boat with the new one, often with a splash of champagne for the sea gods as well as the crew.

For documented vessels in the US, a name change is filed with the Coast Guard National Vessel Documentation Center. State registered boats update the name with the state registration agency.