Choosing the right boat name is important, so don’t make that decision lightly. Give yourself permission to pause your hectic schedule and enjoy a little downtime. Settle down with a cool drink, grab a pen and paper, and treat yourself to a fun little boat-naming exercise.
Think about how much you enjoy spending time aboard your boat. Reflect on why you love it so much. If you don’t yet have a boat, keep reading to learn more about varied boating experiences.
Visualize Your Favorite Boating Experience
Mentally transport yourself onto the water, and visualize your favorite type of boating experience. Do you enjoy invigorating afternoon sails, or do you live to fish?
Do you enjoy cruising to nearby ports on your powerboat, or do you plan to cruise to faraway countries on your sailing yacht? View this snapshot of boating experiences, and note which one resonates with you the most.
Sailing Sojourns
Sailing can be full of delightful adventures. One morning, you cast off your sailboat’s lines for a glorious day sail in just the right wind. Your boat’s refrigerator (or cooler) is stocked with ice-cold drinks and a tasty lunch. You take your sailboat for a rollicking sail across the bay, and drop anchor in a secluded cove for lunch and a swim. You return to the marina at sunset after a very satisfying day.
Or, let your sailboat take you for a weekend or weeklong cruise through your local waters. Enjoy beautiful scenery, visit popular waterfront towns, and savor delicious meals aboard while you relax in a quiet anchorage. When you return to your home port, you’ll be refreshed and rejuvenated.
Maybe you’re a competitive sailboat racer, and your boat is outfitted with high-tech sails plus all the bells and whistles. You live for those regular club races, going bow-to-bow with your dock-mates on Wednesday nights and weekends. Believe it or not, you get America’s cup-level thrills while racing on your local rivers and bays. Afterward, you and your competitors relive the races at your favorite watering hole.
Powerboating Adventures
Your powerboating adventures can take lots of different forms. On a lazy afternoon, you frequently hop in your runabout, and take a spin around the lake or through the neighborhood creeks. Maybe a pontoon boat is more your style, as it has plenty of comfortable seating and deck space to accommodate your family or friends for the day.
Or, you enjoy hitting the water in your roomy cruiser, often visiting a nearby port for the weekend. With a functional cabin that includes a galley, head, and berths for the entire family, you’ve got everything you need for a relaxing getaway.
Maybe you enjoy traveling on a finely appointed motor yacht. With fuel capacity and living arrangements for longer trips, there are few places you can’t go – and you’ll definitely enjoy the journey.
Fishing Expeditions
With so many types of fishing experiences, it’s probably hard to choose your favorite type of fishing trip. Maybe you love poking into shallow bays and creeks in your low-profile bay boat or flats boat. Or, maybe bass boats are more your style, and you take every opportunity to chase those elusive fish along inland rivers and lakes.
Fishing on a streamlined center console boat has its own distinctive appeal. The boat’s roomy open layout enables you to easily navigate from bow to stern while you pursue your prey.
If you have a taste for offshore fishing excursions, hop aboard your convertible fishing boat for several days. These sturdy vessels have the creature comforts you need while also providing the platform for hauling in your catch. Regardless of your choice, you’ll enjoy your time aboard any of these fishing boats.
Diving Excursions
You were born to SCUBA dive, and you take every opportunity to indulge your passion. Your boat makes a great vehicle for exploring your favorite coastal dive spots and finding new ones. You really can’t think of anything you’d rather be doing.
Maybe you dive the clear waters of south Florida or the Florida Keys. Perhaps you prefer diving in the Gulf of Mexico, or maybe you like the challenge of weaving through California’s kelp beds. Or, you head out to the open ocean. Whatever your destination, your boat must handle any wind and weather conditions that develop.
Fortunately, your boat is up to the challenge. Maybe you have a beefy center console boat with plenty of open space. If you’re venturing offshore, you might pilot a convertible with comfortable living accommodations and a spacious aft deck. Either vessel will provide plenty of room for your dive gear and compressor.
Cruising Yachts Explorations
Embarking on a cruising life doesn’t mean you climb aboard a cruise ship for a weeklong trip, and then return to the vessel’s home port. Instead, it means you equip your seaworthy sailboat, powerboat, or trawler to head off for distant horizons.
Maybe you’re one of the winter snowbirds who heads south to Florida or The Bahamas on their cruising yachts. Or, you might actually be cruising the world. As a global traveler, you regard most ports as a place to take on fuel, water, and provisions so you can continue on your way.
Conjure Up Some Good Boat Names
Once you’ve nailed down your favorite type of boating experience, think of unique boat names that capture that experience in your mind. Turn off the mental filter that tells you why each boat name won’t work for one reason or another.
Review your boat names over the next few days or weeks. Over time, a few names will vanish from the list, and some cool boat names will appear. Eventually, you’ll choose the name that’s right for your boat.
After you expended some effort to select your boat name, you probably won’t want to share that name with anyone else in your home port. That’s where Boat Name Registry (BNR) can help. Learn how you can protect your boat name in your home port by becoming a BNR member.
