B3 (BiblioBroads Blog) Challenge!
Recently, while strolling the seawall with my tender hunk of manflesh, he and I spied a sailboat named Jet Lag. Lame, non? We began discussing the trials of naming a sailing vessel.
Naming a boat is not a matter to be undertaken lightly. Our current author touches on this topic briefly. Some of the sailors call the ship the Willamena rather than William (because ships are supposed to be female?) or sometimes just The Will.
What would you name your boat?
Before you answer here are some things to keep in mind...
The Explanation Test: How often do you want to explain what the name means? Bizarre Greek gods, in-jokes and Latin phrases (Carpe Diem doesn’t count) usually fail this test. The non-cute test. How sappy is the name? Puns, childhood nicknames and in-jokes usually fail.
The Brevity Test: Imagine repeating your boat name three times, especially if calling “mayday.” Are you hoarse yet? .
The Hubris Test: If you’re racing, try not to pick names like Magic Bullet unless, of course, you have that one-in-a-million boat that actually wins every time.
The “Been There, Done That” Test: There are a lot of Obsessions and Odysseys out there already.
The Omen Test: Naming your boat the Money Pit one day may mean you need a new engine the next.
The Radio Test: Lots of words that look good — Slithery, for example — sound pretty funny on channel 16..
Mine would be Marlow (after the protagonist in Heart of Darkness).
Naming a boat is not a matter to be undertaken lightly. Our current author touches on this topic briefly. Some of the sailors call the ship the Willamena rather than William (because ships are supposed to be female?) or sometimes just The Will.
What would you name your boat?
Before you answer here are some things to keep in mind...
The Explanation Test: How often do you want to explain what the name means? Bizarre Greek gods, in-jokes and Latin phrases (Carpe Diem doesn’t count) usually fail this test. The non-cute test. How sappy is the name? Puns, childhood nicknames and in-jokes usually fail.
The Brevity Test: Imagine repeating your boat name three times, especially if calling “mayday.” Are you hoarse yet? .
The Hubris Test: If you’re racing, try not to pick names like Magic Bullet unless, of course, you have that one-in-a-million boat that actually wins every time.
The “Been There, Done That” Test: There are a lot of Obsessions and Odysseys out there already.
The Omen Test: Naming your boat the Money Pit one day may mean you need a new engine the next.
The Radio Test: Lots of words that look good — Slithery, for example — sound pretty funny on channel 16..
Mine would be Marlow (after the protagonist in Heart of Darkness).
posted by Mata Hari at
9:14 AM
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4 comments
