Slow Boat

First, the handy links:

• See where we are with Boat Finder. (Under "Track Call Sign," enter kd3fly-12)
• New to SlowBoatCruise? Read this blog from the beginning, or learn more about us.

What's In a Name?

Hmmm. What does THIS owner think about his (or her) boat?

"A vessel's name conveys  . . . how the owner thinks about the boat," says Chapman's Boating Etiquette. "How do you think a boat named Marauder will negotiate a crowded channel?"

We named our vessel Dragonfly because dragonflies are kinda solar powered--on cold days they have to bask in the sun before they can fly.

(Of course, they're also one of the world's fastest-flying insects. And we're one of the world's slowest powerboats. We're just hoping the name gives her confidence.

(In a similar vein, as a kid, I named my goldfish "Fang.")

Boaters are Punsters

Spotted this one in a location dubbed the "Nauti-Dock."

My brothers and I once dubbed our family's ancient canvas-and-wood canoe, "Mom's Yacht-It's-Knot."

It seems like a huge number of boat owners enjoy similar groaner puns.

Gyp-sea. Seas the Day. Sea-cret Hide-Aweigh.

 Knot Retired. Tide the Knot. Knot for Sail. 

A Salt Weapon. Wastin' Aweigh Again.

My personal fave on this trip: a boat docked behind us at Beveridges Lock on the Rideau Canal, named Mon Ark.  A pun across two languages!

 I've barely scraped the salty surface of this list! (Get more at Pun-pedia.)

Can You Say That on the Radio? 

Hailing the boat overtaking me in the channel: Pinch Me!

Chapman warns that certain jokey boat names can create problems during routine radio transmissions.

"Wet Dreams, this is Let's Do It. Come in on channel 68."

At one marina last week, we saw a boat with a name that would make it tough to make a distress call.

"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is . . .  April Fool!"

Chill-axin'

Lots of boats have names that show they're a refuge from life's stressors.

Hydrotherapy. Serenity.  Good Vibrations.(Powerboats only, that one.)

Near our home port of Macedon, NY, we often see a boat named Barb's Granite Kitchen Countertops (He Won the Coin Toss).

We thought that name was unique in all the world.  But this lifestsyle dilemma must be more common than we thought. Not far from Ottawa, we spotted a vessel named Kitchen Countertops.

See more funny boat names on the SlowBoat Facebook feed, and add your own!

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