Boat renaming

[sunny]

Is it bad luck to rename a boat without going through the renaming ritual Just want to name it after one of my dogs that passed away

[Hudds Lad]

4 minutes ago, sunny said:

Is it bad luck to rename a boat without going through the renaming ritual Just want to name it after one of my dogs that passed away

Surely depends on how superstitious you are?

[Tony Brooks]

1 minute ago, sunny said:

Is it bad luck to rename a boat without going through the renaming ritual Just want to name it after one of my dogs that passed away

 

It is said that the superstition arose when the boat's name was carved into a structural cross member, so to rename a boat the old name had to be adzed away and the new name carved. Thus weakening the structure that became more prone to catastrophic failure.

 

Just rename it and, if superstitious, hold any sort of propitiation to the gods you like - pour a pint of best into the cut for the water gods pleasure.

 

[Sir Nibble]

Yes it's very unlucky. The fairies will be furious and get the rust goblins to chip holes in your hull. Also beware of the ghosts of long dead boatmen coming up through the shower drain. 

[Mike Tee]

There is no such thing as bad luck in renaming your boat - it is all made up nonsense, so just go ahead and do it, and, touch wood, all will be fine.

[Neil2]

Whenever someone asks this question I'm reminded of that song Bad Luck Blues (or if you prefer, Born under a Bad sign) and the line "if it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have no luck at all". 

 

So, if I ever buy another boat I'm going to change the name straight away. 

[reg]

After renaming your boat you will find that you will forevermore  have a constantly evolving todo list which will never get finalised. 

 

[blackrose]

19 minutes ago, Hudds Lad said:

Surely depends on how superstitious you are?

 

Yes, the OP's question is actually not that different from "If I don't worship god will I burn in hell?"

 

The answer depends on one's belief system - or from an atheist's perspective how deluded one is. 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

If you rename your boat without following the correct ritual you will be cursed to spend your days doing nothing but post on CWDF.

[Guest]

38 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

It is said that the superstition arose when the boat's name was carved into a structural cross member, so to rename a boat the old name had to be adzed away and the new name carved. Thus weakening the structure that became more prone to catastrophic failure.

 

Just rename it and, if superstitious, hold any sort of propitiation to the gods you like - pour a pint of best into the cut for the water gods pleasure.

 

 

Specifically the transom I seem to recall.

 

If correct it does show that although some superstitions seem totally groundless, occasionally there may be some that have origins that under scrutiny may have at least some basis.

[Tony1]

Sorry to hear about your loss sunny.

 

The only superstition I've heard of relating to the renaming of narrowboats is that - if you believe in these things- you should rename it when its out of the water. 

 

A boater I spoke to was trying to persuade me to wait until the next blacking before I renamed my boat, and I'm glad I did wait because I'm now considering keeping the original name. 

 

 

[MtB]

42 minutes ago, Tony1 said:

The only superstition I've heard of relating to the renaming of narrowboats is that - if you believe in these things- you should rename it when its out of the water. 

 

And put some sort of marking on or inside the boat acknowledging the previous name, so I was told.

 

So when I renamed my third boat I did it when it came out for blacking, and put a sign up in the engine room saying "NB XXX, previously known as YYY". 

 

Two years later when I sold it it was still floating, so it obviously worked. 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by MtB
Speeling

[magpie patrick]

I've never renamed a boat - I was originally going to rename "Ripple" and call her "Magpie", but then I found she was named after a village in Kent not an insipid wave
 

"Lutine Bell" was not originally so named, she would have been "(Something*) Navigator" in the Gordon's Pleasure Cruiser fleet and at some point had been called "Chunky"

 

*(Something) being probably being the name of a place on the Oxford Canal, e.g. Fenny Navigator 

 

Whoever had undertaken the name change had not taken the precaution of pleasing the gods, and the spirits that sank the original HMS Lutine off the coast of Friesland were hard at work. the trials of my long journey south are well documented on this forum, and the Songbird wrote a song in her honour, which Sara performed in the Stone Pony in New Jersey.  In the end I got Lutine Bell to Bath and then sold her 18 months later as I couldn't keep pace with the repair and deterioration, the worst of this only came about when the journey was over - Lutine is a restless spirit and she liked being stuck in one place even less than she liked moving. 

Despite the trials, I don't regret the journey, to make a one way trip the length of the canal system was very fulfilling - I shall repeat it (in a more reliable boat) sometime

Juno has never been renamed nor based anywhere else - I'm playing it ultra safe. 

[ditchcrawler]

3 hours ago, sunny said:

Is it bad luck to rename a boat without going through the renaming ritual Just want to name it after one of my dogs that passed away

You have to buy all the members here a pint or its bad luck 😁

[dmr]

A bit of tradition and folklore is a good thing, it makes boating interesting and special.

Swot up on the various rituals and obey them, but feel free to adapt/modernise them a little to avoid major expense.

Some people say the boat should be out of the water for the rename, so at least find somewhere where the bow can overhang the bank.

You can smash a bottle of champagne but beer is more suitable for the cut, and broken glass all over the place is not good. Maybe crunch a can of a good modern pale ale against the bow and drink whatever is left???.

 

Yesterday a boat went past with its name all nicely sign written and below this in a much smaller font was "formerly xxxx"

[Lady M]

Put the bottle you wish to smash over the bows in an old sock.  The sock will be torn but the broken glass safely contained.

[Chris Lowe]

The boat renaming ceremony https://www.discoverboating.com/resources/ceremony-for-renaming-your-boat I'm sure this has been posted before.

[tosher]

I thought it nonsense as well,  but  just to be on the safe side when we changed our boat's name we carried out the time honoured procedure. Done with the boat out of the water etc etc. All went well for a couple of years then my wife slipped down the companion  way steps and badly broke her ankle in two places and was hospitalised for 3 weeks. Not sure what to think now?...

 

[Machpoint005]

The human brain is wired to seek patterns, cause and effect. What you had was a coincidence and that was all.

 

To the OP: just do it. Nothing bad will happen because you changed the boat's name. 

 

[fatmanblue]

It's bad luck to be superstitious.

[MtB]

2 hours ago, tosher said:

I thought it nonsense as well,  but  just to be on the safe side when we changed our boat's name we carried out the time honoured procedure. Done with the boat out of the water etc etc. All went well for a couple of years then my wife slipped down the companion  way steps and badly broke her ankle in two places and was hospitalised for 3 weeks. Not sure what to think now?...

 

 

You obviously missed a bit out, or displeased Neptune in some way or other. The evidence PROVES it!

[Neil2]

14 hours ago, tosher said:

I thought it nonsense as well,  but  just to be on the safe side when we changed our boat's name we carried out the time honoured procedure. Done with the boat out of the water etc etc. All went well for a couple of years then my wife slipped down the companion  way steps and badly broke her ankle in two places and was hospitalised for 3 weeks. Not sure what to think now?...

 

 

You had incident free boating for two years...?   Crikey I don't call that good luck I call it supernatural.

[Ray T]

We had our boat renamed during a repaint.

 

Two bottles were required, a bottle of Newcastle Brown and a bottle of Champagne.

Along with the painter we consumed the Champers and the Newcey went over the boats' bow.

 

A passing boater accused us of polluting the canal!

 

 

[David Schweizer]

On 22/08/2021 at 10:55, Tony Brooks said:

 

It is said that the superstition arose when the boat's name was carved into a structural cross member, so to rename a boat the old name had to be adzed away and the new name carved. Thus weakening the structure that became more prone to catastrophic failure.

 

Just rename it and, if superstitious, hold any sort of propitiation to the gods you like - pour a pint of best into the cut for the water gods pleasure.

 

 

I heard a different story, which I have never been able to verify, that a boat carrying gunpowder blew up shortly after being re-named. Or was it just after a black Ace of Clubs emblem had been painted on the slide which is why they are allegedly bad luck, and are always painted red.? Now I have confused myself. Anyway, I beliecve it is an historical superstition, but I still re-named Helvetia when it was out of the water, just in case!

[Ray T]

8 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

 

I heard a different story, which I have never been able to verify, that a boat carrying gunpowder blew up shortly after being re-named. Or was it just after a black Ace of Clubs emblem had been painted on the slide which is why they are allegedly bad luck, and are always painted red.? Now I have confused myself. Anyway, I believe it is an historical superstition, but I still re-named Helvetia when it was out of the water, just in case!

When we had our boat repainted I asked for a black Ace of Cubs on the slide. (I know the Ace of Spades is known as "The death card:")  Ace of spades - Wikipedia

 

The painter said "You're not having it black, as long as the boat is in the paint shop it is mine, it becomes yours again when I've finished my work."

The result.....

 

Many of the working boaters would never have the Ace of Spades as it was considered unlucky. Likewise with a black Ace of Clubs.

Edited August 23, 2021 by Ray T