Meaning of boat names?

[NCboater]

I'm not sure if this is the correct place and it's probably been done before, but I'm curious about the meaning behind the boat names on this forum.  Some are self explanatory but others are puzzling or may not be what they seem.  I'm dense and probably will slap my forehead, but I can't figure out what Bob's boat name Koinoina (sp?) means.  My boat doesn't have a name yet, so I'm also looking for ideas.

[carry-on]

Well, Koinonia is a Greek word with several meanings. One translation is "collection" and that fits because Bob23 is the COLLECTOR of initiation fees and dues for this site. However, I realized this morning that he named his yacht for the "koin" found in her bilge!

There are many traditions and omens regarding the naming and renaming of water craft. I doubt there is any logical pattern for the names found among ComPac owners. The names surely are significant to the owner and I suppose they all translate to "LOVE".

[brackish]

Arion (/?æri.?n/; Greek: ??) was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb: "As a literary composition for chorus dithyramb was the creation of Arion of Corinth".  Although notable for his musical inventions, Arion is chiefly remembered for the fantastic myth of his kidnapping by pirates and miraculous rescue by dolphins, a folktale motif.

The boat was named by the previous owners, two delightful women who had moved on to a larger boat. In fact their selection of that name may go even deeper into the Greek mythology story, however, I won't go there suffice to say I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them during the buying process.  I had intended to risk the wrath of the gods and rename, however, at the time of purchase my grandson was enthralled  with the Jimmy Buffet story "Jolly Mon" which was a tale that used "Orion" the constellation and merged it with the Greek folklore story of "Arion".  So, because of that and because I hated to remove perfectly good custom name lettering, I let it be.

My last two boats were named "Cygnus" and "Faux Pas".  My BIL and I also had a rather bedraggled craft that was affectionately referred to as "Sea Slut", however we never got around to actually putting that name on the boat.

[NCboater]

Excellent stories. Just what I was hoping to see on this thread.

[TedStrat]

While we are on the Greek inspiration :
Helios - Titan and greek god of the sun who rode his chariot (the sun) across the oceans around the world each day. Hoping it will bring us luck of warmth and sunny days! Someday I hope to have a nice spinnaker with a giant  gold sun with his crown flying high.

[Mas]

We inherited our boats name and decided she might get confused if we remained her after adoption. "No Mas"  her name has not proved to have worked for any of the previous owners as all have gotten mas boats! We'll just have to see.

She wears her name on her stern.

[Gerry]

I name my boats after my grandchildren...WyattC is my only male grandchild.  I am still waiting to name a boat the MiraShanti.

Gerry

[Jon898]

All have been named by me after birds: 

Grebe was a West Wight Scow on the Thames in England,
Kittiwake was a Newport 28 on the Chesapeake,
Kittiwake II was a Precision 28 on the Chesapeake and the current one is
Dabchick a Picnic Cat, which seemed appropriate for a small chubby boat on Lakes Nockamixon (PA), Geist (IN) and Jordan (NC).

Jon

[Tim Gardner]

Andiamo! is Italian for let's Go! For me, as I have very little patience waiting on the Admiral, who tends to Lollygag about, I'm always saying "S'go, s'go!"

So my boat is bi-lingual as S'go is hard to say understandably over a marine radio

[BobK]

"Heidi Liz" is named after my daughter.  It is my third ComPac with the same name.  Much easier this way to remember my boat's name.
BobK

[tmw]

She wears her name on her stern.

Right or wrong, this totally made me think of lower back tattoos. My girl hasn't been inked, so I change her name at will. 

The previous owner called her Topo Gigio after the cartoon mouse, although that didn't resonate with me, likely because it was before my time (and her time too).  At first I was leaning towards Renegade, but that's more my personality than hers.  My current leaning is Cassiopeia, with her unrivaled beauty and since it's easy to identify the constellation year round.

[HeaveToo]

I have had several boats.  My last three bigger boats were named Bad Obsession, Spirit of Liberty, and Saga.  Saga is my current boat.

I felt like Saga was a great name for my boat.  It is the current boat in the Saga of my sailing adventures.  Also, I have some Norse ancestry so that is fitting as well.   

[alsantini]

I have only named 3 of my 7 boats.  A Precision 18 was named "Clewless".  I thought this was a neat name until I had engine problems on a windless evening and needed a tow.  I could picture someone at the other end of the VHF hearing Clewless but thinking Clueless.  At that moment I dropped the name.  Next boat, a Precision 21 was named "Off the Wind".  One of my kids had given me a beautiful picture of a sailboat about my size with its stern to the wind and an asymmetrical up.  The pic was titled Off the Wind.  When I bought my Com Pac Eclipse, it had not been named so I moved Off the Wind over.  This made my wife extremely happy since she had embroidered several shirts with the name on, and there would be no need to change the name.  Sail on.  Al

[crazycarl]

my first boat, a bristol caravel 22', was named parley because the mrs and i had to come to an agreement on purchasing her.

my second boat (i still have) is a hullmaster 15'.  her name is long summer daze which i borrowed from my favorite band, the moody blues because i spend a lot of long, hot, hazy days sailing small waters with her.

my third boat, a starwind 19, was named sur la mer.  another moody blues title that is french for "on the sea", since this boat was purchased to take me on my first salterwater voyage.

my forth boat, a starwind 22, i didn't have long enough to name.

our current boat, a compac 19/II, is named miss adventure because at 31 years young, she's still a lass and excels at getting herself and crew into adventures, or sometimes, misadventures.

c.c.

[HenryC]

My San Francisco Pelican was named Nausikaa, after the pretty girl who rescues Odysseus when he's shipwrecked.  One day, while towing her to the boat ramp in Tarpon Springs, I noticed a car followed me all the way there.  There was a little old lady inside who only spoke Greek, and she had made her daughter (who was driving, and spoke good English)) follow me so she could tell me personally she knew what the boat's name meant, and to thank me for having chosen it.

My MacGregor 22 was named Magus after the totally breathtaking and completely baffling novel by John Fowles.  It means "magician".  Since then, I've become more practical, and have come to realize that a boat name should be chosen that is easy to understand, especially over a radio.

Here are some other names I've always wanted to paint on a boat, but like most sailors, I ran out of boats long before I ran out of names.  Feel free to take one, if it strikes your fancy.

Fortran
Real Time
Cheap Thrills
Resonance
Tampa Girl
Thursday's Child
Swing Time
Spirit (after my favorite rock band!)