Looked into this years back when I 'rescued' and old 20ft gaffer from the mud and put her back into commission. She had not name but just opt make sure the gods of the sea didn't get to miffed at loosing a vessel I carved a small unmanned one and sent it out on the falling tide and then launched and renamed my own yacht the following tide. 7 years, never an issue. Possibly it worked or I was just lucky 😉

Niels Bohr was smart man.

I believe the harder I work, the luckier I get.

Greetings to all naval modelers.

As I wrote in my previous message, even the most skeptical can secretly be a little superstitious.

In this regard, an anecdote about the great Danish physicist Niels Bohr is nice and entertaining:

On the front door of his country house in Tisvilde he had attached a horseshoe, the proverbial good luck charm, to a nail. Seeing him, his students exclaimed: "Does a great scientist like you really believe that a horseshoe on your doorstep brings good luck?" "No," Bohr replied, "Of course I don't believe in these superstitions. But you know," he added with a smile, "they say you bring luck even to those who don't believe in it!"

Hi Len, how are you?

It appears to me that for pleasure boats, i.e. boats longer than 10 metres, there is an obligation to register: the name of the boat is mandatory at an international level and is used for its identification.

Logically for warships the name is there but it is not printed.

But I'll do more research, I don't want to be wrong.

Does a ship/boat have to have a name? Are the registration numbers enough to be used as a call sign for hailing the vessel?
Len

It’s a superstition largely ignored. I was reading a thread about it the other day. Apparently it’s ok to rename a boat but if it’s a ship then all trace of the old name should be removed. Having said that I’ve seen lots of ships with the previous name in welded letters painted over with the hull colour and the new name in white over the top.

Hi Rogal, it's an original question that goes beyond normal modeling questions but is very interesting.

I'll tell you my opinion on the matter: There are two cases: you can be superstitious or not.


If you are not superstitious the problem does not arise at all.
Even if all the stories were negative, if all the omens were ominous, a non-superstitious person doesn't care, because he doesn't believe it, and changes the name of the ship as and when he wants.


Let's move on to the case of a superstitious person.

In this case we look at the case history. Apart from the truly unfortunate and disastrous case of the Mary Celeste (Canadian brig launched in 1861 with the name of Amazon), or like the Norman Atlantic of 2009 which changed three names, name changes cannot be linked (statistically) to misfortunes.
In Italian and world maritime history are many name changes: the Italian warships passed to the victorious countries after the Second World War, the second Italian training ship Palinuro, the Calypso, the golden Hind, the first two Chinese aircraft carriers of the former Soviet Union, USS Phoenix, all warships sold (used) to other navies and hundreds more cases.
Yet the vast majority have had no adverse events (any more than ships that have never changed names).

So Rogal, whether you are superstitious or not, you can change the name of your Ketch.
Naval history and statistics do not give clearly unfavorable results.
Choose the one you like most.

P.S.
It is difficult for there to be absolutely no superstitious people. Small ritual gestures are common even to the most sceptical. In this regard, I want to tell you a nice and interesting anecdote.

I'll drink to that!
Roy

Several years ago a gentleman who lived on Salt Spring Island provided DIY Boating ⛵magazine with the naming protocal as follows;
Remove the original name with prepared speech de naming the vessel and then rename but do NOT mention the old name with a toast or two and some witness " As the owner of this vessel I call upon the Sea God Neptune, God of the Wind Aeolus, Godes of the Tides,the Storms and Precipitation to listen while I thank them for their protection over the last...... years and do strike from their records the Name .........." "I now ask for their indulgence in extending their goodwill and protection to the vessel in her new name , I offer this libation to make the ceremony official and complete." I now put forth a new name for this vessel which we trust will serve her well and ask Neptune and all the Gods of the sea to grant their protection under the name ............. I now offer a libation in thanks and recognition to this protection.

Must have the drinks!!!!

AustinG⛵

I have thought about this and I think I would find a female member of your family who might like to have her name on your yacht. You might even have a new launching ceremony. I would think it would appeal to a younger 'lady' especially.

Good luck with your choice.
Roy