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Seeing as you’re visiting our website, our guess is that there’s a good chance that you have, or are planning on buying, your own boat. If this is the case you may be struggling to decide on, or considering various different names for your new vessel. That’s why we have come up with this handy little guide on what you should consider when choosing your boats name.

The laws concerning naming your boat

There are currently no laws in the UK restrict you from choosing a boat name that is already in use, and you can choose a name that is as long or as short as you like. You should register your boat, but that’s more about the taxes and registration numbers, rather than the boat name itself. Whilst your boat remains in UK territorial waters there is currently no compulsory requirement for her to be registered, but once it leaves UK territorial waters it will need to be registered

Don’t tempt fate!

As we put safety first here at Adec our first piece of advice is not to tempt fate! We’re not fans of names like “On the Rocks”, “Bottoms Up” or “Titanic” - for obvious reasons! Being at sea already has its risks – we don’t think you need to tempt the sea Gods further.

Inspirations

Good inspirations for your boat name can come from all over the place. We have been seeing more and more names inspired by poems or books – a great inspiration as they are often unusual and interesting. A lot of people use foreign translations of words, particularly Hawaiian and French words, which can have a nice nautical sound to them. ‘Punny’ boat names are very common, but if you can think of an original pun we say go for it! The main thing you need to remember is that your boat name should reflect something about you or that is important to you.

Be original

It’s courteous to avoid names already used in your harbour or marina area when choosing your name. There are no rules or laws about re-using boat names, but having the same name as the boat next or near to you can be awkward and at time impractical.

Keep it short

Here at Adec, we think the shorter the name, the better. Of course it’s up to you, but more often than not this is the sensible option in emergencies. Should you ever need to call for assistance, every second can count, so a smaller name is better!

Suitability

Our advice is to keep your name family friendly. A humorous name is great, but you should make sure that it is child friendly. You should think about whether your family or friends would be offended by it. It may seem hilarious at the time but you should remember that jokes can get old quickly!

Safety

Back to safety! We recommend repeating your chosen name over a VHF radio, as if in a call to the Coast Guard for example, and assess how it sounds. You need to make sure your chosen name is easy to say and hear in case of an emergency.

These are our top tips for boat naming. If you have just purchased a new boat and you want to make sure it’s fully safe and prepared for the water then please give us a call! Here at Adec Marine we specialise in keeping you safe on the sea. We have expert staff with a vast knowledge of marine safety and equipment, ready and waiting to help you make the right choice when it comes to keeping safe on or in the water.

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