Same boat, same name, so what is the problem?

There is a great deal of tradition around owning a boat. There are obscure terms for parts of the boat that we use every day such as gunwhale, tiller, cratch. There are arguments between boaters about whether we should call the sides of the boat port, starboard, sterm, prow or left, right, back, pointy bit. Often posts on narrowboat social media groups start with “I have been boating for 40 years and…”. One of the most contentious traditions is what you should do when you rename a boat.

This tradition goes back hundreds of years to the days of ocean going ships driven by sail. These were dangerous times and many a superstition was followed to protect the boat from storms, becalming or sinking. One of these was that if you renamed a boat without permission from the sea Gods, you would have many years of bad luck.

There are two ways of avoiding this bad luck. One is to rename the boat while it is out of the water. Many narrowboaters do this at the same time as they are having maintenance such as blacking the bottom of the boat. The alternative is to ask permission from Poseidon (Greek God of Seas and Storms).

And so, when we bought our narrowboat five years ago, we destroyed all traces of the old name (“Boblin” after its owners Bob and Lynne). We then engraved the old name onto a piece of metal and threw it into the waters to discard the name. Finally we walked around the boat pouring Prosecco onto the sides as I chanted a request to Poseidon to grant us our new name “Thuis”.

All this ceremony must have worked because we have had good luck with the boat and five very happy years travelling on it.

This winter we have had the roof and front repainted and as part of that the names were removed from the front panels on the boat. This week I have been back, setting up for the season and putting new name panels on the front of the boat. I decided that no ceremony was necessary because the boat name is not changing, and there are a number of documents on board which show it is called “Thuis”

But just in case…

Oh mighty and great ruler of the seas and oceans, to whom all ships and we who venture upon your vast domain are required to pay homage, I implore you in your graciousness to take unto your records and recollection this worthy vessel hereafter and for all time known as Thuis, guarding her with your mighty arm and trident and ensuring her of safe and rapid passage throughout her journeys within your realm.

That should work!