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From: Peter Osman <rebyl_kayak_at_iprimus.com.au>
subject: [Paddlewise] Naming your boat
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 22:50:49 +1100
Elias Ross wrote
>Who here has named their kayak?
>I know it is a tradition for large ships to be named, but I know that
>some owners of dingies name their craft.  I haven't heard about or seen
>a named kayak,

G'Day,

>From time to time there is a discussion on Paddlewise about boat names. And
some poetical ones too. If you look at the Who's Who list on the Paddlewise
web page you can see some of them.

I like to think there are advantages to naming a kayak - for insurance, for
radio licensing (required in some countries), and after members of your
family who may get a buzz out of having a boat named after them. My Klepper
foldable is named Rebyl after my wife Beryl, My Pittarak hardshell is Minoa
after my daughter Naomi and shows copies of the dolphin paintings the
Minoans used to decorate their temples. Both boats are strong, fun and
reliable. Occasionally, when the going gets tough the names remind me of my
family.

But Hiawatha didn't name his canoe!

All the best, PeterO


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From: <FoldingBoats_at_aol.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Naming your boat
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 15:07:45 EST
Elias Ross: ... I know it is a tradition for large ships to be named, but I know that some owners of dingies name their craft.  I haven't heard about or seen a named kayak, but I know there are people who are especially fond of their own boat. ...

Ralph Hoehn: It used to be common practice for all owners of (folding!) kayaks to name their boats, a tradition that goes back to the earliest days of the sport of (folder) paddling and beyond that -- Rob Roy to wit!

Best regards,
Ralph C. Hoehn
Ralph_at_PouchBoats.com
www.PouchBoats.com
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From: Jochen Grikschat <grikschat_at_surfeu.de>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Naming your boat
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 01:03:40 +0100
Uuuh Ha! Next challenge:

> Who here has named their kayak?
In germany most kayaks got a name.
Tradition and the authorities like it....

Okay, I lift the shadow:

Very first kayak was a Prijon Taifun, named "SChlappohr", was one of the
nick names of our first boxer lady (Dog).

My first Seakayak was a Q&K Puffin, named Finn, Finn was the name of
newfoundland dog (hugh and stolid dog race) who hit my heart. Dogs are a
central and sentimental part of my life....

Next was a P&H Sirius °hf. I focused all my dreams and hopes on that boat
and found an old excerpt in best of readers digest "Nunaga - 10 years among
the eskimos, from Duncan Pryde". Nunaga, old Inuit word, means "my home -
my country". A name becomes a program....

Next kayak was the TM Umiak, 2nd hand shot. 16 years old, now grown up
(>21). Named oern - scandinavian word for eagle. Okay, that name isn´t
ideal. But you have feel that boat, then you understand.

Next new boat was the KS-OY Artisan, who replaces the Puffin. I wont
another cargo kayak and was swinging 
between Nordkapp. Artisan and Vivianne, but I wont to fit it like a
swimming house. At that time a behave like a lonesome wolf, so a named it
"Canis Lupus", latein (zoological) name for the wolf one of the most
fascinating animals I know. In my opinion Artisan is an independent kayak
with staying power. Elegant, peaceful, ....

My Polo Kayak, a P&H Revenge Nitro in PrePreg Carbon need no name. Nitro -
thats it!

Oern met in Norway the pure luxury, the P&H Spitzbergen (original designed
by Eian Fritid, special shaped for Roy willys needs...). I wa lucky, last
year I found a way to finance this pure luxury. Strange and almost as
dificult to paddle as the Umiak. so I named it "No Panic". You know the
hitch hikers guide to the galaxy from Douglas Adams?
No Panic is really pure fun, and speed and I wont a name the other paddlers
calm down when I overtake them. No Panic .... just buy it!

Then money reaches the end and I´m planning a long distance crossing. Need
an Valley Aleut Sea II for it, but new? Horrible expensive, no sponsors, no
chance to borrow it. then in Sept 2000 an Aleut for 2nd hand. I have a look
and ... fantastic, ideal version and much much equipment. Fair orice, but
quite a lot of money. I resell my Nitro, no problem because fun has gone in
canoe polo. Hope I could renew it someday...
Okay, I buy the Aleut and shortly after that I hear Roy Willy is dead.
Shock! Hard shock! Impressive paddler, one of the best I ever met! And I
think about his amazing tour Vinland 2000. Vinland, expression of all
dreams and hopes for the vikings 1000 years ago! A kind of El Dorado,
Paradise ... where dreams become truth. Vinland, yes thats it. I named the
Aleut "Vinland", also as a honor to Roy Willy and to the first discoverer
of America 1000 years ago. 500 years before Columbus! I hope, I´m deaming I
reach my personal Vinland on my crossing and also for my own life! I´ve to
hurry up now. 29 years and nothing but kayaks in the garden.... 

Kayaks have opened a new horizon to me, the Kayaks names are part of this
horizon. The names are a kind of key for this horizon.

think about 
best regards from kayak-name-country Germany

Jochen Grikschat
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From: Erik Davidowicz <davidowicz_at_parrishart.org>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Naming your boat
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 17:07:26 -0500
I immediately named my boat, without even thinking. I assumed everyone did. 
 From my reading, the Aleut's believed their kayaks were separate entities, 
though closely related to the owner.  But I have not yet run across another 
kayak with a name on it.



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From: perry chamberlain <kato_at_qnet.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Naming your boat
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 07:31:58 -0800
Since none of us are inuit, the" no naming the kayak" thingy sounds kind of
pathetic and weenie like.
Kind of like the guy I met a few years ago on a Production job, that insisted
on talking with an Aussie accent even though he wasn't. He thought women would
find him interesting,  .............. NOT.
This was during the crocodile dundee era, when Dundee  was in vogue.
Trying to follow first nation customs because of some kind of fuzzy warm
spiritual thingamabob seems kind of silly, and sort of embarrassing.
Do what you think is right, and it will be right for you.
I have always enjoyed reading names on canoes and kayaks, many were very
interesting and amusing.
I think you made the right decision.

my 2 cents worth.



Erik Davidowicz wrote:

> I immediately named my boat, without even
> thinking...................................

--
Perry Chamberlain
Kato_at_qnet.com
Liv'n on de Edge n de Desert
Everyone has someone in their family who is crazy,
if you don't know who it is, its you!


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From: Whyte, David <david.whyte_at_amsa.gov.au>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Naming your boat
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 11:19:30 +1100
I have named mine with the name on the front of the bow - Even lauched
it with a bottle of Champagne. Since reading about how the Inuits
consider them an extension of oneself I will probably not name another
boat (if I every get one)

David

-----Original Message-----
From: Erik Davidowicz [mailto:davidowicz_at_parrishart.org]
Sent: Tuesday, 20 March 2001 9:07 AM
To: 'John Fereira'; PaddleWise_at_paddlewise.net
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Naming your boat


I immediately named my boat, without even thinking. I assumed everyone
did. 
 From my reading, the Aleut's believed their kayaks were separate
entities, 
though closely related to the owner.  But I have not yet run across
another 
kayak with a name on it.



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***
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From: Joshua Teitelbaum <teitelba_at_post.tau.ac.il>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Naming your boat
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 11:30:00 +0200
There was no question that we were going to name our Romanys.  This is kind 
of personal but here goes.

My boat is going to be named "ve-ilu finu."  This is the first part of a 
Hebrew phrase from our Sabbath morning prayers, which states "ve-ilu finu 
maleh shirah kayam, uleshoneynu rina ke-hamon galav."

Loosely translated, this means,
         "Would that our mouths were as filled with song as is the sea, and 
our tongues [carried words] as joyful as the waves."

My wife has chosen to name her  boat "Sea Otter,"  for two reasons.  First, 
she likes the way they play in water, and that is how the kayak feels on a 
good day.  Secondly, they happily devour crabs.  My wife is a breast cancer 
survivor, and of course the zodiac sign for Cancer is -- crab.

Josh


==============================================================================
Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum, Research Fellow               Tel: [972] 3-640-6448
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and        Fax: [972] 3-641-5802
   African Studies
Tel Aviv University
Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978  Israel
E-mail:teitelba_at_post.tau.ac.il
www.dayan.org
==============================================================================
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From: Wes Boyd <boydwe_at_dmci.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Naming your boat
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 08:02:44
At 10:50 PM 3/20/01 +1100, Peter Osman wrote:
>
>I like to think there are advantages to naming a kayak - for insurance, for
>radio licensing (required in some countries), and after members of your
>family who may get a buzz out of having a boat named after them. My Klepper

I don't name my vehicles and kayaks, but sometimes they name themselves.
For instance, my last kayaking van, with over 200,000 miles, was named
"Smoky Joe" for obvious reasons. It had replaced another old junker, "The
Old Gray Mare."

I have a kayak I've called "Firecracker" because it's bright red and was
bought on the fourth of July weekend, but somehow the name has never really
stuck. Maybe it needs a few more years and more character.

-- Wes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Kayaks for Big Guys (And Gals) | Trip Reports | Places To Go | Boats & Gear
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From: Dan Harrison <DHARRISN_at_hfcc.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Naming your boat
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 19:36:27 -0500
I agree with Josh's wife.  My take on the Native American thing was a little different from the traditional Inuit.  I WANT my boat to have the personality of its namesake (unlike my ungraceful self).  So I named it "Niguik," which is Algonquin for "otter."  The name is inscribed on a piece of birchbark that is laminated to the hull.  Since then, I have been able to paddle it among the river otters that play at dawn on Potagannissing Bay, off Drummond Island in northern Lake Huron-- that's Algonquin country.  Coincidence?
It also gives me something to call myself when hailing on the VHF, as was elsewhere observed.
Dan Harrison

>Joshua Teitelbaum wrote: 
>[snip]
>My wife has chosen to name her  boat "Sea Otter,"  for two reasons.  First, 
>she likes the way they play in water, and that is how the kayak feels on a 
>good day.  
>[snip]





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From: weebee <weebee_at_qsilver.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Naming your boat
Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 21:20:47 -0500
>
>Elias Ross wrote:
>
>   Who here has named their kayak?

Oh i have enjoyed reading the *naming of the kayak-or not* posts! 
Those of you who have named your boats have done so most eloquently! 
I must out myself and my kayaking buddy, to say that we have named 
our kayaks, but not with great "depth of thought!". I only got my 
yellow dimension *thug* kayak this past summer, and it was a second 
hand boat...caused me all kinds of problems, but in hindsight I have 
learned a great deal from those problems, so I will learn more from 
this yellow sea kayak.....anyway, I began referring to this boat as 
the big banana, and it has stuck...massively.  everyone who knows of 
my passion with this boat calls it the "banana".  Once my boat got 
it's *original* moniker, my buddie's red kayak started yearning for a 
name and the "red chili pepper" was born and lives on.  Banana and 
chili pepper loooove to be side by side in all kinds of water even if 
our names aren't all that creative!
weebee
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