[Public-List] Public-List Digest, Vol 2195, Issue 4

[wcwinslow at aol.com]

Re: boat names. This is one of my stories in my book Catboat Tales.



I’M NOT COURAGEOUS
 
What’s in a name, some witwrote. In this era of look-alike plastic production boats, a distinctivemoniker is often the only identification that distinguishes one’s vessel fromanother’s.                                 
Catboaters are no exception,but they do have very specific opinions on what to call their boats. Forexample, nobody would name a gaff rigger Courageous,Dauntless, Endeavor or Intrepid.We don’t sail cutting-edge racing yachts. And Bermuda-clad button-down shirtNew Englanders are not into what I call the cutesy-poopsy mode. No Bottoms Up, Daddy’s Girl, My Children’sInheritance on our transoms. 
    On the other hand, we do favor cat-relatednames. There are 136 listings with the word cat in a recent edition of theCatboat Association Year Book . Catnip  leads with nine followed by Bobcat with eight. The Yearbook alsogives us insight into the personalities of skippers: 
Lazy Daze, Loose Cannon, Matchless, Not to Worry and Scalawag cometo mind. Some names invite interaction with each other. Did Mistress have a Pagan Baby? Does Patience ever Ponder? Is Big Al’s Gal a Yankee Girl? How about Florida Girl, is she a Caddywampus? Would Gone with the Wind hook up with SwampYankee?  Hey, Miss Kitty, are you still Messing About? Do three Copy Cats a Cool Cat make? Is Not ToWorry a Solution? Would Dawdle find bliss with Not So Fast? And I really want to knowif Fat Charlie is a Merry Old Soul.
    When I got married in 1983 I wanted to impressmy wife with my love for her. For many new husbands taking out the garbage orgiving up Playboy (except at the barbershop) suffice. I opted to go the extramile. I would name a boat after her, even before I knew I was going to buy orbuild one. A catboat is a perfect vehicle, of course.
 
 
 Cats are, after all, descended from inshore fishing vesselsand it’s an old tradition for fishermen to name their craft after their wives,girl friends or mistresses. But the wife moniker is preferred, because it meansless painting out old names and adding new.
    So, PhoebeAnn Cowdrey she became, and the stern graced the name even before the deckwas in place. Now I’ve never regretted that move, because it makes my littlecatboat distinctive. I can guarantee you there is not another Phoebe Ann Cowdrey anywhere else in theworld. The only disadvantage is that bridge tenders can’t pronounce Phoebe. Italways comes out as Foby.
    In the summer of 2008 I decided to sell mybeloved boat. A fellow from North Carolina came up with a trailer and hauledher away. Now if you have never sold a boat, it is a traumatic experience thatfirst hits home when the vessel disappears over the horizon and she is nolonger yours. 
 
 An aftershock soon follows when you realize that the old nameis going to be painted out for a new one. Even worse, down South, they like words like Magnolia Blossom.
    I have had some e-mail from the buyer. His nameis Leif Eriksson, it really is, and he has been a loyal member of the CatboatAssociation since 1989.  He sent mea picture of my catboat with its new name emblazoned across the stern: WILLIAM C. WINSLOW. 
    “I wanted to honor a fine and gifted boatbuilder,” he said.



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