“A few minutes in any fishing harbour will confirm that the great majority of the boats bear names.” wrote Trevor Kenchington in his research paper titled The Names of Nova Scotian Fishing Boats. “Conversation with their owners will reveal … that they take a great deal of pride in their boats; pride reflected in the paintwork, extra investments beyond the economic optimum, and the names painted on bow or stern.”
For instance, when I looked more closely, I discovered most of the boats pictured below in Bonavista Harbour, Newfoundland did indeed have names.
Kenchington analyzed data collected during a 1990-1991 survey of hook-and-line fishermen in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. He examined the names “for evidence of the role of his boat in a fisherman’s life”. Following the methodology used by Bjarne Rogan in a 1992 study of the names of Norwegian yachts, Kenchington grouped 363 boat names into 11 categories including Personal, Initials, Other Humans, Marine Names, Pride and Affection Names, Quality Names, Geographic Names, Animal Names, Company Names, Humorous Names, and Other Names.
He concluded “the great majority of boats had personal (human) names”. The Allan Laurie spotted at the wharf in North Rustico, Prince Edward Island (PEI) is a case in point.
The three fishing boats shown below―Tall Tales I, Keeping Time and Slack Tide―were spotted at the fishing harbor in Caribou, Nova Scotia. If I understand Kenchington’s logic correctly, Tall Tales I and Keeping Time would be categorized as Humorous Names. Slack Tide, with its reference to tides, would likely be categorized as a Marine Name.
Another fishing boat spotted in North Rustico, Reel Upgrade, with its clever play on words would likely be categorized as a Humorous Name. While the Lexi D. I would be categorized as Personal.
Kenchington’s study focused on fishing boats but I suspect the same methodology could be applied to pleasure boats. In the charming town of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, for instance, I noticed a variety of boats with names.
Bay Lady, the sleek sailboat shown below, would be difficult to categorize without some context. The inclusion of “Bay” might suggest a Geographic Name or the use of “Lady” might suggest a Pride and Affection Name. Yet another possibility is that Bay Lady is a play on the expression “Bag Lady” and meant to be humorous.
The Knot Today, shown below, would likely be categorized as a Humorous Name for its pun on the word knot.
Recently my husband and I had the opportunity to visit the small fishing harbor in Howard’s Cove, Prince Edward Island. It was the end of the lobster season and all lobster traps had to be removed from the water as regulated by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The harbor was abuzz with activity as people worked diligently to meet the deadline.
Some of the boat names we spotted in Howard’s Cove were Strait Fisher, Cameron & Haley I, Reel Screamer I and Over My Head.
A visit to the wharf at Covehead Harbour, PEI on the following day was much quieter.
Only a few boats were docked including Justanother Payment II, Tumbling Dice and Viciou$ Cycle. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to guess how these boat names relate to “the role of his boat in a fisherman’s life”!
More Info
The following research paper was consulted in the writing of this blog post:
. The Names of Nova Scotian Fishing Boats by Trevor Kenchington published in the Canadian Nautical Research Society’s journal, The Northern Mariner in 1995.
Today’s Takeaways
1. “A few minutes in any fishing harbour will confirm that the great majority of the boats bear names.” Trevor Kenchington
2. “The great majority of boats had personal (human) names.” Trevor Kenchington
3. Next time you’re in a fishing harbor, look closely to observe the boat names.
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