Naming a boat is as personal as naming a baby (even if few male skippers would risk telling the wife that). The culmination of many years of dreaming and penny-pinching, the purchase of a boat of any size is a significant event for any sailor, and with that comes serious naming pressure. Many boatowners have a secret fear that someone else got their brilliantly original name first or ruined it forever by reducing its reputation to snigger-worthy opprobrium. Sometimes its so difficult to name a boat that skippers are desperate enough to ask the sorts of people who think Boaty McBoatface would be a good choice…

The perfect gift for any skipper or would-be skipper, and featuring hundreds of common and uncommon names, this entertaining little book will answer perhaps the most important question new owners should ask themselves: what will this name say about me? And as everyone knows, once youve named a boat, you never ever change it, so it also answers the question: what is my boat name saying about me?

Names will be categorised and listed alphabetically within these chapters:

• Pun Intended (some reveal a classic wit, others reveal just how many desperate unfunny dullards there are sailing around in yachts called Seas the Day)
• Common as Muck (bad names Moondancer, Wave Catcher and others that sound like names from a bad childrens novel: where they come from, why theyre bad, and how to avoid inventing another)
• A Bit of Pedigree (good names but probably too classy for you to get away with copying them)
• Dont Even Go There (they might be uncommon these days, but sometimes theres a good reason for that)
• Word Piracy (expressions borrowed from other languages – with varying degrees of wisdom)
• Myths, Legends and Gods (inspired by heroes and deities of cultures now lost to the past)
• The Devils Own (dont tempt fate by calling your boat Invincible, as the Royal Navy did each time the last one sank/exploded plus other superstition-violating names)

With fascinating history, a fair bit of psychology and a lot of humour, this is the essential guide for all would-be boat owners, and anyone buying a gift for Dad for Fathers Day or Christmas.