Wednesday 11 May 2011

Naming A Boat Before It's Built

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here but to be fair I'm stuck in the house with a severed finger.

Even though the boat I'm building is not my design and is officially a 'Guillemot Petrel' I like the idea of giving it a name.  Just like someone may call their Ford Fiesta Betty or the like if you get my drift.  I will probably have the Petrel logo near the cockpit. 

My first idea came from a group of novels I'm reading about the peloponnesian war where a roman trireme was called the Aquila (Latin for Eagle).  The ship was often describe being like a sea eagle hovering over the waters with little effort searching for its prey.  I then thought about the possibility of something more patriotic like a dragon but I find unless its the usual welsh dragon pose it just looks a bit oriental.  Still on the theme of birds of prey I thought about the Red Kite.  It is somewhat thought of as a Welsh icon, quite like the Golden Eagle or Osprey for Scotland, even though it can now be found in other place around the UK.  Anyway I did a couple of sketches, scanned them on to the computer and ended up with this...Let us know what you think.  As for the boat itself I quite like the stained red cedar as shown here with the white maple detail.  I'm thinking of possibly leaving it natural or just staining the hull/deck..plenty of time to decide anyway.  In-case you were wondering Barcud Coch is welsh for Red Kite, any welsh speakers please correct me if I'm wrong.
The Red Kite was pushed almost to extinction by Vermin Acts during the 16th 17th and 18th century.  By the late 18th century the Red Kite breed for the last time in England and Scotland.  Only a few pairs could be found in rural Mid Wales.  Thanks to dedicated individuals and organisations Red Kite numbers have gradually increased.  In 2008 there was estimated to be 750-900 breeding pairs in Wales and much smaller amounts in England and Scotland. 

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