Your Boat's Gender

[rlb2252]

What gender is your boat? Are you a traditionalist?bowing to the American traditional of referring to sea vessels as female? Or are you more daring, boldly referring to your boat as a ?he??

I understand that in some countries boats are traditionally considered male. Makes sense to me. It?s hard to think of a big, brawny, smelly fishing boat as female.

Maybe you don?t think of your boat as either. Maybe you think of yours as gender neutral, a mere ?it?.

But when the boat won?t start and you?re begging, pleading with it to turn over do you say: ?Come on, girl? or ?Come on, boy??

Or when you?re pissed off because an unexpected boat repair is going to cost an arm and a leg, do you call the boat a stupid b_tch or a stupid b_stard?

I know all of this may sound like the frivolous musings of someone with too much time on their hands. Maybe it is. But what do you think?

 

[freelancer]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

I've always considered my boat to be a gal, with a unisex head of course.

 

[_chris_]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

Always a female.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

I know all of this may sound like the frivolous musings of someone with too much time on their hands. Maybe it is. But what do you think?

YEP!

She is definitely a female ... tempermental, moody, but great lines, a real beauty, when you push the right buttons she will flat out run, just a great companion that I would never want to be without. Yep, definitely a female.

 

[lprizman]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

mine,,an elder lady
named after both my grams first names,,one was still alive and there when I named her @88yrs young

 

[Bilgamesh]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

Obviously a male; can't you see that thingy hanging down there?

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

Oh she is definitley the other WOMAN!
Could never imagine calling any vechicle/vessel a male name..

Oh he's a beauty...wow, I fell in love with his clean lines, how he gracefully skims across the water, He's a little bottom heavy..HEEELLLLLLNOOOOOOO!!!

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

Now that's funny Kevin!


It's an it.

 

[Chiliando]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

Definitley all female.

Just ask the wife!

 

[QC]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

I always refer to her as my Mistress . . .

 

[Bilgamesh]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

I guess everybody has a right to choose their gender these days, but IMHO, all the symbology of boats definitely points toward masculine.

However, I will concede the convention is clearly feminine. I found this post written by David G. Brown on encyclopedia-titanica:

To sailors (of any gender) ships are feminine. This is the long-standing tradition and I suspect it will continue afloat for centuries to come. However, the concept of "feminine" should be visualised in a linguistic sense (like "masculine," "feminine" and "neuter" words in romance languages) and not as having to do with reproductive sexual organs which ships quite obviously lack.

Sailors away from home for extended periods of time tend to exhibit a warm attachment for the ships they serve. And, as any sailor knows, each ship has a distinct and individual personality that can prove frustrating to the crew despite their affection for the vessel. The analogy with married human couples is obvious. Men have never understood women (the reverse is true as well), so it follows that vessels be thought of as "she" by generations of male sailors.

Thus, a ship named for a male person is still feminine by sailor's reference. This situation is quite common here on the Great Lakes where most ships are named for male corporate executives. The men who serve those ships still refer to them as "she."

There was an attempt to use the masculine "he" when referring to "men o' war." These were the great wooden warships like Nelson's Victory. It was never accepted among the sailing fraternity and using "he" for a warship is now an anachronism.

During the age of sail it was common for sailors to say that warships were "she" because, like women, "they're bluff in the bow, round in the counter, and cost a fortune to keep in powder and paint."

There is little doubt that references to ships as "she" by the old time sailors reflected the paucity of women at sea. And, in that sense there is a sexual context to the reference. Today's politically correct publishing industry is trying to correct this alleged sexism by reversing thousands of years of tradition. Some of my publishers require that ship's be referred to in the neuter--as "it" and not as "she."

 

[Texas Parrothead]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

Definitely female!

 

[RoyR]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

Mine has been more like a little biatch lately!

 

[rlb2252]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

I guess everybody has a right to choose their gender these days, but IMHO, all the symbology of boats definitely points toward masculine.


Thus, a ship named for a male person is still feminine by sailor's reference. This situation is quite common here on the Great Lakes where most ships are named for male corporate executives. The men who serve those ships still refer to them as "she."

There was an attempt to use the masculine "he" when referring to "men o' war." These were the great wooden warships like Nelson's Victory. It was never accepted among the sailing fraternity and using "he" for a warship is now an anachronism.

"

Interesting article, Bilgamesh. Informative. Thanks.

I've driven Nissan Maxima's for many years. I call it "The Max" or "Max" for short, a masculine name. But when I need to talk to the car, I'm just as likely to call the car, baby, as in something like: "Come on, baby. You can do it, baby." Something I wouldn't say to a male.

The posts in this thread most definitely lean heavily toward female boats. I've only seen one that went against the tide.

I read another internet excerpt that stated that all boats tend to be "male" in some countries--I believe it was Norway. But gender neutral in countries, like Germany.

 

[BLU LUNCH]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

Mine has been more like a little biatch lately!

Mine with the ethanol problem has been more than a little biaXXX...

 

[JZammetti]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

My boats' named Emily Girl...hmmmm, I'd have to say mine is a girl

 

[WAVENBYE2]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

OK I'll play. Mine is definitly A Female, Her, Girl, She, Etc.. At times she ticks me off just as much as some women and other times she knows what I like. My trucks a Male.

 

[JaSla74]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

I the only possible way I could ever conceive of referring to a sea going vessel as a he would be if some redneck had a pair of truck nuts hanging off the back of it.

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

What gender is your boat? Are you a traditionalist?bowing to the American traditional of referring to sea vessels as female? Or are you more daring, boldly referring to your boat as a ?he??

I understand that in some countries boats are traditionally considered male. Makes sense to me. It?s hard to think of a big, brawny, smelly fishing boat as female.

Maybe you don?t think of your boat as either. Maybe you think of yours as gender neutral, a mere ?it?.

But when the boat won?t start and you?re begging, pleading with it to turn over do you say: ?Come on, girl? or ?Come on, boy??

Or when you?re pissed off because an unexpected boat repair is going to cost an arm and a leg, do you call the boat a stupid b_tch or a stupid b_stard?

I know all of this may sound like the frivolous musings of someone with too much time on their hands. Maybe it is. But what do you think?

YUP- But all my boats are GALS

 

[Cofe]

Re: Your Boat's Gender

Mine's - "A real high maintenance Lady" Purdy to