Name Game

What’s in a name?

When it comes to selecting the perfect moniker for your classic wooden boat, the answer is “plenty.”

Winners have been selected in Hagerty Classic Boat Insurance’s “What’s In A Name?” contest, though the job wasn’t easy for the panel of judges. They began with more than 150 entries and narrowed the field to 30 before finally determining the top three winners.

“It was extremely difficult for us to choose the top 30 and even tougher to select the final three,” said Carla Gernhofer, vice president of Hagerty Marine. “We were overwhelmed not only by the great response but by the high quality. They were witty, humorous, heartwarming, interesting, ironic and very well-written.”

As the entries began to pour in, an obvious trend emerged. While descriptions of newer fiberglass boats often center on recreation and speed, wooden boats elicit talk of family history. And for those boats that have had more than one owner, or that have undergone restoration, the history unfolds in layers—sometimes with amazing coincidences.

“A lot of blood, sweat and tears go into refurbishing and maintaining classic wooden boats,” Gernhofer said. “It’s no wonder that so much thought goes into naming them.”

Hagerty’s panel of judges selected Covert and Beth Murphy’s Murhpy’s Law as the overall winner, followed by Lee Henderson’s TNT and Scott and Beth Alexander’s Boomerang. The Murphys win a custom painting of their transom, while Henderson will receive foul weather gear worth $500 and the Alexanders will recieve a $300 gift certificate from West Marine.

Covert and Beth Murphy
Murhpy’s Law

Many years ago my husband’s brother, Dix Murphy, bought a used 1964 Chris-Craft named Darbo and renamed the boat Murphy’s Law, but why he tempted fate, no one knows. Combine the notorious law with a bit of nautical lore that says it is not wise to change the name of a boat, and you have a recipe for trouble. Sure enough, one summer the renamed boat sank in Donner Lake.

Fortunately, Murphy’s Law was saved and still wends its way around Lake Tahoe.

Dix died in 1994 and my husband inherited the boat. In the spring of 2000, he did a lot of work on it and decided that it was time to redo the lettering of Murphy’s Law on the stern. By then, the infamous name had become loved by the family. The two of us selected bright white classic lettering and had it professionally done at a local sign shop. When the proofs were ready, we approved the letters and together we applied them, making sure they were perfect. We were so pleased with the effect, we admired how wonderful the boat looked, all spiffed up, and we took several pictures.

In June, we launched the boat on Lake Tahoe and enjoyed cruising around. Two months later, in August, my husband’s mother, Midge, died. On the day of her funeral, I showed some recent photos to our son, who had come home to be with the family. As we looked at pictures of the boat, I noticed that the name on the stern was misspelled as Murhpy’s Law! How we missed it all that time is a mystery, and it’s such a good cosmic joke that we have left it that way. Quite frankly, I think that once Midge got to Heaven, she and Dix plotted the whole thing!

Lee Henderson
TNT

July of 1996 marked a major turning point in the life of my 1957 Chris-Craft Sportsman, its new owner and assorted friends. Starting with a hull filled with the sediment of time, a makeshift trailer and an engine that had been relegated to orange crates and peach baskets, the no-name boat began a restoration process that would span six-and-a-half years.

The realities and necessities of life slowly set in, however, and weeks went by without any significant progress. Then the idea to set aside one night per week as “boat night” was put into place, and a loyal group of neighbors and friends began spending their Tuesday evenings together working on the boat. While some came and participated only once, others came week after week. A small group has successfully passed through their “mid-life crisis,” including battles with health issues and business upheavals while participating in this weekly event. Thus, the name: TNT—Tuesday Night Therapy.

The restoration work was all done with amateur hands with the exception of the Hercules 131-hp dual carburetor, the flathead six-cylinder engine and the upholstery. The wood in the front deck is original, as is the wood in the hull, with the only exception being a plank in the transom and the rear deck.

The real beauty here is not in the color or the finish of the wood or the flowing lines of the design. It is in the hearts of a small group of formerly middle-aged men and very special, very patient and understanding women who are gracefully passing into the final stage of life working together and sharing a special experience one night per week.

Scott and Sue Alexander
Boomerang

I grew up with boats, and naming them was something that just fell into place as we spent time together. This was not the case with my 1960 Chris-Craft Capri. I bought her from a warehouse on Lake Minnetonka (Minnesota). She’d come from Lake Vermilion, sunk at the bottom in an old boathouse. Despite the fact that she looked rough and needed some attention—OK, a lot of attention—I proudly towed her home.
After restoration she was beautiful, although oddly enough, never really had a name. My wife, Sue, and I had pondered a couple of names over the years, but nothing had ever stuck. One year we took her to an antique boat show on Lake Vermilion. I brought pre-restoration photos to show the locals, hoping to get some history.

One man said, “That was Max Putnam’s boat. He lived behind that island,” as he pointed way off into the distance. Not having time that day to investigate any further, I left the boat show feeling that I had at least made a connection. Years later, we purchased a place on Lake Vermilion.

I walked over to meet our next-door neighbor; he asked me if I had a boat. I told him yes and asked if he knew of a man named Max Putnam? “Yes,” he said, “he lived right there.” As he pointed to the place on the other side of his property, I realized that my Woody had come from only two doors down from our new cabin!

Now, considering that Minnesota has 10,000 lakes and Lake Vermilion has over 1,200 miles of shoreline, I could only wonder, what are the odds of that? Hence, Boomerang was born. She had been thrown out, only to come back, and once again she was home.

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