A superstitious lot for certain. First year we had her replaced mast step and added 1934 silver dollar. Last year we split the top of our main on the way around Hatteras and pulled both for repairs. The Mizzen got a 1934 half dollar. STEADFAST was SIXPENCE for 35 years and so we found that and left that under the Main.
WoodenBoat issue 298 you can read about the mast repair if so inclined!
When we really get down to brass tacks (and by the way, the use of that expression just took me on a rabbit trail in search of its origins!) all ceremonial rituals are an amalgam of their original purpose and whatever else we've layered in over the years. But they are an important part of our heritage in how they serve to memorialize the past. I think Americans have too few of them!
The practice for renaming a vessel is curious, In so many other examples we seem determined to preserve history rather than obliterate it. Sailors are a very superstitious bunch, aren't they (we)?
We kept the name on our boat, but previous owners had changed it before us. I wonder if they followed the rules? Are you allowed to speak of Steadfasts's former name, or have all the reccords been expunged?
Delightful to know you did this, Janice, and that the template came from a government site!
Brass tacks was a hard one to track down, but its most likely origin seemed to relate to the tacks used to secure the final bits of cording on a leather-upholstered chair. But there were a couple of other possibilities: nails in a coffin, measuring points on a sales counter, Cockney slang...
I didn’t want to risk it, so our boat name stayed the same.
Did you unstep your masts? If you did, were there any coins under them? Ours had some. Make sure to follow through on that ceremony, too.
One does not want to monkey with tradition.
A superstitious lot for certain. First year we had her replaced mast step and added 1934 silver dollar. Last year we split the top of our main on the way around Hatteras and pulled both for repairs. The Mizzen got a 1934 half dollar. STEADFAST was SIXPENCE for 35 years and so we found that and left that under the Main.
WoodenBoat issue 298 you can read about the mast repair if so inclined!
I appreciate you, Switter. J
One can never go wrong by nurturing superstition.
When we really get down to brass tacks (and by the way, the use of that expression just took me on a rabbit trail in search of its origins!) all ceremonial rituals are an amalgam of their original purpose and whatever else we've layered in over the years. But they are an important part of our heritage in how they serve to memorialize the past. I think Americans have too few of them!
The practice for renaming a vessel is curious, In so many other examples we seem determined to preserve history rather than obliterate it. Sailors are a very superstitious bunch, aren't they (we)?
We kept the name on our boat, but previous owners had changed it before us. I wonder if they followed the rules? Are you allowed to speak of Steadfasts's former name, or have all the reccords been expunged?
Delightful to know you did this, Janice, and that the template came from a government site!
I love and am intrigued by these old traditions, ceremonies, beliefs. What is the origin of Brass tacks??
We do not speak the name!! And could not keep it, it was a weird one!! Hard to say for certain...but why risk wrath??
Always appreciate your comments Elizabeth !
Brass tacks was a hard one to track down, but its most likely origin seemed to relate to the tacks used to secure the final bits of cording on a leather-upholstered chair. But there were a couple of other possibilities: nails in a coffin, measuring points on a sales counter, Cockney slang...
https://blog.oup.com/2015/04/get-down-to-brass-tacks-idiom-origin/
Jim reminded me that our boat's name was changed when it was sold by the original owner, who kept the original name for use on other vessels.
Who knew such a ritual existed for the renaming of a boat. I learned something new today, thanks!
Glad to be teaching the odds and ends of a superstitious life! Thanks Keith. Appreciate you being on board.... !!! J