We’re boaters. It’s a great way to spend a summer day, escaping the worst of the heat and feeling the salty breeze on your face. It’s always an adventure - from seeing lots of marine life to experiencing changes in the weather. It provides an escape from stresses of work and home and can be very calming. Studies have shown that being on the water can improve creativity, boost emotional health, and promote relaxation. 

Boating can bring you to places that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to get to in a car. There are patches of beaches on islands, plenty of coastline to explore, or you can just drop anchor in a pleasant cove. It’s interesting to see familiar landmarks from a different angle.

When you become a boater, you join a community of fellow enthusiasts who also enjoy the water, and being with like-minded friends allows for relationship building. Oftentimes, boating can lead to other hobbies like fishing, snorkeling or water skiing.

These are all great reasons to boat. But what I find fun as we cruise around is reading boat names. Some are unique. Some are just plain clever. Of course, you always find boats named after women, which is supposed to be good luck - the MaryAnn, the Lenore, the Claudia Marie.

There are boats that use the words, sea or ocean, in very creative ways. Vitamin Sea, Sea Scape, Seaduction, Emocean, and Ocean Dream to name a few. And there are people who name their boats after movies, like the Black Pearl or Captain Hook. 

Many boat owners incorporate nautical and fishing terms when naming their boats - Nauti Buoy, Knot On Duty, Reel Deal, or Reel Therapy.

And then there are names on boats that might as well have a blinking sign inviting the harbormaster and coast guard to board your boat and fine you - names like Tip-Sea, Bahama Mama, On the Rocks, and Wine Knot.

I love finding boats with fun names. I admire the creativity.  Here are the top 10 names that have brought a smile to my face.

1. Liquid Assets

2. Summer Wardrobe

3. Luna Sea

4. Ship Happens

5. Buoys and Gulls

6. Yacht - Sea

7. Aboat Time

8. Fire Escape

9. SeaQuester

10. To Sea or Knot to Sea

It’s fun to think about the person who named the boat. Perhaps the owner of SeaQuester is a lawyer, and the owner of Fire Escape is a fireman. Maybe the owner of To Sea or Knot to Sea is a reader who likes Shakespeare or an English teacher.

There are plenty of reasons to love boating, and like reading vanity license plates on cars, finding a boat name that makes you smile is just another fun thing to do on the water.