The annual Top 10 boat names list released by BoatU.S. gave me an idea: Why not ask kayakers and canoeists what names suit paddlecraft?

You may recall a blog posted here in early spring that mentioned names placed names on kayak sterns – Liberated was one and Poor Woman’s Flats Boat was the other. But I didn’t see Cranky Yankee, Limey, L'il Hooker or This Side Up.

Those were contributions – both real yak names and imagined ones – from readers of calusablueway.com as well as those I solicited via e-mail to area paddling clubs and blueway supporters.

There’s more on that shortly.

But for context, you need to see the power/sailboat comparison. BoatU.S. ranked its 2009 common boat names: 1. Seas the Day; 2. Summer Daze; 3. Second Chance; 4. Aqua-Holic; 5. Wind Seeker; 6. Dream Weaver; 7. Black Pearl; 8. Hydrotherapy; 9. The Salt Shaker; 10. Sea Quest.

The organization also shared an “added bonus list” of names – ones voted by editors of BoatU.S. Magazine to be the most humorous. This is from the press release, available at www.boatus.com:

1. What College Fund? With three out of four boat-owning households making less than $100,000 a year, where else are you going to get the money?
2. Stocks-N-Blonds: Clearly someone still has a job on Wall Street.
3. Anchor Management: The calming effect that boating brings.
4. Sweet Em-Ocean: A floating love shack?
5. Knotty Buoy: The Johnnie Depp of boaters.
6. Reel-e-Fish-ent: Could teach Capt. Sig Hansen of the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch a thing or two about fishing.
7. A-Frayed Knot: Fearless in their ability to tie bowline.
8. O-Sea-D: Obsessive, compulsive, and loving the ocean.
9. A-Loan-Again: Either cruising for a date or has purchased their boat on credit.
10. Really Big Car: Small boat complex?

Now back to those kayak and canoe suggestions.

No doubt, paddlers are a creative crowd. A sampling:

Big Blue and Peace Frog – two canoes owned by Cathy Olson, my Lee County Parks & Recreation colleague.

Kerplunk – Ken Rose’s kayak.

My Queen and Caalus – John Paeno, owner of Calusa Ghost Tours in Bokeelia. “One is dedicated to my wife and is the name of my recreational watercraft.” OK, we can guess which one that is. “The other I use for historic purposes and that is the Calusa king’s name, Caalus.”

SNAFU – Terri Krass’ paddlecraft. “It just seemed to fit a lot of my paddling adventures.”

Chiquita – John Norris of the Florida Paddling Trails Association. Yes, it’s large and yellow.

Kneedeep, Shallowminded and Fishon – names Rob Phelan has seen on kayaks.

L'il Hooker! – Kayne Torman’s suggestion for a fishing kayak

Limey – Janet Valentine’s lime green kayak. But there’s more to it than that. She offers this explanation:

“I was born in England and have lived in the U.S. since 1960. English sailors from the late 1700s were called 'Limeys' because Capt. James Cook – the great English explorer and navigator – was the first captain to control the disease of scurvy in his crews by diet and hygiene. He made sure that his sailors included citreous fruit in their diet and thus English sailors forever after were called 'Limeys.' Several people have questioned me and asked if the name on my kayak is not derogatory? I very much like the name of my kayak and once I had come up with it, it seemed very obvious, comfortable and appropriate for someone so far from her native shores, enjoying the beautiful waters of Florida.”

Canoe-buy-a – a suggestion for someone who kayaks down here and has a Boston accent. That comes from Meg Madzar, a Fort Myers occasional kayaker who helped clean up Billy’s Creek at the last shindig there this spring. Meg writes: “My mom’s (boat name) would celebrate one of the great things about paddlecraft – no noisy motors – and her own volunteer efforts: Peaceful. Which makes me think Shhhhh would be good, too.” Though if Meg had a yak, she’d name it Cranky Yankee.

Then there’s Don McCumber, the paddling enthusiast you may have seen at last year’s Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival in the skin-on-kayak presentation. He took 10 minutes to make up 10 names:

Toibote (say it 3 times, fast!)
This Side Up
Militlyot (living within your means)
Something Fishy (Hey, I'm a kayak fisher)
NACL H2O (as opposed to Fresh H2O)
My Other Kayak Is Also a Kayak (it really is!)
Inner Child On Board (self explanatory)
Eskimobile (that's where kayaking started!)
Double Trouble (name for a tandem kayak)
Paddle Me!

Like I said – or rather like Shakespeare’s Juliet said – “What’s in a name?” On the Great Calusa Blueway, you get to decide.