We renamed our True North 34 sailboat - DOVE. Why?
After considerable time - 2015 through 2020, casual thought, and an epiphany, we decided the existing sailboat name INDRA was not suitable for our sailboat or us. Indra is the name of the ancient Hindu warrior god of the sky, is associated with the country India, and both the Hinduism and Buddhism religions. In Hindu Sanskrit, "indra" means "possessing drops of rain". The name INDRA has no commonality with anything about us, our beliefs, or values; so a name change is warranted.
Why the name DOVE?
The basic and simple answer is: it is very simple and one syllable - for radio call sign annunciation Delta-Oscar-Victor-Echo is short and simple. The name DOVE has profound and deep meanings. And it was what we decided and like - after all it's our boat, our decision, and only our opinion matters. However, there was consideration given:
A white Dove is a symbol for God, the Holy Spirit, Peace and Hope. During the Flood of Noah's time, the Dove returned to the Ark with a freshly-plucked olive leaf indicating the waters had subsided from the Earth (Genesis 8:11). The Dove is a symbol of love, purity, holiness and God - “the Spirit of God descending like a dove” (Matthew 3:16).
The Dove skillfully navigates the oceans of air and utilizes the mighty Four Winds from the Four Corners of the Earth to sail in harmony with nature, leaving not a trace of its passage.
The Dove is noted as a symbol of peace of the deepest and purest kind and is an ambassador of peace wherever it travels.
As our sailboat has white topsides and large white sails it kind of mimics the body and wings of a Dove. The symbolism of the Dove is a trait worth emulating and the use of the name Dove is a worthy start.
Searching the internet for the process and procedures of renaming a boat discovered a little "strange" nautical folklore. The above illustration of the "Approved" name DOVE was inspired from the ceremonial script for this "official" nautical ceremony and the characters involved.
In the nautical, time-honored tradition, a superstitious boat name purging and renaming ceremony is recommended so as to not incur the wrath of Poseidon, the god of the sea, whom maintains all vessel's names ever launched recorded in the Ledger of the Deep.
Name Purging:
The first step is to remove all traces of the existing boat's name. Then write the existing boat's name on a corrodible piece of metal.
The ceremony begins by reciting the following aboard the boat: Oh mighty and great ruler of the seas and oceans, to whom all ships and we who venture upon your vast domain are required to pay homage, I implore you in your graciousness to expunge for all time from your records and recollection the name (mention the old boat name), which has ceased to be an entity in your kingdom. As proof thereof, we submit this ingot bearing her name, to be corrupted through your powers and forever be purged from the sea. Then the piece of metal with the existing boat's name on it is tossed into the water, some champagne/wine is poured into the water, from east to west, and the much more is consumed.
Renaming:
The ceremony continues by reciting the following aboard the boat: Oh mighty and great ruler of the seas and oceans, to whom all ships and we who venture upon your vast domain are required to pay homage, I implore you in your graciousness to take unto your records and recollection this worthy vessel hereafter and for all time known as (say the name you’ve selected), guarding her with your mighty arm and trident and ensuring her of safe and rapid passage throughout her journeys within your realm. In appreciation of your munificence, dispensation, and in honor of your greatness, we offer these libations to your majesty and your court. Then pour some more champagne/wine into the water, from west to east, and consume a bit more.
Oh mighty rulers of the winds, through whose power our frail vessels traverse the wild and faceless deep, we implore you to grant this worthy vessel (say your boat’s new name) the benefits and pleasures of your bounty, ensuring us of your gentle ministration according to our needs.
Address each wind god individually. Pour champagne/wine into the water to the north as you say: Great Boreas, exalted ruler of the North Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in the pursuit of our lawful endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your frigid breath.
Next pour champagne/wine into the water to the west, while saying: Great Zephyrus, exalted ruler of the West Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in the pursuit of our lawful endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your wild breath.
Next pour champagne/wine into the water to the east, while saying: Great Eurus, exalted ruler of the East Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in the pursuit of our lawful endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your mighty breath.
Lastly, pour champagne/wine into the water to the south, while saying: Great Notus, exalted ruler of the South Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in the pursuit of our lawful endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your scalding breath.
Then consume more champagne/wine and party to excess.
The Real Boat Renaming Process
Deciding to rename our sailboat DOVE was a lot more involved then just picking a name and performing a superstitious ceremony, there are many formalities that also need to be accomplished. The boat renaming process we followed is described below.
- Exchange of United States Coast Guard (USCG) Certificate of Documentation (COD)
- Ships Name and Homeport Markings
- FCC Radio Station Authorization Name Change
- Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) Name Change
- Boat Stamp, Hats, Shirts
- Email Addresses and Website
- Data Verification
Exchange of United States Coast Guard (USCG)
Certificate of Documentation (COD)
As our boat is federally registered, we first went to the National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) website and downloaded the following PDF files from the NVDC Instructions and Forms webpage.
- CG-1258 Application For Initial Issue, Exchange, Or Replacement Of Certificate Of Documentation; Redocumentation {Boat's name is changed on this form.}
- CG-1340 Bill of Sale {Note: This form was downloaded to also add the wife's name as joint owner with survivorship rights.}
- CG-7042 Credit Card Form
- Filing of Instruments via .pdf/Fax/Mail
The instructions included with form CG-1258 Application For Initial Issue, Exchange, Or Replacement Of Certificate Of Documentation; Redocumentation, are easily understood. For renaming a boat, the instructions stated for Block A, Vessel Name, - If applying to change the vessel's name, insert the old vessel name in parenthesis - this is the only unique requirement for the change of a boat name, the rest of the form is filled out normally. This form required just a few minutes to fill out.
As we wanted to also add the wife's name as joint owner with survivorship rights (a previous oversight), we also filled out form CG-1340 Bill of Sale which also included simple instructions. This form required an additional step, it needed to be notarized. To fulfill this notary requirement, we used an online notary service called OneNotary. It took about 15 minutes to get the form CG-1340 notarized and cost $25.00.
We next filled out form the CG-7042 Credit Card Form. The total charge was $196.00 - CG-1258 with COD valid for one year - $84.00; CG-1340 one page - $8.00; and four (4) more years of COD validity - $104.00.
Then each of the completed forms in PDF format were sent by email to NVDC.PDF.FILING@uscg.mil per the filing instructions provided on 27 February 2021. We almost immediately got a computerized generated reply acknowledging receipt of our submission. Based on the NVDC Case Processing Report located at the bottom of the National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) website home page we expected at least two months would pass before our submission was processed - the NVDC is notorious for inefficient bureaucracy and paperwork backlog. We verified our paperwork submission on the National Vessel Documentation Center Work Packet Status Inquiry page and the results are shown below.
On 27 April 2021 our mail forwarding service, St. Brendan's Isle, received the NVDC letter containing our new USCG COD. They scan our received mail so we can view it online.
On 28 April 2021 we had our mail forwarding service, St. Brendan's Isle, forward all our received mail items to our location in Naga City, Cebu, Philippines. This package was sent via DHL Worldwide Express and cost $65.27 with an forecasted delivery date of 11 May.
On 10 May 2021 we received our DHL Worldwide Express mail envelope in Naga City, Cebu, Philippines. With initial submission for USCG COD on 27 February and reciept on 10 May, that means it took 73 days or 2 months and 14 days, to recieve our official USCG paperwork.
Ships Name and Homeport Markings
A change in a boat's name also means that the name must be physically changed on the boat's exterior hull per mandated legal requirements. The USCG requirement per 46CFR 67.123, (d) The markings required by paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section, which may be made by the use of any means and materials which result in durable markings, must be made in clearly legible letters of the Latin alphabet or Arabic or Roman numerals not less than four inches in height. Ships name and hailing port clearly marked together on the hull (usually stern), minimum lettering 4 inches in height.
As our sailboat has a canoe stern, we need to mark both sides of the boat's stern for proper visibility of the boat's name and homeport. We also decided to place the name DOVE, with a dove logo, on both sides of the bow due to it being a standard practice in many foreign countries for both commercial and personal boats.
We selected an internet site called Do It Yourself Lettering to make customized self-adhesive vinyl lettering stickers - see below illustration. The two stickers with the dove carrying a olive branch logo are to be attached to both sides of the bow. Total cost was $186.39 including shipping to our ocean freight consolidator Manila Freight Corporation in California. It would be another two to three months before they would be delivered to our location in the Philippines. It is probably worthwhile to refurbish the hull's topsides paint before affixing the new name stickers.
FCC Radio Station Authorization Name Change
As our sailboat is assigned a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Radio Station Authorization, it too needs to be updated for a boat name change. We logged onto the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Universal Licensing System (ULS) and updated our ship's license information. There was no cost for this change as this was deemed an administrative update; it was reviewed and approved three days later. The updated Ship's Radio Station Authorization was available for download from our FCC account page.
Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) Name Change
We have two Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB) aboard and their registration is identified by the FCC ship's name, radio call sign, and Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number. A change in the boat's name means the EPIRB registration must also be updated at the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking website. We logged into our account and updated our EPIRBs registration. An updated NOAA certificate and sticker for each EPIRB was sent to our mail forwarding service, St. Brendan's Isle. There is no cost for this registration or updates to it, yet.
Boat Stamp, Hats, Shirts
An "official" boat stamp is a highly recommended item for clearing in/out of foreign ports, customs, immigration, and health offices. We obtained new boat stamps with the name DOVE at an internet site called Vistaprint; the boat stamps cost $24.00 each. As the Vistaprint site also does custom printing on hats, shirts, and multiple other items we decided to splurge and ordered a few hats and shirts with the Dove logo - the total order cost $320.85 and was shipped to our ocean freight consolidator Manila Freight Corporation in California.
Email Addresses and Website
Our existing website was also based on our old boat's name Indra (sailingindra.com) and so were all our email addresses which we host ourselves on our website. As this old website's was just about due renewal at a higher monthly rate, we decided not to renew it, but instead create a new website. This was advantageous as our website host provider Bluehost was offering new personal websites at significantly reduced prices for multi-year term periods. Many of our preferred website domain names based on the Dove name were already taken; so we eventually decided on a a website domain name of dovefreespirit.com. For a three year term period our website hosting fee was $214.20. With a new website, we also decided to try a new website theme and selected a theme called Divi which cost $224.00. With these decisions made, considerable time and effort was expended updating new email addresses on all our accounts - close to a hundred. Then the effort and fun (frustration) of porting website content began - and continues. Few realize the real implications of a "simple" change of a boat name.
Data Verification
One of the last steps of a boat's name change is to attempt to verify the paperwork submissions were actually implemented. A subset of your boat's information can be viewed on the USCG Port State Information eXchange (PSIX) Vessel Search web page which contains vessel specific information derived from the United States Coast Guard’s Marine Information Safety and Law Enforcement System (MISLE) - see example below. Another website to check, with a little more information, is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) USCG Vessel Search website.
Another website to check is the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Maritime mobile Access and Retrieval System (MARS) Vessel Search website - see example below. An additional verification of vessel's data can be accomplished on websites like MarineTraffic.com, however there is usually a little delay in commercial entities updating their governmental provided vessel registration information.
Summary
Deciding to rename our sailboat DOVE was definitely a lot more involved then just picking a name and performing a superstitious naming ceremony.
One of the disappointments of this process is the excessive length of time to officially make the name change through the NVDC/USCG. In regards to the USCG COD, a notable legal requirement listed in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) is section 46 CFR 67.313 – “Requirement to have Certificate of Documentation on board. (a) The person in command of a documented vessel must have on board that vessel the original Certificate of Documentation currently in effect for that vessel.” This legal requirement means if you do not have a VALID and ORIGINAL COD on board your vessel, you are prohibited by law from operating your vessel. This is why the extremely slow processing times by the NVDC/USCG is unacceptable.
A summary of some of the costs involved revealed an approximate total cost for us of about $2,331.71.
$196.00 - USCG Certificate of Documentation (COD)
$25.00 - Notary fee
$65.27 - DHL Worldwide Express mail fee
$186.39 - Ships Name and Homeport Markings
~$1,100.00 - Hull's Topsides Paint Refresh
$320.85 - Boat Stamp, Hats, Shirts
$438.20 - Website Domain and Theme
Well, this was the short version of our experience renaming our True North 34 sailboat DOVE. Was it worth it? I would have to say - YES - as we actually like the name Dove and its profound symbolism and meaning.
