RANT Canadian vessel name RANT

[bgallinger]

Well now you've done it! Everyone who reads this will be up to speed on the bloated and ridiculous bureaucracy in Canada! When I applied for an Ontario boat licence, it took Transport Canada 27 days from receipt of my application to the date of issue. How long should it take to dream up a 7 digit number??? I met one boat owner who has been waiting for nearly a year for his application for Registration to be approved. Nearly a year!!! Welcome to the bizarro world of Canuckistan!

[BigNut]

Originally Posted by bgallinger

Well now you've done it! Everyone who reads this will be up to speed on the bloated and ridiculous bureaucracy in Canada! When I applied for an Ontario boat licence, it took Transport Canada 27 days from receipt of my application to the date of issue. How long should it take to dream up a 7 digit number??? I met one boat owner who has been waiting for nearly a year for his application for Registration to be approved. Nearly a year!!! Welcome to the bizarro world of Canuckistan!

Reminds me of Douglas Adam’s Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the bit where they’re stuck on the planet taken over by bureaucrats, Vogsphere:

https://youtu.be/NZHj_YZQlUM

A somewhat acquired taste, but still ...

[AiniA]

Mi Casa also runs against another rule, names have to be either English or French words. When we bought our last boat it was called Double Ditto so that had to change. Did not want one of the standard names with a number so it was hard. My wife is Chinese so we started with Ai Ni which means love you. To get around the not English/not French rule we added an A which made it a palindrome AiniA. We also say that to satisfy Americans who think we talk funny it means 'Love you, eh!'. Named an earlier boat Killarney without a problem. Perhaps TC didn't know there is a village with that name in the North Channel.

[pcmm]

You could of course license the vessel instead of registering it, that way you don't have the vessel name restriction. I've registered 2 vessels with transport Canada and I guess I've been lucky and my first name choice was allowed both times (which really shocked me)

[Mirage35]

Originally Posted by pcmm

You could of course license the vessel instead of registering it, that way you don't have the vessel name restriction. I've registered 2 vessels with transport Canada and I guess I've been lucky and my first name choice was allowed both times (which really shocked me)

When licensed (not registered) the licence number is the boat's legal identity, the name, and location if you choose, are just hull decorations and you can put what you want.

[Ken Pole]

Ottawa may not be a sailing "mecca" but Nepean Sailing Club, with 500 fully-occupied wet moorings and a significant drysail/dinghy population, is one of the largest in the country. Some of our members compete nationally and internationally. Our section of the Ottawa River also is home to several other clubs.

[Greg Mason]

Our boat came named DUET. When we wanted to register Federally, there already was one, so we ended up with DUET II. The proper name was required for the plaque and for the EPIRB, and now with AIS I wouldn't play with names.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by bgallinger

Well now you've done it! Everyone who reads this will be up to speed on the bloated and ridiculous bureaucracy in Canada! When I applied for an Ontario boat licence, it took Transport Canada 27 days from receipt of my application to the date of issue. How long should it take to dream up a 7 digit number??? I met one boat owner who has been waiting for nearly a year for his application for Registration to be approved. Nearly a year!!! Welcome to the bizarro world of Canuckistan!

That's weird. When I licensed my boat in Ontario (not registered, licensed) I walked into the Service Ontario office, filled in the form, and walked out with my number. Took minutes.

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by Free Rider

If you want some peace of mind, you can write the number in a different color that you don't see well from afar. That way you're (barely) legal.

Nope. Not legal. Registered names MUST BE in a colour contrasting the background (used to be must be BLACK on light coloured backgrounds. Huh?) and at least 10cm or four inches high.


Proper naming (and name display) is something the inspectors check if and when you wish to use your vessel commercially.


You could always license it provincially then name it anything you wish.

[BigNut]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

That's weird. When I licensed my boat in Ontario (not registered, licensed) I walked into the Service Ontario office, filled in the form, and walked out with my number. Took minutes.

Big difference between the two, l believe, Mike. Also, when was this? The rules have changed, it seems, again.

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by AnglaisInHull

When licensed (not registered) the licence number is the boat's legal identity, the name, and location if you choose, are just hull decorations and you can put what you want.

Agreed, but it solves his naming problem and the Queen doesn't have any rights to hiss boat

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by madprops

Even if it is a word like "SUNSHINE" that is trademarked by more then ten companies all in different industries. You can't have it for your boat name.

You have a great rant here! They let ten different companies use that name for industry but you can't use it for a non-commercial item like your boat! All I can say is "WTF!!!" but I won't of course.

Don't you guys use hailing ports displayed on the boat as well as the name? The USCG says "There is no rule against duplication of names for documented vessels, so hailing ports are helpful in identifying vessels."

[sailorboy1]

I enjoyed the rant and will accept it as it should be, with sorrow for the OP and joy for me not having the issue (I have my own)

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by madprops

I'm trying to change the name of a boat in Canada. Sounds simple enough right... Wrong.

*RANT ON*

This is what the Transport Canada website says regrading naming a boat.

must be unique, even when said aloud
can’t use a registered trademark
can’t be a prohibited mark
can’t be confused with a distress signal
can’t include vessel acronyms, for example, “SV” for sailing vessel, or “FV” for fishing vessel
can include an article such as “the”, “le”, “la”, “l’”, though we don’t consider this when approving a vessel name (for example, “THE HAPPY DOLPHIN” is the same as “HAPPY DOLPHIN”)
You must provide an authorization letter, if you are using the name of:
a famous Canadian person
a city or town in Canada"


Easy enough. I use the search and punch in the name I want and its available, I do about one hour of checking to make sure no name sounds like mine... A bit odd but I'm feeling good. I fill out the paperwork send it in and wait a month. I get an email back saying I cant use the name because its registered in the Canadian Trademarks Database... But its just a generic word! I didn't even think to check.

*RANT INTENSIFIES*

Thats right, if you want to name your boat "Dolphin" you can't because a company from Israel that makes pool cleaning robots holds the trademark to the word "Dolphin" in Canada. Ok no biggie you will add you favorite color and call it "SILVER DOLPHIN".... Nope a company in Illinois has that trademarked for a "series of fiction and non-fiction books on a variety of topics". "DOLPHIN'S MOON" maybe if it wasn't trademarked by a German company that makes gaming machines.

But thats ok you are starting to hate that name anyway. You think to yourself if I'm going to be living on it why not "MI CASA". Well its to bad a company in Delaware that makes salsa mix and tortillas has that trademarked in Canada. Maybe LA CASETTA ("the little house"), Sorry a wine company from Italy has that one.

So you think well ill just call one of these companies and get them to send me a authorization letter saying I can use the name. They have nothing to do with sailing or the boat industry anyway, so you call one up and they say no problem. Bam 3 days later you have a signed authorization letter in your hand that says its ok. You call up Transport Canada, tell them about the letter... but they say no. it can't be a trademark even with a letter from the owner of the trademark.

Well now you are mad and things go into overdrive. You think, ill just name it after my own company which I have trademarked. Since I own the trademark everything will be ok... Wrong, it doesn't matter who the owner of the trademark is, they will not allow it. If you have a whale watching company named Whale Watcher and you trademark that name you can't call your boat Whale Watcher.... A company can't even buy a boat and name it after themselves. But it would be fine if you bought the boat called it whale watcher then got your company name trademarked

This is a new rule so there are tons of boats that have names that are trademarked. I don't understand why this was needed. Yes, all I have to do is add a 1 after the name I want and I can have it. But that is ridiculous, why should I have to add a 1 when my boat is the only one to have that name. Do you have any idea how many words are trademarked in Canada this is crazy, you can't even name your boat FLOWER POWER because a fertilizer company has that. Pluto is not even a planet anymore but you can't use that because its a "Electronic cigarette liquid" under a trademark.



Even if it is a word like "SUNSHINE" that is trademarked by more then ten companies all in different industries. You can't have it for your boat name.

*RANT OVER*

I don't plan on just dropping this, there has got to be something I can do. If anyone has any advice please let me know. I'm typing up an email to ask about how I can lodge a complaint.

Just pick something that no one would trademark - Sea Turd comes to mind

[Lake-Effect]

Seems like a somewhat restrictive requirement, but I get the need for uniqueness.

So - broad question: are there genuine advantages to registering a private, non-commercial pleasure boat by name with Transport Canada vs just the provincial registration (the number) and then you name the boat whatever you please?