Naming the Nordy. What’s in a name?

In my little company with a big footprint, we name things.  We name buildings and neighborhoods.  We’ve even named streets for cities and new developments. Kevin and I named Island Dog Sign Company and its namesake vessel that was a product of the company sale, Island Dog.  Bean, our beloved yellow lab was the island dog, the source of the company’s name, started when we lived on Vashon.  And she loved that boat, wind whipping in her ears, a big dog grin on her happy lab face.   Kevin and I also named Red Propeller, with a bunch of input from our creative friends.  Red – a self-created acronym for real estate development.  Propeller – a person or thing that drives, or causes something to move further or onward.  At Red Propeller we help our developer clients to move their projects forward in the market. The Red part is important to this story.  So then Kevin started another sign company, Waypoint Sign Co.  Another naming exercise in the living room of our house with adult beverages, of course.  There’s a little trend here – boats, islands, water:  favorite things.

So now, we need to name our dream Nordhavn – our new “hoat” – boat/home.  One night after just having met Jeff Merrill in LA, a silly first idea hatched.  We were hanging around our hotel in Marina del Rey (can’t get away from boats…) after a great day walking through every aspect of a different Nordhavn 55 with Jeff I joked that we could call the new boat Havn Fun.  Or Havn____ (you fill it in – Havn Dinner!  Havn Drinks!).   Funny, yes.  But the boat just seems a little too serious for that.  So we kept thinking.

We looked at world traveling names – like Atlas.  Or new life chapter names like Chronicle. Not too exciting.  And then we thought about names that were about the freedom to roam and explore and discover:  all things we what we want to do with this new boat.  We want to go unusual places all over the world (sadly not right away), challenge ourselves, meet new people, join a new community (the Nordhavn community which seems to be super connected), be on the water.  Again, hmmm.

And then we had a working name.

But then, we went to meet the boat, currently named Insignia.  The working name just didn’t seem like it was strong enough for the boat.  But we still liked the idea of it.  It just needed a modifier and a bit more of a story.

So, we thought some more.  And we came up with the name that seems to feel just right.

Introducing:  Red Rover!

Why Red Rover?

It’s playful.  And fun.  But it has a story and a meaning.

Red – of course, real estate development.  Both of our businesses are a part of this world – and as such, development is a big part of who we are, what we are interested in and what we talk about with our business hats on.  Of course, when you own a small business, your business hat is always on.  And I just love the color red.

Rover – a person who spends their time wandering.  And of course, a good canine reference. Got to have that.

Red Rover – a fun game where one team calls their opponents “over” to capture the opponent into their own team, their own community you could say.  In our world, we are moving over to a new chapter and a new adventure – and we’re becoming a part of the trawler, Nordhavn and cruising communities.

So there you have it.  Red Rover, Red Rover, Alison and Kevin are coming over!  And hence the name of the blog:  Comeonrover.  🙂