Popular Boat Superstitions

Because boats have been used for millennia, there is a great deal of lore built up around them. If you’re new to the world of boating, you may have encountered a seasoned mariner who insists upon doing or not doing something peculiar on his boat and wondered what the reason is.

Boaters can be superstitious, and it’s for good reason: in the past, boating was extremely dangerous, so anything one could do that felt like it would make the journey safer was done. Today, we may find these superstitions amusing or strange, but some people do still adhere to them! 

Don’t Eat Bananas on Board

Bananas, you say? A serious boater may balk at your lunchbox if you pull out one of these yellow fruits and they may toss it overboard! But why? There are a few theories behind the idea that bananas are bad luck for boats:

• Cargo ships in the past would get stuck in storms and hurricanes which wrecked them, and when other ships and boats encountered these wrecks weeks or months later, one of the only things left on the surface of the water was probably a crate of bananas. Due to their light weight, bananas can float, so they became an omen to passing captains.
• Bananas produce ethylene as they ripen, which some people use to help ripen other fruits like avocados. However, in the past, no one knew exactly why other fruits and vegetables placed near bananas were liable to go rotten in the cargo hold, so they assumed the fruit gave off a poison of some kind.

Keep the Name

Many boaters name their boats to personalize them and to give them a means of identification on the water. However, if you’re buying a boat from someone else and there’s a name on the hull, wary sailors will recommend that you don’t change that name. In the past, names were given to boats and ships for good luck, and they were often the names of gods, goddesses, and other deities. To rename the boat was to incur the wrath of whatever god it was previously named for!

When you’re ready to check out a great selection of boats for sale in Maine, visit our dealership in Naples. New England Water Sports is proud to serve all our boating customers around Long Lake and Sebago Lake.