How do you identify yourself when hailing...

Back in our sailboat days, when hailing another boat we would start with "This is the sailing vessel Escapades". Now with a power boat what description do you generally use? "Motor Vessel...", "Pleasure Craft...."?

Bob

"This is trawler Honey Badger hailing on one-six.."

Since this group can't agree on the definition of trawler, best to stick with MV or SV. You don't want to use "trawler" and be confused with a commercial fishing boat.

I could give a rip what the website agrees to call a trawler. My vessel type is a Sedan Trawler. I don't need to justify that by consensus of a web forum do I?

If I were a fishing vessel, I would hail as "Commercial Fishing Vessel Honey Badger hailing on one-six..."

Usually just "Gray Hawk", occasionally "MV Gray Hawk". I dunno about where the rest of you boat but where I boat the only guys who ever use SV or MV are the recreational boaters. The commercial guys just use their vessel name so I figure if that's good enough for them its good enough for me too.

And if they ask what kind of vessel we are I say we are a toy trawler. They seem to know what that means.

"My vessel type is a Sedan Trawler." No, it is a Europa


"If I were a fishing vessel, I would hail as "Commercial Fishing Vessel Honey Badger hailing on one-six..." You might but they don't

To eliminate any confusion between private and commercial vessels, I will identify my boat as motor yacht.

Usually pleasure craft, around here trawlers sport booms and nets.
Tell someone you own a trawler they'll probably ask something like "how's the shrimp running"
Steve W

I just say "Ketchikan Harbormaster this is the Willy over". I can't believe all the people say'in "on channel 16". WHAT FOR!

I just say Hey it me

I simply use the name of the vessel I'm calling (repeated three times) followed by my boat name.....

"Hey Jude, Hey Jude, Hey Jude, this is Beachcomber."

No need to identify the type of vessel you're on or the one you're calling. But that's just my humble opinion.

sunchaser said:

"My vessel type is a Sedan Trawler." No, it is a Europa

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No. My documentation carries my vessel as a Sedan Trawler.

sunchaser said:

You might but they don't

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Sure they do. We have both Native American and Commercial Fishing Vessels here in the NW. They often differentiate. I am neither and have never been confused with one.

The reason they ask that you notify your hailing channel is that they and many others are monitoring MANY channels. By declaring your channel, they will know how to respond and switch you to a working channel.

Motor Vessel would probably be the most appropriate (and generic), but we have so many trawlers around here you're painting a clearer picture of what sort of Motor Vessel you are.

right on, bobofthenorth. Keep it simple. The rest of the MV/SV/Motor Yacht/etc descriptors just clog up the freqency. Does anyone really say, "Hailing?" And Steve, how are the shrimp running?

If describing the type of boat seems necessary, I use power boat or pleasure craft. In most cases, such as hailing for a pass, we just give the name of the boat. Motor Vessel has its own definition, technically speaking, being a power boat greater than 65 feet in length. A Motor Boat is a power boat less than 65 feet. Not that anyone's policing that out on the water. As discussed in another thread, we have been doing our boating for several years now in areas where there are a lot of "real" trawlers, so whenever someone goes out of their way to describe their "trawler style" pleasure boat as a "trawler" , it is a bit confusing. When we were frequent charterers of various Grand Banks and Mainship models, we never used the term "trawler" in describing them on the radio for the same reasons.

When we hail someone we say or answer after being hailed, "This is the motor vessel HOBO, Hotel, Oscar, Bravo, Oscar". Hobo doesn't translate well so using the ICAO phonic alphabet helps particularly with Navy, CG or port officials.

Unless it's obvious why a person would need to identify their type of boat I view this extra chatter and clutter on Ch 16 as counter productive. So I keep my air time to an absolute minimum.

Lets not let this get personal. The acceptable responses are SV, MV, MY, Trawler, FV, anything that correctly identifies your vessel. There is no rule.

If someone wants to call their vessel a Pleasure Yacht and another one wants to call the exact same vessel a Motor Vessel they are both correct.

GFC said:

I simply use the name of the vessel I'm calling (repeated three times) followed by my boat name.....

"Hey Jude, Hey Jude, Hey Jude, this is Beachcomber."

No need to identify the type of vessel you're on or the one you're calling. But that's just my humble opinion.

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This is the same for us- state the name of the vessel I am calling 3 times, following by name of my vessel once at end and that is it. If I am hailing the lockmaster for a lock through I just say "This is pleasure craft Watermark hailing XYZ Lockmaster." I am sure there is no need to state pleasure craft for them either though as all the tug/barge captains and their vessels are well known to the lockmasters.

Since my boat has a persons name in it I use "MV Lisas Way"

Like comm with air traffic control, I keep the hailing transmission brief and succinct to avoid tying up the frequency. Most of my hailings are to bridges for openings. They all start like this..."Rio Vista Bridge, this is FlyWright."

If further clarification is needed on vessel type, it can be provided in followup transmissions. I have never been asked or felt the need to provide it, though.

VixenII said:

right on, bobofthenorth. Keep it simple. The rest of the MV/SV/Motor Yacht/etc descriptors just clog up the freqency. Does anyone really say, "Hailing?" And Steve, how are the shrimp running?

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16 -20 count, shrimp are $4.20 at stands along the bayou
20-30 are usually about 3.50.

I see you are in la Parguera, I grew up near there, at Central Aguirre, the now closed sugar plantation on Jobos Bay. If you go to a seafood restaurant try the Chillo al Mojo, PR style snapper with a sort of creole sauce, excellent.
Steve W

I've never mentioned my vessel type when hailing. But we are usually hailing someone we know or a bridge we are looking right at.

We always say "This is motor vessel Traveler..."

FlyWright said:

Like comm with air traffic control, I keep the hailing transmission brief and succinct to avoid tying up the frequency. Most of my hailings are to bridges for openings. They all start like this..."Rio Vista Bridge, this is FlyWright."

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I give bridge tenders time to wake up from their possible stupors and repeat the bridge name as in "Mare Island Causeway Bridge, Mare Island Causeway Bridge, this is recreational vessel Carquinez Coot calling Mare Island Causeway Bridge. Requesting upriver passage."

And once when the bridge tender asked to identify my boat, I responded "the boat downriver with the yellow pilothouse roof."

When calling another boat, I state the other boat's name three times and then give the name of mine.

Wow, I'm sorry I mentioned it. But on the Gulf Coast ICW there is usually quite a bit of traffic and I think it simplifies things if you identify the type of vessel. Same thing waiting for a bridge. The bridge tenders generally want the names of the boats coming through and I think it helps them identify the vessels easier if they know the type, not just the name.

While waiting for a bridge with tow traffic coming we have been hailed by the bridge tender and told to go ahead since he knew we were a power boat and could get through in time while he held up the sailboat until the tow passed through.

Bob

If we initiate the call we say, "Happy Destiny, Happy Destiny, La Pérouse." (Happy Destiny is the name of Carey's boat.)

If someone calls us we say, "Happy Destiny, La Pérouse, go ahead."

If we are running in poor visibility and want to notify VTS of who we are, where we are, and where we're going so they can put us in their traffic system, we say, "Seattle VTS, this is the 36 foot motor vessel La Pérouse."

VTS doesn't care whether we're a recreational boat or a working boat. All they care about is our size, our speed, where we are when we call inititally, and where we're going.

I call myself a pleasure boat to the working ones out there.

Bob you have a lot more traffic where you are. . We tend to go through the same bridge a few times a month and rarely is anyone else waiting.

Up our way we usually hail this way - "Ocean Breeze to Dunworkin, ya got a copy Dunworkin, this is the Ocean Breeze?".. if I ever mention a trawler I would have lots of query on how's the fishing.

Only time I would ever mention trawler I would stay "we are operating a 38' trawler style pleasure craft". If I needed to hail the CG, I would use my AIS first and wait for a call from them.

Elwin