TOPIC: Boat Flags

Newbie here! I recently purchased my first motor boat... A vintage 1968 Larson All American 166. Question about flags. Which is more appropriate for this vintage... A pennant style or dovetail design? Thanks.

macguyft,

WELCOME ABOARD.

As to your question, I simply don't know. = I fly a Texas Yacht Ensign & a regular TX Flag on all my boats, but no "maker's" flag.

(TX is the only state with it's own yacht ensign. It was designed in 1837 by the Republic's Congress & was never changed. We also have a State Navy flag, too.)

yours, satx

Anything you want. Lot of these scallywags fly pirate skull and crossbones, I fly a beer mug. It's your boat, do what you want.

Thanks satx! This is s great site! The TX ensign sounds cool... No such thing in Michian.

Thanks sabre! Makes sense to me. Sometimes I get to hung up on rules and protocal.

My boat has been in the family since it was new and spent most of it's life on lake St. Claire. Dad always ran a Jolly Roger pennant on the bowlight staff. I added the national ensign on the stern light pole. I need to get a new Jolly Roger as one of the rings wore through.

Bob

macguyft,

The TX Ensign is a "rearrangement of" the regular TX flag with 3 horizontal bars WHITE, BLUE & RED with the white star centered on the blue bar.

yours, satx

macguyft,

The 3rd (final & CURRENT - Our TX State Littoral Force still flies it from vessels "in TX State Service") TX NAVY FLAG is a top to bottom union (nearest the flag staff) with the lone star & with the other 3/4 of the fly-edge the familiar 13 stars & stripes of the US flag.

yours, satx

If the Mexicans had controlled the Gulf of Mexico and completely blockaded the Texas coast, it is very unlikely that the move for independence in Texas would have been successful. In November of 1835, the General Council formed the Texas Navy, purchasing the first ships: the Independence, Brutus, Liberty and Invincible.

Evidently, these ships flew both the Alamo flag and a new design created by Charles Hawkins, who was later appointed as the first Senior Captain and as Commodore of the Texas Navy. Hawkins' design was approved by President Burnet in April of 1836, and ratified by the First Congress of the Republic that December. In addition to protecting the Texas coast, the navy also seized Mexican ships and sent their cargoes to the aid of the Texas volunteers.

Open hostilities at sea continued intermittently throughout the years of the republic, and in 1839 the Texans commissioned six fine new ships. With the new fleet, the Texans were able to put pressure on the Mexican government by sinking and capturing their vessels, attacking the coast, and stopping foreign ships headed for Mexico.

The Texas flag was raised briefly over Cozumel, and three Texas ships sailed 70 miles up the Tabasco River to San Juan Bautista, where the astounded citizens paid $25,000 to prevent the destruction of the city. The Texas Navy's victory in 1843 over superior Mexican forces at Campeche is distinguished as the only time sailing ships defeated steam-powered craft in a major sea battle.

No flags allowed on my boat.

cool history lesson...thanks

TallTexan, et. al.,

FYI, the flag CURRENTLY flown by The TX Littoral Forces is the THIRD Texas Navy flag, which has the "union" the full width of the flag, to keep it from seeming to be the current flag of Liberia.

Texas historians DISAGREE as to what the SECOND Texas Navy Flag looked like, as there are NO known drawings or written descriptions of it. ALL that is currently known is that it was "approved" by the RoT Congress & "signed off on" by the President of the RoT.

The THIRD NAVY FLAG was adopted in 1840.

yours, satx

I bought an MFG pennant for my Niagara this past spring. Took a month for it to arrive after ordering it, but I was happy with the quality. (Note: I have no connection to the company - was just a customer and I am sharing this as a pointer to those looking for a flag.)

They offer one with the Larson logo, plus a choice of colors and you can order them with either brass grommets or a pole pocket for attachment. Cost is $31.50 including shipping. They are the pennant (burgee) style. Good for mounting at the bow, although you could certainly fly it from the stern.

See:

vintageboatsupply.com/Flags_Home.html

I like to fly the American Yacht Ensign at the stern of my boats. (Unless it interferes with my trolling lines).

Here is a news story about today's TX Navy

www.khou.com/story/news/2014/07/20/11750948/

Talltexan,

The video is marked as "unavailable", as of 1805, 13OCT14. =PITY.

yours, satx

Satx, the link is dead but if you copy and paste the address in your browser it hooks up.

Also I have to add my stern flag(S). Along with the ensign which is always present I have a one off JD that I made myself. I originally flew it on the bow of my Century but couldn't let it go with the sale, I think you can see why.

The ensign flag or the US flag looks great on any old boat.

macguyft wrote:

Newbie here! I recently purchased my first motor boat... A vintage 1968 Larson All American 166. Question about flags. Which is more appropriate for this vintage... A pennant style or dovetail design? Thanks.

Macguy,I've mostly seen pennants on the bow,but I don't see as it matters IMHO.

This is the flag on my 1958 Cadillac Constellation.

Greg Anderson
Wisconsin

Note the US marine ensign at the stern of the boat (hidden behind motor) and the appropriate "Thompson" pennant at the bow

we still fly the jolly roger (although it's getting kinda old and out of style just like me)...thanks tall tex for the video john

Years ago I was a Jacks guy.

Then I went to Crown.

Now I drink Makers Mark...No edge to it to speak of

Pirate doggy!

If you are really interested, Chapmans Piloting and Seamanship has a section devoted to Flag Etiquette. In the current editions it is buried way in the back of the book in the section on inland boating. However back in the 60's, and before, it had a complete chapter of it's own. Today most boaters don't seem to care. However, if you fly the US flag, or any national flag there are specific rules to how it should be flown. On a power boat it should be flown at the stern on a flag staff or if you have an all around white light, from the pole for the light.

On a sail boat it is flown, when underway, from a line from the top of the mast to the aft end of the boom. When anchored or at the dock it is flown from a flag staff on the stern like on a powerboat.

Burgees, yacht club flags, pennants, cocktail flags, pirate flags etc can be flown anywhere but should not be higher than the National flag (there are exceptions). But If I were going to Mexico I think I would not fly a pirate flag.

I always deliver the pre-1959 boats I restore with a 48-star American flag flying at the stern. Everyone thinks it's a nice touch.

Tex, I go by the sayin' "beggars can't be choosers". The flag is just cool looking. The Jack around my house usually disappears when the kids come to roost for a day or so. Seems the Jack goes first and then the Beam. One thing I learned when visiting guests at their home or anywhere else, if the drinks are free, who cares what's on the bottle. That being said....I've drunk some pretty bad weasel pee in my 70 years.

63 Sabre,

Understood.

Fwiw, some of the homemade grappa & plum brandy that I drank in quanity OCONUS was awful BUT it was free & made your drunk.

yours, satx

satx78247 wrote:

63 Sabre,

Understood.

Fwiw, some of the homemade grappa & plum brandy that I drank in quanity OCONUS was awful BUT it was free & made your drunk.

yours, satx

That plum brandy didn't happen to go by the name Slivovica, did it? When I was in Kosovo, the Chetnik monks used to make the stuff and bring it to our team house in bottles that had a wooden crosses in them...10 Deutschmarks for the initial bottle and 5 Deutschmarks to refill them; they came by once a week.

Fredercic Lynes,

NOPE. The stuff that I'm talking about was made on the small farms of Germans that worked for me at the local motor pool.
(I got to work one morning & found a 20L plastic "jerry can" sitting under a pile of shop supplies. = Birthday present!)

Also some of our Italian "local hires" made grappa, that would knock the top of your head off.

yours, satx

I'm Running the "factory correct" U.S. Yacht Ensign on my Dorsett.

Anybody got one of these factory correct stern lamp beehive lenses they would like to sell? Mine got the hot end of an incorrect-application turn signal bulb.

When I was stationed at Field Station Bad Aibling, the German civilian gate guards used to bring apricot brandy and we'd stand around a log-burning 55 gal. barrel drinking that stuff and listening to them tell jokes that would make a liberal faint.

shacomm wrote:

I'm Running the "factory correct" U.S. Yacht Ensign on my Dorsett.

Anybody got one of these factory correct stern lamp beehive lenses they would like to sell? Mine got the hot end of an incorrect-application turn signal bulb.

I'd love to fly a flag, but that would mean mounting a pole on my Rogue, and I'm not willing to molest her at this point, since she's all original.

Here is a Taylor that I found some years ago. It's a NOS canvas one from the 50s - Oooh La La! Don't even try to talk me out of it either!