How Big Does Our Flag of Registry Need to Be?

[Thomas31709]

the 1" to 1' applies to the length of the flag, not the diagonal measurement. For a handy table of reccomended flag sizes for club flags as well as country of origin, Gettysburg Flag Works has a page at https://www.gettysburgflag.com/boat-flag-sizing.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by wingssail

We fly the US flag at all times when underway with the following exceptions:

• When racing, it is not permitted by racing etiquette and sometimes by rules.
• On open ocean passages we strike the colors to preserve the flag, but we hoist it again if we are passing close to any vessel.

Despite the behavior of some Americans we are proud of being American and we show our flag. There was a time a few years back when many US yachts didn't want to fly the flag for fear of being targeted. I often asked if they thought that John Paul Jones felt that way. I said if I was afraid to acknowledge that I was an American I should have stayed home. I have to say that I did worry about it at times but we always flew the flag...

I just wanted to add one thing:

Pirate Flags: It has also become "cute" to fly the skull and cross bones, usually by boats captained by young males of low class. Pirates are not funny, cute, or clever. They have, over the years, and still do to this day, kill, maim, rape and rob innocent people, including people from my home town. So when I see a boat flying a pirate flag, I ask the captain, "Are you a pirate? Or is that just a joke?" They rarely get it. I told that to an airhead female acquaintance and she replied that it gives the girls an excuse to wear bustiers. If you fly a pirate flag around me, just be happy I don't carry a gun, it is still legal to fire upon pirates.

PS, There is an idiot in my marina who flies a pirate flag and a Texas flag, both quite large, at equal height on his starboard spreader, and no national ensign, and no courtesy flag, but he does wear a MAGA Hat. I think his IQ is less than equal to the length of his vessel's water line. Today he steamed out with no water coming out his exhaust. Unfortunately someone called him on the radio and told him.

[JAFO]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Courtesy Flags:
As a matter of courtesy, it is appropriate to fly the flag of a foreign nation on your boat when you enter and operate on its waters. There are only a limited number of positions from which flags may be displayed. Therefore, when a flag of another nation is flown, it usually must displace one of the flags displayed in home waters. However, it is hoisted only after the appropriate authorities have granted clearance. Until clearance is obtained, a boat must fly the yellow 'Q' flag. Often cruising sailors fly both the courtesy flag and the quarantine flag (Q flag below) on entering a foreign port.

The courtesy flag is flown at the boat's starboard spreader, whether the ensign is at the stern staff, or flown from the leech. If there is more than one mast, the courtesy flag is flown from the starboard spreader of the forward mast.

Many thanks for the informative post.

However...

The blue-water cruiser I'm about to commence construction of is a two-masted schooner with unstayed masts, and no spreaders. So where does it fit into all this?

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by roqdocs

And American flag courtesy suggests no flag should be flown higher than Us flag! Flying the stars and bars flag makes you an entity of the US in international wsters. You are US flagged vessel. (No ensign flags) Drives me crazy when I see pickup trucks and power boats flying political flags on same level as US flags. You know who you are

Umm... this is kinda wrong, mate, if you wear your ensign from a staff at the stern as is common practice and in keeping with various official recommendations. One flies courtesy flags and signal flags from flag halyards to the lowest spreader on the foremast, and club burgees from a pig stick on the truck of the highest mast... all of which are properly higher that the ensign.

Jim

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by brendanwalls

So, I bought my Bristol 24 five years ago and have neither changed the name of the vessel (Ploiarion) or its port (Duluth MN) as displayed on the transom. It is now registered in Maryland and it's port is Herald Harbor. Am I obliged to do so?

US flagged vessels that are documented with the US Coast Guard are required to display the vessels name and its port of call that is officially recorded by such documentation.

US vessels that are NOT documented by the US Coast Guard, but which are only registered / titled by a State of the United States of America, are not required to have a name and port of call displayed, instead non-documented vessels must display State issued identification numbers. Such State only titled / registered vessels may display a name and a port of call, but are not required to do so and the port of call can be of the owner's choosing.

So Yes your Maryland registered vessel can continue to display is name Ploiarion and Herald Harbor as its home port.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by JAFO

Many thanks for the informative post.

However...

The blue-water cruiser I'm about to commence construction of is a two-masted schooner with unstayed masts, and no spreaders. So where does it fit into all this?

A pig stick (occasionally pigstick or pig-stick) is a staff that carries a flag or pennant, usually the burgee of the boat owner's yacht club or private signal, above a mast of a sailboat. The pig stick is connected to a halyard so that when raised to the top of the mast, it extends above the mast, allowing the flag to be seen flying above the boat's sails. Pig sticks are especially useful on catboats and other sailboats which have no stays to which a flag halyard can be attached.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Umm... this is kinda wrong, mate, if you wear your ensign from a staff at the stern as is common practice and in keeping with various official recommendations. One flies courtesy flags and signal flags from flag halyards to the lowest spreader on the foremast, and club burgees from a pig stick on the truck of the highest mast... all of which are properly higher that the ensign.

Jim

Correct, the placement of the ensign is at the vessel's traditional superior position, the physical height is not a representation of superiority of honorification.

In nautical use, the ensign is flown on a ship or boat to indicate its appartenance. While this includes its nationality, it may well indicate more information (e.g. civilian, naval, or police vessel) rather than being the national flag itself. This is particularly common for European and Commonwealth countries.

Ensigns are usually at the stern flagstaff when in port, and may be shifted to a gaff (if available) or mast amidships when the ship is under way, becoming known as a steaming ensign.

Vexillologists distinguish three varieties of a national flag when used as an ensign:

A civil ensign is worn by merchant and pleasure vessels. In some countries the yacht ensign, used on recreational boats or ships instead of merchant vessels, differs from the civil ensign.
A state ensign or government ensign is worn by government vessels, such as coast guard ships.
A naval ensign is used by a country's navy.

Many countries do not distinguish among these uses, and employ only one national flag and ensign in all cases; in the United States, for example, all ships of the seagoing services of the United States Government with the exception of the United States Coast Guard fly the national flag as their ensign, although the ships of some agencies also fly an agency flag as a "distinguishing mark." Other countries (like the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan) use different ensigns. Such ensigns are strictly regulated and indicate if the vessel is a warship, a merchant ship, a ship under contract to carry mail, or a yacht, for example.

[Montanan]

And lest we not forget about The Homeward Bound Pennant.

Homeward Bound Pennant
From at least the early 19th century, it has been the custom of ships returning from a long overseas deployment to fly an extra long commission pennant made up of whatever bunting could be assembled. In the Royal Navy, this is known as the "paying off pendant" because a ship used to be taken out of commission and its crew "paid off" at the end of each cruise. In the United States Navy, it is called the homeward bound pennant. Although not officially sanctioned by regulations, the Navy has issued guidelines for the use of this pennant in NTP-13(B), Flags, Pennants and Customs.
The display of the homeward bound pennant is limited to ships that have been outside the United States continuously for 270 or more days.

It is made up by the crew and flown in place of the normal commission pennant from the time the ship gets under way to proceed to a United States port until sunset on the day of arrival in the United States.

The pennant is 200 times longer than its width at the hoist. Like the commission pennant, the homeward bound pennant consists of white stars on a blue field at the hoist, and is divided red over white at the fly. It has one star for the ship's first nine months continuously outside the United States, plus another star for each additional six months.

The length of the pennant is one foot for each member of the crew who has been on duty outside the United States for nine months or more, not to exceed the length of the ship itself. Once the ship arrives home, the pennant is divided among the crew, with the captain getting the blue portion and the rest of the crew sharing the red and white portion equally.

[brendanwalls]

Originally Posted by Montanan

US flagged vessels that are documented with the US Coast Guard are required to display the vessels name and its port of call that is officially recorded by such documentation.

US vessels that are NOT documented by the US Coast Guard, but which are only registered / titled by a State of the United States of America, are not required to have a name and port of call displayed, instead non-documented vessels must display State issued identification numbers. Such State only titled / registered vessels may display a name and a port of call, but are not required to do so and the port of call can be of the owner's choosing.

So Yes your Maryland registered vessel can continue to display is name Ploiarion and Herald Harbor as its home port.

Thanks for the information.

Brendan

[goboatingnow]

In Ireland , we also have the ability to fly custom ensigns as long as they are “ warranted “ and the appropriate burgee is flown from the highest point. This ensign can only be worn if the warrant holder is aboard , several clubs are so warranted

We have no stipulation to lower the national ensign at night. The law only required it to be displayed , when entering and leaving a foreign port ( or as directed by an Irish naval vessel. But there’s only three of them so you’re unlikely to meet one !!)

[greenlantern]

60 cm x 90 cm

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

In Ireland , we also have the ability to fly custom ensigns as long as they are “ warranted “ and the appropriate burgee is flown from the highest point. This ensign can only be worn if the warrant holder is aboard , several clubs are so warranted

Close but not quite. The warrant is held by the yacht club or association etc. The yacht owner has a permit authorised by the club to fly a blue. We fly a blue ensign which ought to be supported by the appropriate burgee flown from the starboard spreader on a sloop.

Pete

[Amaleo]

A bit off the subject: for awhile I flew the first flag of the USA and the US Navy. No, it was not the Betsy Ross creation. It did have the red and white stripes, bu t instead of a blue field with white stars it had the British Union Jack. In fact, it was the flag of “John
Company” a.k.a. The British East India Company.
It is still sold to tourists in Boston.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Are my flags a classic faux pas?

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke

Attachment 228282Attachment 228282

Are my flags a classic faux pas?

Faux pas: Noun
noun
an embarrassing or tactless act or remark in a social situation.

Might you indicate what each of the two [or perhaps three] flags represent, it is unclear from the image. Hence one can not determine if they are being appropriately presented and thus signaled. Is there a tiny flag at top?

There does not appear to be any ensign, but such signal of appurtenance is not required or appropriate for a vessel which has not itself been granted nationality. All though an unflagged vessel often is required to display the nationality of the owner of the vessel in lieu of the lack of nationality of the vessel itself; depends on the law of the country upon which waters the unflagged vessel thence resides.

The flags appear to be of not similar proportionality as to sizing, which is more of an aesthetic and etiquette matter than a purely signaling issue which signaling places primary importance as to the flag's meaning can be discerned, rather than the intent of the display being as a courtesy.

Courtesy: Noun
noun
the showing of politeness in one's attitude and behavior toward others.

So courtesy is primarily perceived from the perspective of the "others", and not from the perception of the vessel's master. The question a vessel master should ask is would "the others" perceive that our vessel's showing of politeness by our display of their flag? [Or would they find disapproval of how their flag is being displayed?] There is an intent in displaying a courtesy flag; is the intent being fulfilled by how the courtesy flag flies?

So Cool Hand Luke, I will refrain from expressing an opinion as to whether your display is a faux pas, I will leave that to you discern and to "the others" to which you are signaling to to discern. If the tiny flag is a flag of the USA, then from a proportionality of sizing, I believe many [read most] US Americans would perceive such courtesy display to be inappropriate in manner, but not likely in intent, if it was your intent to signal such flag as a courtesy denoted with its display of superiority over the display of the two lower flags. Is the larger bottom flag a flag of Johns Hopkins perchance? Size does not mean everything but it is an important measure and factor to consider.

The flag with the letters is not of bidirectional fabrication and display which means that it can only be read properly from one viewpoint [in this instance, not the view from where the picture was taken]. Such flags benefit from being proscribed to have the words correctly displayed from both sides. The organization that has the authority to define their flags denotes the specifications for its proper display. A banner with words is best fabricated as a double-sided flag so as to read correctly from all perspectives.

As to flags types, there are:

Single-sided flags
Single-reverse flags
Double-sided flags

A “single-sided” flag is generally either an appliqued flag with letters or images sewn onto the fabric. The letters or images are sewn on to the “front” of the flag. There is no image on the “back side” of the flag, but you will see the stitching from the sewing on the front. Or, the “flag” is a sublimated, printed or thermoflexed flag on a material that does not allow the image to be viewed on the back. An example would be for a flag being hung on a wall.

Most flags are “single-reverse” flags. The U.S. Flag is a single-reverse. You see the image on both sides, but the “back-side” of the U.S. Flag is a reverse image or mirror image of the “front-side”.

Double-sided flags have the “correct” image on both sides (not a reverse image on one side).

By ways of unique example, The State of Oregon

The flag of the state of Oregon is a two-sided flag in navy blue and gold with an optional gold fringe. On the front is the escutcheon from the state seal and on the reverse is a gold figure of a beaver, the state animal. Oregon is the only U.S. State to feature different designs on either side of its flag (the flag of Massachusetts was changed in 1971 to be single-sided).