What do you think of Boaty McBoatface?

"Pandering to the masses"? It's a name for a boat not a dissertation.

I'd go with Boaty McBoatface any day, and, as a letter writer said in the I today: "Can anyone name a current Arctic research vessel. If the NERC wants people (especially children) to be engaged with its work and follow the progress of the ship, Boaty McBoatface is the ideal name".

The I also referred to an adopted owl in an owl sanctuary that had been named "Hooty McOwlface".

OK, so it's silly. Quite naturally, lots of people feel pretty sad about the state of the world today. Sometimes they need a break, something to giggle about.

I agree that it will always be known as Boaty. It's such a good point that children might be drawn to environmental research and if NERC has any commercial brains, it should produce toy/model versions of the new boat.

Why not Boaty . . . It certainly raised interest in the work of the NERC and I'll guess few people, children or adults were aware what that acronym stood for or what the NERC does before the crazy name for the boat.

It is about time the masses were pandered to.

The NERC need to be careful they dont look po and elitist.

Fantastic free marketing for environmental research. Boaty will always be newsworthy from henceforth.

Have been watching this on BBC south news at night , its become a topic of note on the programme.
Mick

And I really really hope my DH gets a trip on it... Even though he would be incommunicado for a while. When he went for a short trip to the English Channel it was very strange - waving off your man at the jetty down the road from the house and knowing he's unlikely to get any phone signal for several days.

I find myself chuckling over Boaty McBoatface every time I see / hear it mentioned. Such good fun and so very British! I keep thinking it is the sort of thing my 20-something sons would have come up with. And whatever the 'real' name turns out to be, it will stuck now .

Tch ... stick even ...

I'm voting for Henry Worsley to honour our own modern explorer who died so tragically so young.

That is an excellent idea!

click here to read about him

..... and Boaty McBoatface has won the poll. Wonder what they will name her?

Boaty Mcboatface if course!

Let democracy rule the day!

Democracy!