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Looking thru all the wonderful images on this site, it suddenly occurred to me to ask how many of you fly the flag on your boat?

Speaking for myself, I think a beautiful flag on a beautiful boat makes the picture complete.

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I do.

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We do all the time.

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i do as well. Have a very nice flag (size) on teak, and also have a Whaler flag i fly at the bow.. :)

Duf

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I plan on doing so, I must admit I am an insufferable patriotic person. I just put a 12 footer across my man cave wall. It is awesome and fits the man cave motif. Now I just need to find an American Flag, made in America.

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American flag always on the boat. We sometimes will fly another flag(maine, Whaler, Johnsonn) from the bow.

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I keep a 3x5 flying in front of my home. I'll only buy an American made American flag and interestingly the last place I found one was Walmart. Must be about the only American made product they carry.

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I bought mine some years back from a place called BoatUS...and it was American made. I use the stern light bracket to fly the flag during the day time (the only time I am on the water). My original concern was the appropriateness of flying the US flag off a private vessel.....I was initially (back in 1993) unsure of the regulations and conventions.

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It's not only proper, it's expected. Chapman's has pages and pages of how when and where, but a short (?) discussion follows that I got on line.

For most people's boats, flag etiquette begins and ends with the problem of which ensign, or national flag, to fly and where to fly it. Sailors and all other boaters who are United States citizens may choose between two flags. One is the usual 50-star national flag known as the ensign. The other is a special flag called the yacht ensign that, in place of the 50 stars standing for the states, depicts a fouled anchor on a field of 13 stars.

The story of these two ensigns is an interesting one. In the early to mid-19th century, most yachts looked like fishing boats and other commercial vessels. Ports charged a local duty to visiting commercial vessels, whose skippers often attempted to convince customs officials that they were pleasure sailors. The officials ignored those claims and collected fees from all entering boats, including yachts. Under pressure from yachtsmen, the American and British governments independently approved special national flags to be flown only from yachts. In the United States, the yacht ensign was designed by the officers of the New York Yacht Club in 1848. It remains a legal national flag for boats in US waters.

Everyday Flag Etiquette

All boats operating in inland waters can fly the U.S. "Old Glory" 50-star flag, or the U.S. Yacht Ensign.,

Flags are flown, traditionally from 8:00am to sunset, from:

Stern staff (when under way or occupied)
Sailboats-on aftermost sail 2/3 length of the leach above the clew
Sportfisherman-on halyard just behind the tuna tower

Courtesy Flags

Show respect when you travel to other nations (or other states) by flying their flags when you enter or operate your boat in their waters. Boats in international waters also fly the 50-star U.S. flag, and not the Yacht Ensign, in the traditional location.

Fly Courtesy Flags:

Mastless boats-at the bow
Boats with spreaders-from the starboard spreader
Multiple-masted boats-from the starboard spreader of the forward mast

Burgees

Yacht club burgees are flown either from the masthead, from the bow pulpit, or from under the starboard spreader (below any courtesy flags).

Enjoy.

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I do as well. I found that I could fasten it to the supports on my bimini top, while it is not as classy as having a flag pole, it still displays the colors well.

Of course, my two sons picked out the Jolly Roger which flies on the opposite side of the whaler.

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A good rule of thumb so your flag looks proportional to your boat is one inch of flag per one foot of boat length.

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Never have and shame on me...

I just bought my flag off ebay and will fly it from now on off my anchor light pole...

Thanks for your post !

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I have one in front of my home, (4x6) on a flag pole, its lighted and flies 24/7/365. I have another one hanging in my garage that's 3x5. Small flags flies here three times a year are on EVERYONE's home in my neighborhood, 4th of July, Veteran's Day, and Memorial Day. The entrance to the neighborhood (Davie West, Florida 33328) also has an American Flag that's on a pole and lighted it flies there 24/7/365 as well. The only other flags that I have ever seen fly in this neighborhood are collages or sports...

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I just posted my flag pic ! Is there specific Flag Hardware for a stern pole or will this have to do ?

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5 days ago I bought a 24" flag (American/made) and a 30" Oak dowel. Spent an hour ripping a channel in the dowel to epoxy the flag into. Then mounted it to the flag mount hole at the bow. I like it on the bow, and if it is not proper flag etiquette, oh well. The boat has been out once since I bought it and I am getting anxious. Refit in progress.
My 3x5 flies 24/7/365 on a lighted 30' pole, in my front yard. It is an American made, embroidered flag and is about a month old. Replacing the old glory that had graced the pole of my home for the last 20 years.