Good Luck Coins Under Engine?

[Passages]

What is the deal with fiberglassing a silver dollar under each engine? Dockside chat (with a mechanic) said "Oh yeah, a lot of boats have imbedded coins - right from the factory" I never found one on any of my boats and I spend A LOT of time crawling around bilges.

Googled "boat coin" & "engine coin" and got nothing.

Is this some boat mechanic tradition or was my leg just being pulled?

(Note to mods - if my leg was being pulled, I'd appreciate you deleting this thread to avoid further embarrassment)

[MarioG]

I know the cruise ships have a coin placed in the keel when being built. I think it's a greek tradition for luck. goes back many moons...

[SKYCHENEY]

I think you need to buy a boat

[Passages]

I think you need to buy a boat

Hey, I have 3 boats - all under 18'. Maybe if I find enough of these bilge coins I can get a real boat again.

[Boatsb]

It was customary for shipwrights to put a gold coin somewhere in the keel and a silver coin was put somewhere below the mast. The gold coin was for good luck and the silver coin protected the ship and the crew from storms.

[SKYCHENEY]

This appears to be a sailboat thing. Is that what you mean by a real boat?

Here is what I found:

Sailors believe it is good luck to place a coin under the mast step. We found a 2007 dollar coin, and oriented Lady Liberty forward so she can light our way.

[Passages]

Sailboats???
Well no wonder I didn't know anything about it.

[Maynard Rupp]

Everytime we step a mast in spring, we always put a silver coin under it. I win lots of races because of that thing. You will find that even a penny, (cheapscate), in the bilge under each engine and the genny, will make those engines run smoother and more reliably. That also extends the time between overhauls. Too bad that some of you guys never raced sailboats. We have lots of performance enhancing stuff like that. Just don't ever bring bannanas aboard a boat or all other good luck charms are null and void. Last place will surely be yours to behold. Your old Detroits will smoke like a Mexican chimney.

[Passages]

In that case, we need to have this thread moved to the Hatteras Tech Talk section.

[Capt K]

I think I see the problem and confusion, Jim. For good luck on your new boat, you need to firmly embed the coins into the hand of a broker, first.

I hope this clarifies things.

K