This web site
http://www.usa-flag-site.org/forum/flag ... -1478.html provides some information....
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I would like to place an American Flag on my boat. What are the rules for this ? bow or stern, port or starboard
The general custom is that the national flag is displayed at the stern, which is the place of honor on a vessel. (This custom goes back at least to Roman times. Roman ships carried a religious icon or statue at the stern, which was called the "pupus" -- I believe that this is why the raised after deck is sometimes called the "poop." A more practical reason is that the stern was usually the captain's station.)
The national flag is normally flown from a staff at the stern, unless this would interfere with some aspect of the vessel's operation (for example, a sailing vessel with a boom that extends over the stern). In this case, the flag is flown from the aftermost mast, typically from a gaff. On some sailing vessels, it's flown from the backstay of the aftermost mast, or even from the luff of the sail itself. There are many variations; for example, many large merchant ships fly the ensign from a staff located in the after part of the superstructure, even though it's well forward of the stern.
the size of the staff in relation to the size of the flag.
I don't think that there are any real rules for this -- whatever is practical and looks good.
I also will be flying a yacht club flag on another staff how would that be flown in relation to the U.S. Flag.
I've seen yacht club flags flown at the bow, at the masthead, and on the starboard stays. I'm not sure that there is any standard, other than the regulations of the yacht clubs themselves.
BTW, the subject of flag display on vessels is not covered at all in the flag code. This is probably because the code was originally based on Army regulations which didn't deal with boat-type stuff. This gets tricky when the US flag is flown from a nautical-style flagpole on shore: Should the US flag be at the peak of the gaff (maritime usage) or at the masthead (land usage)? If they ever decide to revise the flag code, this is something that should be fixed.
Also, all of the above deals with civilian usage. In the Navy, the national flag is flown at the stern when the ship is moored, and from the gaff on the mast when the ship is underway. When coming into port, "shift colors" is supposed to happen when the first mooring line hits the pier.
Peter Ansoff
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2004 268 Vista "Satisfy My Sol"
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