Norvan Power & Sail Squadron

Nautical Flags and their meanings

Download the CPS publication 'How to Fly Flags'

Flown on ships and boats

The National Flag of Canada is the proper national colours for all Canadian ships and boats, including pleasure craft. The Canadian Shipping Act states that a Canadian ship shall hoist the flag on a signal being made to her by one of Her Majesty's Canadian ships, or any ship in the service of and belonging to the Government of Canada; on entering or leaving any foreign port; and if of 50 tonnes gross tonnage or upwards, on entering or leaving any Commonwealth port.

Foreign vessels may fly the Canadian flag as a "courtesy flag" when they are berthed in a Canadian port. The flag then is customarily flown from the foremast.

Size of Flags

Although flags come in a fixed, standardized series of sizes, there are guidelines which will help in selecting the proper size for your boat. Keeping in mind that flags are more often too small than too large, use the rules given below, and round upward to the nearest larger standard size. The flag at the stern of your boat-Canadian. ensign, yacht ensign, or CPS ensign-should be one inch on the fly for each foot of overall length. The hoist will normally be two-thirds of the fly.

Other flags such as club burgees, officer flags, and private signals for use on sailboats should be approximately 1/2 inch on the fly for each foot of the highest mast above the water. For flying on powerboats, these flags should be roughly 5/8 inch on the fly for each foot of overall length. The shape and proportions of pennants and burgees will be prescribed by the organization to which they relate.

Honoring Other National Flags

As a matter of courtesy, it is proper 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, and consequently when a flag of another nation is flown, it usually must displace one of the flags commonly displayed in home waters. The following are general guidelines to follow regarding courtesy flags:

On a mastless powerboat, the courtesy flag of another nation replaces any flag that is normally flown at the bow of the boat.

When a motorboat has a mast with spreaders, the courtesy flag is flown at the starboard spreader.

On a two-masted motorboat, the courtesy flag displaces any flag normally flown at the forward starboard spreader.

On a sailboat, the courtesy flag is flown at the boat's starboard spreader, whether the country 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.

Although these points serve as protocol in most waters, keep in mind that customs observed in various foreign waters differ from one another; in case of doubt, inquire locally or observe other craft from your country.

Don't fly a foreign courtesy ensign after you have returned to home waters. Although this may show that you've "been there," it is not proper flag etiquette.

Weather Flags