Yet authorities decided against Boaty, instead choosing RRS Sir David Attenborough. They bestowed the Boaty name not on a boat but on a new type of robotic submarine that will explore under ice packs and in the coldest ocean areas.
This week, the first Boaty sub will be launched from a polar research ship at the tip of Chile. A cartoon version of Boaty, above, will 'market' the idea of oceanic research to school children around the UK. You can see the full Boaty McBoatface website here.
With such a fun name, and an appealing smiley face, Boaty is a brilliant brand ambassador for NERC's oceanic research.
To read about Boaty's adventures, join the 27k followers who read posts by the NERC on Twitter @NERCscience.
