Gosh, what a plethora of ideas!
Birds are always good, of course - which is why I chose Fantail. And, surprisingly, didn't encounter another. I had thought of Mandarin, which I thought excellent and subtle (mandarin ducks, for those who don't know, are a beautiful little wood duck of gorgeous colouring.) with the duck, the language and all sorts of Chinese overtones. Unfortunately Pete's reaction was to ask if I intended to paint her orange, which implied that this is what other people would say: "Why isn't she painted orange, if she's called mandarin?" I can live without that.
But I do have a desire to be a little unusual, so Black Swan won't do, because I know one. And the boat is perhaps not quite swan-like. But Takahe is the other extreme, much as I love the birds. They do look a bit like a pukeko on steroids and I think the designer might object to his boat being conceived as rotund. BTW, they are far from being black, David, they are a very beautiful purply-blue. The colour scheme I'm planning is the one in my 'avatar'. The main problem with English bird names, is that few of them are euphonious. Think of albatross: such a beautiful bird, but not the nicest of words. Larus is the genus - all gulls and our local gulls are even louder and more raucous than I am, so maybe not. But most Latin names tend to be too long or unpronounceable. Tui is gorgeous of course, but sadly appropriated by a (rather indifferent) brewer. Maori names are much better and I'm tempted by stilt - Poaka- black stilt - Kaki - and oyster catcher - Torea, all of which are native waders. Kaki are highly endangered, too (surprise, surprise), so it would be a way of raising their profile a teensy-weensy amount. BTW, sorry to hear the back's giving you grief again, David. No use suggesting you take it easy, I know.
Your suggestion of Leucophaeus, Asmat, has the disadvantage that I don't know how to pronounce it! And nor, I suspect, would anyone else. They are nice birds, but don't come south of the Equator.
Such, alas, is my ignorance, that I had to Google Armadietto delle bevande. Hmm, apart from being rather a mouthful - imagine trying to spell it phonetically over the VHF: "I say Alpha Romeo Mike Alpha er Delta Echo erm Tango Tango Oscar, new word What did you say? No, new word! Erm Delta Echo - where was I ....?" No, while booze locker might be an appropriate name, I don't think it's quite what we're looking for.
Hop names. How come there are so many alcohol-related suggestions? Most of them, in the list you suggested, David, are the names of villages or areas in S Island. Sticklebract is a lovely word, but I'm with Michel and that Fuggle is a great name for a small boat. Overtones of fuddle and snuggle with hints of Harry Potter. A cosy word like bumble. Sorry Michael - I think I'll shortlist that one. But I'd have to become a serious beer drinker and they are as boring as wine snobs!