Find Others With Your Same Boat
& Getting More Info On Your Boat


Many people ask me for more information about a specific type of boat, or if I know any other owners. Most of the time I am very sad to have to reply that I don't. I have learned a few things about finding other owners and more info though - with just a little bit of work and some time, you will be amazed at how many owners can be found, and what type of historical information comes from them.

Make A Yahoo Group - The first thing to do is start an online discussion group at Yahoo.com, such as the PDRacer Yahoo Discussion Group. It is free to create, and comes with all sorts of neat web tools like a photo section that people can upload pictures of their boats to, a files section, a database to register owners, and ofcourse a mailing list that is easy to post to. Once you create a group, send me a link so I can add it to my pocket cruiser guide, and then others can find you. At a later time, if you decide to sell your boat and leave the group, you can always transfer the ownership of the yahoo group to someone else.

Create A History Document- With the yahoo group, there is a files section that you can upload files to. As members join, they can post the history of the boat's builder, specs etc, and you can create a text file for people to download.

Factory Brochures - If you are lucky, someone will come along with an original factory brochure and upload a copy of it. Just about every sailor I have met, loves to get a copy of the original brocure.

Factory Information & HIN - Factory built boats that were built after 1974 are all required to have a standard 12 digit Hull Identification Number (HIN) on the transom, in the upper starboard corner. The first 3 letters of the HIN Manufacture Identification Code (MIC) of the company that build your boat, which you can then lookup at the coast guard to see when they were in business. Sometimes the MIC's gets recycled, so the information at the coast guard is not about the company that made your boat.
Boatsafe's explanation of HIN & MIC
Coast Guard MIC Database



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Copyright © 2001 David Routh, All Rights Reserved

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