Jimh wrote:
A boat made in c.1988 would have been required to have a molded-in federal HIN number on the transom. The requirement to have an etched HIN or a molded-in HIN was created in 1983, so a 1988 boat, to be legal, should have such a molded-in or etched number, not a metal tag.
I beg to differ - a molded-in HIN is not required. Note the sentence in paragraph (c) from the regulation 33 CFR § 181.29 quoted below:
- 33 CFR § 181.29 - Hull identification number display.
§ 181.29 Hull identification number display.
Two identical hull identification numbers are required to be displayed on each boat hull.
(a) The primary hull identification number must be affixed—
(1) On boats with transoms, to the starboard outboard side of the transom within two inches of the top of the transom, gunwale, or hull/deck joint, whichever is lowest...
(b) The duplicate hull identification number must be affixed in an unexposed location on the interior of the boat or beneath a fitting or item of hardware.
(c) Each hull identification number must be carved, burned, stamped, embossed, molded, bonded, or otherwise permanently affixed to the boat so that alteration, removal, or replacement would be obvious. If the number is on a separate plate, the plate must be fastened in such a manner that its removal would normally cause some scarring of or damage to the surrounding hull area. [Emphasis added] A hull identification number must not be attached to parts of the boat that are removable.
(d) The characters of each hull identification number must be no less than one-fourth of an inch high
Cf.: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/181.29:
"If the number is on a separate plate, the plate must be fastened in such a manner that its removal would normally cause some scarring of or damage to the surrounding hull area."
My 1990 Montauk 17 has the HIN on an aluminum plate riveted to the stern on the starboard side. Boston Whaler continued to use this identification method until the mid-1990s, when they transitioned to molding the HIN into the hull.
M