What does my boats VIN/HIN mean?
Did you know that a boat VIN is actually referred to as the HIN, or hull identification number. This is what is considered the social security number of the boating world. As each manufacturer constructs a hull, they are given very strict regulations with which they need to follow and include the format of the HIN itself as well as the location and size of where it is placed. This number stays with the hull forever, no matter the changes it may go through, just as a social security number stays with a human no matter the changes they may make to their appearance.
In 1972, the US Coast Guard worked with the government to create the guidelines for the HIN format. Although they have changed slightly from 1972 to 1984, it has remained very close to what it is today. All HIN's are 12 characters in length, although some may add country codes at the beginning, separated from the actual HIN by a hyphen. However, when documenting the true HIN, those should not be included. The first 3 characters of the HIN are what is called the Manufacturers Index Code, or MIC. This is used to distinguish which manufacturer actually designed and built the boat. Bayliner, for example, actually has many different MIC's (upwards of 15) which are used to help distinguish which plant did the production or what year the boat was designed. The next five characters of the HIN are what each manufacturers uses as a serial number. Depending on the manufacturer, these could be random order or specific information describing characteristics of the hull and boat itself. The next two characters define the year of certification, or the year the boat started construction. The 9th character must be a letter which represents the month construction began followed by the last number of the year in the 10th character spot. The last two characters, spots 11 and 12 of the HIN signify what model year the boat is. Therefore, if you have the following HIN: WEL12345B899, it would be a Wellcraft, certification of September 1998, and model year 1999.
As previous mentioned, the HIN stays with the boat until the boat is completely destroyed. Therefore, should you purchase a boat, gut it, rebuild it and sell it as something else, the HIN would still remain the same. Tampering with a HIN is against the law as the manufacturing and format are federally regulated. It would be the same offense as tampering with the VIN (vehicle identification number) on a car. The reason for this is so that you can always go back and check the history of that hull. For example, if a boat is salvaged and rebuilt, when you run a Boat History Report on that boat, you will see it's salvaged history and would therefore be able to conduct a better survey of the boat to check for signs of weakness.
That being said, no matter the size of your boat, your first stop when looking to buy anything used should be a history report that will identify if the boat is a salvage, been damaged, had a fire, has an environmental lien and many other potentially dangerous events in its history. You will also be able to see what recalls and warranties the boat has which will help you in asking important questions to the seller. BoatHistoryReport.com is our recommendation based customer service and thoroughness of the reports. Your next step, depending on the size of the boat, would be to contact a marine surveyor. If the boat is under 25 feet, or within a few grand, its a personal preference as to whether you will want to spend money on a complete marine survey as they can get expensive. However, as the boat gets up there in length and price, it would not be wise to try and save money by not getting it done. It would be the equivalent of buying a house without having it inspected.
I hope this page of information has been of help to you as you search for your boats VIN/HIN records. Buying a boat can be a very exciting time as long as you take as many precautions as possible to ensure you are getting a good deal and a safe boat. Don't buy a car without checking the VIN in Carfax.com or AutoCheck.com and don't buy a boat without checking the HIN in BoatHistoryReport.com.
In 1972, the US Coast Guard worked with the government to create the guidelines for the HIN format. Although they have changed slightly from 1972 to 1984, it has remained very close to what it is today. All HIN's are 12 characters in length, although some may add country codes at the beginning, separated from the actual HIN by a hyphen. However, when documenting the true HIN, those should not be included. The first 3 characters of the HIN are what is called the Manufacturers Index Code, or MIC. This is used to distinguish which manufacturer actually designed and built the boat. Bayliner, for example, actually has many different MIC's (upwards of 15) which are used to help distinguish which plant did the production or what year the boat was designed. The next five characters of the HIN are what each manufacturers uses as a serial number. Depending on the manufacturer, these could be random order or specific information describing characteristics of the hull and boat itself. The next two characters define the year of certification, or the year the boat started construction. The 9th character must be a letter which represents the month construction began followed by the last number of the year in the 10th character spot. The last two characters, spots 11 and 12 of the HIN signify what model year the boat is. Therefore, if you have the following HIN: WEL12345B899, it would be a Wellcraft, certification of September 1998, and model year 1999.
As previous mentioned, the HIN stays with the boat until the boat is completely destroyed. Therefore, should you purchase a boat, gut it, rebuild it and sell it as something else, the HIN would still remain the same. Tampering with a HIN is against the law as the manufacturing and format are federally regulated. It would be the same offense as tampering with the VIN (vehicle identification number) on a car. The reason for this is so that you can always go back and check the history of that hull. For example, if a boat is salvaged and rebuilt, when you run a Boat History Report on that boat, you will see it's salvaged history and would therefore be able to conduct a better survey of the boat to check for signs of weakness.
That being said, no matter the size of your boat, your first stop when looking to buy anything used should be a history report that will identify if the boat is a salvage, been damaged, had a fire, has an environmental lien and many other potentially dangerous events in its history. You will also be able to see what recalls and warranties the boat has which will help you in asking important questions to the seller. BoatHistoryReport.com is our recommendation based customer service and thoroughness of the reports. Your next step, depending on the size of the boat, would be to contact a marine surveyor. If the boat is under 25 feet, or within a few grand, its a personal preference as to whether you will want to spend money on a complete marine survey as they can get expensive. However, as the boat gets up there in length and price, it would not be wise to try and save money by not getting it done. It would be the equivalent of buying a house without having it inspected.
I hope this page of information has been of help to you as you search for your boats VIN/HIN records. Buying a boat can be a very exciting time as long as you take as many precautions as possible to ensure you are getting a good deal and a safe boat. Don't buy a car without checking the VIN in Carfax.com or AutoCheck.com and don't buy a boat without checking the HIN in BoatHistoryReport.com.