Must locate HIN on CT35 Ketch

[Ken Henry]

A guy shows up at the marina office saying he owns my boat!? I bought it back in Jan 2012 and had it documented. Now it seems the 'Official Number on the docs have the number of his Cal 39. (Appears he doesn't own my boat, and neither do I but I do own his, this is confusing). Now they need me to make a 'rubbing' of the Hull Identification Number and I can't find it anywhere. Its not on the starboard transom. Can anyone tell me where to find the hull number for a 1977 CT 35 Ketch built at the Ta Chiao yard, Taiwan?

[TheOffice]

normally it is on the transom, starboard side. call your lawyer!

[gjordan]

I believe that the first letters of the HIN indicate the builder. Look at your doc papers and see if the letters indicate a cal or a CT. I dont know the codes but they have been posted on CF before. The Coast Guard or any other buisness sometimes makes mistakes, but dont like to admit it. Contact the CG and explain the problem and see where it goes from there, before you pay for a shark/lawyer. If the irate (owner?) other person seems unhinged get in touch with the harbour master and the local police. It will probably turn out to be just a paper work nightmare to straighten it out. Did you buy it through a broker? If they contributed to the screw up, they should help you sort it out.____Good Luck_____Grant.

[osirissail]

It is not unusual for the HIN to get sanded off the transom if the boat has been repainted. However, as suggested by others, the HIN is shown on the USCG Documentation in the 3rd block top row labeled "IMO or Other Number."

If that block is blank, then there may be something "fishy" about the boat and who owned it and who sold it as the HIN should appear on all relevant papers (like the Bill of Sale) during the sale process to properly identify the boat during the sale.

The USCG Documentation number is normally permanently cut/ground/carved into the hull somewhere in the boat as an identifier as to the boat being USCG Documented. You need to find that number to see if it agrees with what is on the USCG Documentation paperwork you were given.

[Ken Henry]

Thanks for the help. Found the HIN carved on the underside of the port side upper teak stern rail, this boat has no stainless railing on the stern, it begins with TAC which agrees with the builder. (glad the rail was never damaged and replaced) Taking the rubbing of this and all docs to the local documentation specialist who first registered it for me. Hopefully get this mess straightened out swiftly and inexpensively.

[sailing_jack]

I have a CT 35. The HIN is imprinted in the bottom of the real rail, left hand side looking up from behind the stern. The number will be TAC XXXXX XXXX
Mine is TAC 35015 7503 which means Ta Chiao 35 hull # 15 built march 75

[Cheechako]

How much do you want for the cal 39? :>)
Seriously though... something's missing here.... a guy with a Cal 39 shows up out of the blue and jumps you about your boat....? What ...he just got lucky picking you at random from about 3 million boats in the US? What am I missing...?

[jeremiason]

Ken

Now that you have the hull number, go to the USCG Web Site and run it....See what Documentation Number is assigned to the hull number, which should help you in the long run dealing with this.

You are probably aware, but once a Documentation Number is assigned to a vessel it never changes, even if the owner registers the vessel with a State.

An example would be a Documented vessel is sold and the new owner registers the vessel with his home state instead of the USCG. 20 years later I buy it and register it with the USCG... They activate the orginal Documentation number not a new one.

Sounds like there has been a major paperwork mistake....

Good Luck