Hull Numbers

[WaterCottage]

For comparison sake I assembled all the hull numbers that were included in the Registry.

There is quite a variance in the style used. Who knows what the protocol between Alwest/Alloy/Alcan was. In only the 17 examples below, there appears to 5 different styles alone.

Model ........ Reported Hull No#

420 __________ 2157-27

370 __________ 370 72 181 (Alwest style ? )

370 __________ 370 72 172

370 __________ 370 72 167

370 __________ 370 71 158

370 __________ 370 71 156

370 __________ 370 9 100 (Alcan style ? )

370 __________ 370 9 56

370 __________ 370 0 108

370 __________ 370953

370 __________ 67 (Alcan style ? )

370 __________ 33

370 __________ FLZH8684E769 (Alcan style ? )

320 __________ 15

300 __________ 15 1988

290 __________ HUE16CW4303

290 __________ W74314

Jay

[dpearson]

Interesting analysis. I am suspicious that not all hull numbers were assigned in a controlled fashion. The convention when things were sort of under control was:

MMM YY NNN The numbers were stamped by hand, so they are a little inconsistent in the use of spaces and dashes and things.

where MMM is model number, YY is the year and NNN is the hull number. I don't know for sure, but I think the hull numbers were consecutive from the beginning and don't restart at the beginning of the year. I also think that the Alwest hull numbers started off where Alcan left off.

Then there are is the collection of boats that came out of Alloy Manufacturing after they lost the contract to make the boats for Alcan. They continued making boats that were very similar under their own name and I haven't been able to make sense of the hull number scheme.

Then there are the boats that either didn't have a hull number or the owner couldn't find it when they went to register the boat. In those cases, I believe the registering government agency would assign a new number to the boat. I think the owner was requested to stamp the number into the hull somewhere. There is also the possiblility that some of these numbers are from an engine.

Cheers
David

[49thdiver]

So where are the Hull numbers actually located I have never noticed mine.

[dpearson]

Hi

The hull number is usually stamped into the grounding plate on the transom. The ground plate is a block of thicker aluminum plate around 8" wide and 3" tall welded to the hull. There will be a number of tapped holes with screws to allow the ground wires to be bonded to a common point. It is usually located around the center of the boat and up close to the top of the transom on the inside. It can often be difficult to make out the numbers as it may be covered up with the ground wires.

David

[Rob]

Catherine Ann is a 1972 Alwest 370 Hull Number 181 . . .
Originally, the ground wires were routed up from the screws . . . covering the HIN (Hull Identification Number)

[49thdiver]

Ah yes I found it it is 370 72 172

Thanks
Our boat was re-powered with ford lehman diesels perhaps as much as 10 years ago.
We have upgraded to 280 legs.
Recently I just blew a u joint and am rebuilding the bellhousing, upper gearbox housing and intermediate housing.
What a mess.


Cheers