I'm trying to figure what hull # I am

[Sprite]

I'm trying to figure which hull # I am.
I know it's a 1962 and it has an L which is July.
I don't know what Pearson's model # that's given
by the manufacturer. Carl Alberg's plan for an Ariel is 33.
This doesn't match Pearson's #

I don't know how many boats were produced in July of 1962.
This would probably give me a clue.

Anything would help

John

[Bill]

Any chance you can trace the yacht's ownership? If the number plate is gone, you are unlikely to learn the boat's number. Is there a number on the sail? That would likely be the hull number. Also, a couple of owners have found a number under the strongback (or elsewhere), but in one case, the number was off by one digit (330 v 331). Usually, state registration data does not include a real hull number for the early Pearson's. Things changed in the 1970's with the industry's adoption of a standardized HIN.

[Scott Galloway]

John,

The hull # should be on your state registration form (pink slip or whatever). My boat came with the original owner letter as typed by Pearson in 1965. I found a hull number beneath the Formica on the main salon side of the main bulkhead just above the door. Unfortunately it was the wrong hull number. I suppose Pearson attempted to match bulkheads to hulls but sometimes they must have used the wrong bulkheads, or perhaps the formal final hull numbers were actually assigned when the boat left the factory. Thos final numbers may not have been the same as those labeled on some of the components (like the main bulkhead). A boat that started down the line after other boats could have moved ahead of those other boats through production for some reason, and having finished first might have earned an earlier hull number than was originally intended. I base this supposition solely on one anecdote. That is: My boat is hull #330 as documented on the registration and the bronze hull # plaque, but the main bulkhead bears the number #331. See the number 331 on the weird little drawing shown in the "Cave Paintings" thread of the Gallery forum.

[Sprite]

I have the serial number from the state. Would that be the Hin and it starts MSZ I think and then a few numbers (4) and an L and then a 119

John

[Bill]

That is probably a state supplied number. Go ask them what it means.

[Scott Galloway]

My certificate of ownership lists my hull number under the heading, "Hull Number" by a simple three digit number, with no prefix. No category for a "HIN" number is listed. Many power boats have long HIN numbers with a combination of letters and numbers. I am assuming that Pearson merely gave their boats three digit hull numbers, which were engraved onto bronze plaques, which were in turn affixed to the aft end of the cockpits .

[Bill]

My certificate of ownership lists my hull number under the heading, "Hull Number" by a simple three digit number, with no prefix. No HIN number is listed.

That's because you are registered in Calif. DMV is very good about getting it correct.

[Mike Goodwin]

HIN numbers came along in the 70's if memory serves correct .