Wellcraft Californian 34 LRC HIN

I have a black tag in my Cali 34. The HIN number is JCM340120178. The black tag says 34-12. The insurance company says the three numbers following JCM34 is your boat number that was made that year which coincides with the black tag. Mine being the 12th 34 ft Cali built in 1978. Still unsure what the 01 number following the 12 means. We purchased this boat as a project boat and all mechanical engines are working but had major rot from leaks in the windows. Looking forward to cruising this year.

That helps a lot, cajun mistress. That would indicate my vessel is the 2nd boat in 1977, not hull #1. I do not have a metal tag on the post.

Does your boat have a header for radios and gages?

Was your rot found behind the settee? I have an area of the mahogany that appears to have been removed at a level below the top of seat back cushion. It's not visible until the cushion is removed. OTOH, it's a very clean cut and maybe it was built that way - not sure.

Humm. There is still something wrong with our HIN decoding.

My HIN is JCM037550776 Chase Tag says 37 -55 (37' #55)

Cajun - isn't there a "0" after JCM in your HIN?? I know after Marshall sold out more character letters were added to the HIN, but your boat should be a Marshall??

The three numbers after 037 would make my boat #550 according to your insurance Company. (37' was only built 2 years 1976 and 77 very limited production) and the chase tag says it was hull #55??

For me the "07" is the mystery. . . Maybe the month? My boat was delivered by truck to Seattle in August 1976, so that would make sense.

cajun mistress said:

I have a black tag in my Cali 34. The HIN number is JCM340120178. The black tag says 34-12. The insurance company says the three numbers following JCM34 is your boat number that was made that year which coincides with the black tag. Mine being the 12th 34 ft Cali built in 1978. Still unsure what the 01 number following the 12 means. We purchased this boat as a project boat and all mechanical engines are working but had major rot from leaks in the windows. Looking forward to cruising this year.

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Edelweiss said:

Humm. There is still something wrong with our HIN decoding.

My HIN is JCM037550776 Chase Tag says 37 -55 (37' #55)

Cajun - isn't there a "0" after JCM in your HIN?? I know after Marshall sold out more character letters were added to the HIN, but your boat should be a Marshall??

The three numbers after 037 would make my boat #550 according to your insurance Company. (37' was only built 2 years 1976 and 77 very limited production) and the chase tag says it was hull #55??

For me the "07" is the mystery. . . Maybe the month? My boat was delivered by truck to Seattle in August 1976, so that would make sense.

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Makes sense...CM, could it be that your HIN is JCM034120178? I have also wondered about the 2 digits before the 2-digit year being the month of completion. This might hold water if there are none higher than 12.

Evidently someone erroneously placed the zero after my 34 instead of 034 it reads 340. And since the black tag reads 34-12, it would be logical. I actually think this is an accurate understanding of my HIN
JCM340120178

JCM - made in California by Jules Marshall
340 (034 for some) length of the vessel
12 - number twelve built in 1978
01 - January production
78 - year built

THAT'S MY STORY AND I AM STICKING TO IT. LOL

Edelweiss it looks like by your HIN
JCM - California made by Jules Marshall
037 - length of your vessel
55 - number 55 boat made that year
07 - made in July
76 - a 1976 vessel.

Flywright - Our settee is the same as you describe, only ours is teak. No radio header but we will be adding one for sure!

We have the original owners manual that came with our Californian34. We put the pages in plastic covers and made a big notebook with them.

Are you saying the HIN on your boat is 340 or the paperwork is just wrong? You need to double check your paperwork against the hull number stamped into the transom on the starboard side of your boat. If the paperwork is wrong and doesn't match boats HIN you need to have it inspected and corrected. Are you documented or State registered?

340 is stamped on the boat. It is Coast Guard documented.

cajun mistress said:

Flywright - Our settee is the same as you describe, only ours is teak. No radio header but we will be adding one for sure!

We have the original owners manual that came with our Californian34. We put the pages in plastic covers and made a big notebook with them.

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These pics show the Philippine Ribbon Mahogany and a little of the header above the windshield.







I've never seen a Californian with teak aside from teak doors and exterior brightwork.

I've also never seen an original manual! Any gems of insight in there?

cajun mistress said:

340 is stamped on the boat. It is Coast Guard documented.

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As long as your paperwork matches the number stamped on the boat, that's all that matters. Regardless of whether is should have been 034 or 340. Errors in registration and titling can result in theft and recovery problems and issues with insurance.

Al
My back splash is factory and it's brown wood grain laminate which matches the counter tops. It isn't quite as tall as yours. The kick panel below the helm is aftermarket?? I have the same ribbon mahogany paneling.

My bad! Mine looked like that I guess before the rot. So I was wrong in thinking it was teak. It split when we removed it and I guess I mistaken thought it was teak plywood. But it did only go half way by the settee.

The manual listed places where the everything was made. It also tells you how to do everything that is just common sense if you know anything about boating.

So I guess I went to Houston Hardwoods to get the teak plywood when I most probably could have used the mahogany and purchased it around here. Should have asked some Cali owners first instead of taking the plunge!

Edelweiss said:

Al
My back splash is factory and it's brown wood grain laminate which matches the counter tops. It isn't quite as tall as yours. The kick panel below the helm is aftermarket?? I have the same ribbon mahogany paneling.

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The PO recovered the counters and table with beige laminate and, presumably, replaced the backsplash and fiddling sice they appear darker. I still have a section of that old dark wood grain laminate under the helm seat cushion.

I'm not sure about the kick panel...always assumed it was original, but never paid it much attention. I added a folding footrest to the helm seat that made a huge improvement in comfort. Several months ago, the PO boarded the boat while we were visiting his hometown of Petaluma. He noticed every improvement and commented on that one and the blinds we added as ones he wished he had done himself.

cajun mistress said:

My bad! Mine looked like that I guess before the rot. So I was wrong in thinking it was teak. It split when we removed it and I guess I mistaken thought it was teak plywood. But it did only go half way by the settee.

...Should have asked some Cali owners first instead of taking the plunge!

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There are some good articles I posted in this forum a long while back. We also have a thread with Californian Manual page scans. (They are 'stickies' at the top of the forum thread list.) Maybe you could add to the inventory. It just might become an archive where we can collect and share info to save us from those misunderstandings.

I have some repair work to complete on my header after removing some 1970s era radios and speakers. It's just mahogany, not the ribbon mahogany like on the walls. I picked up some mahogany veneer at a woodworking store. Until I get around to completing the job, I put a temporary section up there to cover the gaping holes and oiled it...it's a near perfect match.

I will definitely see if I can add to the manual. We are totally redoing the saloon and I will keep you posted on the progress. Shortly after we purchased the boat, we did replace the windows.. We found a blog where Mark's plastics had the mold and right away purchased them. Found the teak to do the walls in Texas and picked up some Teak and Holly to do the floor while we were there. Actually putting in a lot of work but that is what we expected. Thanks for your help and if I can be of assistance, please let me know

Chet

Chet, I'd sure love to see pics of your work in progress. I've seen a few Californians, but not torn up and rebuilt. If you need any pics or measurements of original components, let me know. I'd be happy to help.

Al;
I've got some of the same issues with some of my wall panels, particularly around the window corners. I'm looking at the veneer application as a possible solution; using either straight mahogany or sapele( more ribbon-like). Any chance you'd have a pic of the results using the oil finish?

Well, as a matter of fact, I do!

Here's the overhead panel.



The veneer is positioned between the brass clock and the black switch panel.



As you can see, it's not a perfect match, but it's more obvious under the flash lighting. It's harder to tell the difference under normal lighting.



I don't think this would be a good match for the Philippine Ribbon Mahogany on the walls.

Nice job; thanks for the photos; Have great season

Just thought I'd chime in with my HIN.

My 1981 34' Californian has a HIN of JCM34159M81G. The 34159 matches the numbers on the cable chase tag. I think this means that mine was the 159th hull built in the 34' model. If you check the "Modern Classics" article on the 34' Californian from the 1990 Sea Magazine (see the stickies here), it says that Marshall built 238 boats from 1977-1985. With the number built, my suggestion seems reasonable. This seems to numerically match up with Mgtdguy's number (34204 on a 1983 model) as well.

I know what the 81 means but, as far as the "M" and the "G", your guess is as good as mine....

This works well for my number but all bets are off when you look at Al's number on Flywright. It seems that his is either the first or second 34' built which makes it a bona-fide "Collector's Item"

Matt

Bustlebomb said:

Just thought I'd chime in with my HIN. My 1981 34' Californian has a HIN of JCM34159M81G. Matt

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Another Tustin, CA built boat!! . . . . .We had a previous discussion wondering if they moved production from Santa Anna plant to Tustin Plant in 1981. I guess this confirms that.

I wish there was better documentation about the HIN's. Looks like they changed their numbering format, adding alpha characters, when they moved the production to Tustin?

Here's my tag

Electro, tell us more about your 35 Californian. Built in 1985? Pics?

Does the HIN sequence match your tag as hull #3 (or #30)?

Hid

We found our current boat three years ago and had to sell our 34 quickly. Still wishing I could have worked a deal to keep her. I still miss the boat and envy you on the list who own them, a real fine boat for sure.

Here is the link to my FB photo album

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152628990097948.1073741827.770892947&type=1&l=a8bae2d790
Here is the link to my FB photo album

Great pics, Electro! I guess it wouldn't be right to mount a swimstep on a sportfisher!! She's a great looking boat. 25 Kts looks great on that hull. I did nearly that (23 kts) last summer on chc's 34 LRC with Detroit 250s.



What engines do you have? Your hull looks very similar to mine except that your trim tabs are tucked into hull cutouts. Mine are bolted onto the transom.

I have Cat 3208, Stamped for 210 Hp. They have the M&N twin turbo kit's on them
The previous owners said that there was a swim step on her at some point. You can see the bolts on the transom. 25knots felt and sounded awesome !! I didn't push her hard for long

Bustlebomb said:

Just thought I'd chime in with my HIN.

My 1981 34' Californian has a HIN of JCM34159M81G. The 34159 matches the numbers on the cable chase tag. I think this means that mine was the 159th hull built in the 34' model. If you check the "Modern Classics" article on the 34' Californian from the 1990 Sea Magazine (see the stickies here), it says that Marshall built 238 boats from 1977-1985. With the number built, my suggestion seems reasonable. This seems to numerically match up with Mgtdguy's number (34204 on a 1983 model) as well.

I know what the 81 means but, as far as the "M" and the "G", your guess is as good as mine....

This works well for my number but all bets are off when you look at Al's number on Flywright. It seems that his is either the first or second 34' built which makes it a bona-fide "Collector's Item"

Matt

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was following this thread to see what I could learn about the HIN's... I have a 42LRC, but it was Built in Tustin in 79.... my HIN is JCM421660379 so.. 42 ft. #166 March of 1979 as I understand it... seems they used the same pattern of numbering... which might be confusing if I am #166 in 1979 and you are #159 in 1981! So they must have used the sequence for each size boat.... but I also do not have the M or G or any other letter seen on many of the Tustin boats...

so I think I have mine figured out, but still leaves questions on yours