Is this hull ID legit?

[krouth]

My wife and I are looking at a 1990 OA 42 Sedan Bridge. When we saw the hull ID (see image attached) it raised a flag to us because:

1. The HIN is not etched into the hull but is instead etched onto a plate that is attached to the hull. I've read this is acceptable, but is this common on other Ocean Alexander yachts?

2. The HIN first three letters are "TUY" and not "OAX" as I would expect. "TUY" appears to be a company called Sturgeon Bay Yachts. Is there any relationship between Ocean Alexander and Sturgeon Bay? I cannot find any based on my research.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Larry M]

I attached a tag with the hull number on our last boat. The previous owner had the boat painted. The painters sanded, filled and painted over where the hull number was. The boat had been numerous surveys and Coast Guard inspections since. It was noted a few times but never caused us any grief.

I have no idea on your first 3 letters.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

My Transpacific Marine Eagle 32 decodes to “Friday Harbor Yacht Sales” (Out of Business) who were probably the importers of the Taiwan built boat. I believe the HIN concept wasn’t a world wide standard until sometime later, thus the importers assigned numbers to U.S. commissioned boats back then. Maybe someone else could elaborate.

 

[Bacchus]

I dont know anythingbaboutbOA or Sturgeon Bay but wonder what the USCG Doc orvState Registration paperwork states.
In some cases I have read about there is a provision for issuing a new HIN where the previous one doesn't meet the standard format or other issues were present. If I recall correctly it was a state that issued the new HIN.

 

[hmason]

Why not contact OA?

 

[krouth]

I dont know anythingbaboutbOA or Sturgeon Bay but wonder what the USCG Doc orvState Registration paperwork states.
In some cases I have read about there is a provision for issuing a new HIN where the previous one doesn't meet the standard format or other issues were present. If I recall correctly it was a state that issued the new HIN.

Both the USCG and Maryland online searches for this yacht have the "TUY" hull ID listed in their results.

My biggest concern is if there is a possibility the boat was a salvage and someone created a new HIN (the one currently on the boat). If so, all the subsequent paperwork would agree with the HIN plate and there would be no discrepancies.

Or maybe as Eagle Pursuit suggested, the HIN plate was applied by the importer and not by the manufacturer. I was hoping there would be at least one other OA out there with a similar circumstance, but I cannot seem to find one.

Would a second HIN possibly be located somewhere else on the boat to cross-check?

I was just mainly concerned about it being TUY vs OAX and trying to understand that discrepancy. Thanks for your reply though!

 

[krouth]

Why not contact OA?

I tried calling them - it just transfers you to a local dealership (e.g. Marine Max) who could not tell me anything about a boat this old.

 

[Bacchus]

"Would a second HIN possibly be located somewhere else on the boat to cross-check?"

My understanding is all boats produced after some date??? Had a duplicate HIN hidden somewhere. The issue is location is not published and only one that knows where is the mfg.

Check this USCG link. I see included is a note for foreign mfgrs they do not issue Mfg ID Codes. They are only issued to the importers. That could explain the discrepancy?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...ChAWegQIERAB&usg=AOvVaw37B9tB2ry6uHk16OzKxXAG

 

[Comodave]

"Would a second HIN possibly be located somewhere else on the boat to cross-check?"

My understanding is all boats produced after some date??? Had a duplicate HIN hidden somewhere. The issue is location is not published and only one that knows where is the mfg.

Check this USCG link. I see included is a note for foreign mfgrs they do not issue Mfg ID Codes. They are only issued to the importers. That could explain the discrepancy?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...ChAWegQIERAB&usg=AOvVaw37B9tB2ry6uHk16OzKxXAG

The manufacturer will release the location of the hidden HIN but only to LE. So they can check to see if it is a stolen boat. They are not supposed to release it to an individual. I found one on a Carver that we owned a long time ago. It was on the inside of a stringer under one of the engines. I had both the engines out to work in the engine room and wasn’t actually looking for the hidden HIN.

 

[Bacchus]

The manufacturer will release the location of the hidden HIN but only to LE. So they can check to see if it is a stolen boat. They are not supposed to release it to an individual. I found one on a Carver that we owned a long time ago. It was on the inside of a stringer under one of the engines. I had both the engines out to work in the engine room and wasn’t actually looking for the hidden HIN.

Dave
That was my understanding re LEO as well. I
wonder what options there are for LEO with mfgrs that are out of business, been bought out name only (Ex Mainship... Marlowe won't even respond to any contact from MS owners)... and who knows with foreign Mfgrs whether they or the importer was required to comply with a duplicate HIN and how LEO are supposed to contact them?

 

[rslifkin]

The "hidden" HIN isn't always that hidden. Mine is just a stamped plate glassed onto the inside of the hull in the chain locker (HIN is readable through the single layer of glass over it).

 

[krouth]

Check this USCG link. I see included is a note for foreign mfgrs they do not issue Mfg ID Codes. They are only issued to the importers. That could explain the discrepancy?

That could certainly explain it. Maybe OA had multiple importers they used to import their yachts and Sturgeon Bay was one of them. I just wish I could hear from at least one other OA owner who had a HIN that started with TUY.

Thanks for the link!

 

[krouth]

I found one on a Carver that we owned a long time ago. It was on the inside of a stringer under one of the engines.

Mine is just a stamped plate glassed onto the inside of the hull in the chain locker (HIN is readable through the single layer of glass over it).

That gives me two places to look! Thanks for the replies!

 

[Insequent]

My wife and I are looking at a 1990 OA 42 Sedan Bridge. When we saw the hull ID (see image attached) it raised a flag to us because:

1. The HIN is not etched into the hull but is instead etched onto a plate that is attached to the hull. I've read this is acceptable, but is this common on other Ocean Alexander yachts?

2. The HIN first three letters are "TUY" and not "OAX" as I would expect. "TUY" appears to be a company called Sturgeon Bay Yachts. Is there any relationship between Ocean Alexander and Sturgeon Bay? I cannot find any based on my research.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I would be pretty confident that it is genuine.

On my OA Mk1, a 1981 build, that is the location and style of the HIN.
My boat was imported into the USA by Edmonds Yacht Sales and the first 3 letters of the HIN are "EYS". The last 4 letters of my HIN are the month and year of manufacture.

Boat HIN's don't have the same importance as motor vehicle ones do. A friend had an OA Mk1 here in Australia. At the time he sold it a couple of years ago nobody could find a HIN on it anywhere. Nor was there a HIN on any paperwork he had establishing a previous trail of owners. A long time ago somebody obviously did the "sand & paint job" on his transom mentioned in a post above. So the Queensland State registration folks said "no problem, we'll create a new HIN for you". Which they did. Sale completed, everybody happy....

 

[krouth]

On my OA Mk1, a 1981 build, that is the location and style of the HIN. My boat was imported into the USA by Edmonds Yacht Sales and the first 3 letters of the HIN are "EYS". The last 4 letters of my HIN are the month and year of manufacture.

Thanks so much! This makes me feel a lot better!

 

[m10brink]

Looks like you've solved most of the mystery. The little more that I can add is that Surgeon Bay likely had some sort of relationship with OA. According to our boat paperwork, our 1985 OA Sedan was sold through Sturgeon Bay Yacht Harbor, Inc. in 1987. (Our Hull ID # is also not the expected OAX, but isn't the TUY either... another mystery to solve, I guess!)

 

[krouth]

Looks like you've solved most of the mystery. The little more that I can add is that Surgeon Bay likely had some sort of relationship with OA. According to our boat paperwork, our 1985 OA Sedan was sold through Sturgeon Bay Yacht Harbor, Inc. in 1987. (Our Hull ID # is also not the expected OAX, but isn't the TUY either... another mystery to solve, I guess!)

Thanks for providing more insight - it definitely makes me feel better!

 

[stevemitchell]

As a number of others have noted, in the 1970s-1980s, OA appears to have used importers whose company name or other abbreviation were the first three letters of the HIN. My previous OA 420 HIN was "WYS420xxxxxx" for Western Yacht Sales here in the Seattle area.

 

[tiltrider1]

I can’t remember when the government started regulating HIN#’s. It might not have been until the 90’s. I had one boat that had numbers added to it 15 years later when the state decided all HIN’s would be a specific length. OA was assigned several prefixes, one for each yard that they built in but I don’t believe this showed up until the 90’s.

 

[Comodave]

November 1, 1972.

 

[HTurner]

I can’t remember when the government started regulating HIN#’s. It might not have been until the 90’s. I had one boat that had numbers added to it 15 years later when the state decided all HIN’s would be a specific length. OA was assigned several prefixes, one for each yard that they built in but I don’t believe this showed up until the 90’s.

Any boat built in or imported into the US since November 1, 1972 requires a HIN number.

 

[tiltrider1]

Any boat built in or imported into the US since November 1, 1972 requires a HIN number.

Yes, requires, but when did they start regulating the Number of digits and the code that is currently required.

 

[HTurner]

Yes, requires, but when did they start regulating the Number of digits and the code that is currently required.

Read this, info, history, formats, etc.:


https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NASBLA/76594a34-f3a1-4916-95ac-1e9c872170cc/UploadedImages/advocacy/committees/VIRT/SNS/2-HIN-Validation-Verification-Guidelines-Updated-4_20_18.pdf

 

[ProMaritime]

It's smart to have the HIN engraved in a two or three secret hard to detect locations on your boat.

The rented truck that was used in the attempt to try to blow up the NY World Trade Center the first time in the early nineties they found the perps because the VIN was stamped into the rear axial as was well as the engine block and maybe other places. The truck was part of a fleet of trucks built by GM and sold to the rental company. Easy enough to trace. The dummy used his own name and driver's license to rent the truck. Busted!

 

[learjett2]

My '88 OA 42 has it imbedded into the glass,with OAX 42 as the first digits. If the hull has been painted or even polished it could very well been buffed out, it takes a beating from the sun in that spot. Just remove the placard an you should be able to see the remaining digits.

 

[Kensington]

Boat HIN

It does occur where an importer has a different HIN. To properly identify the boat, you can request an Abstract of Title from the Coast Guard, this will give you a history of the entire boats ownership. The cost is $25.00, the form link is below




https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/...Request_Form.pdf?ver=GnQmYpcG-HA-TOd1E8DcIQ==

 

[JAllen]

HIN for OA

We have a 1980 OA MRK1.
The HIN starts with LHB which is Hinkley Yachts.
It’s an east coast boat so that would make since as the importer.

 

[live2fish]

Our OA is newer and therefore the HIN begins with OAX but check the engine room of the boat you are considering. The HIN on our boat is also on a stringer just aft of the starboard engine stamped into the glass under the gelcoat.