| A HIN Number (Hull Identification Number) was required by 1972 US regulations to be affixed to every recreational boat. From June 1998 the European Recreational Craft directive also required a HIN which was later in 2006 renamed CIN (Craft Identification Number) |
| The RCD also requires a country prefix which should be separated from the rest with a hyphen. |
| So for instance US-XXXXXXXXXXXX for an American built boat. |
| This one is US - DNAFA012C505 |
|
| US - DNAFA012C505 |
| The DNA is the Manufacturer Identification Code. In this case it is Donzi Marine |
|
| US - DNAFA012C505 |
| The FA is the model number |
|
| US - DNAFA012C505 |
| The 012 is the serial number of the boat |
|
| US - DNAFA012C505 |
| The C is the month the yacht was built |
|
| US - DNAFA012C505 |
| The 5 is the year the yacht was built. |
|
| US - DNAFA012C505 |
| The 05 is the model year |
| Example of a HIN Plate. The requirement is that it should cause visible damage to the hull if removed. I would not consider this plate to be compliant but because of lax standards it is not rare to see such plates and it can be that they were actually fixed by the manufacturer and not necessarily a sign of a stolen boat. Nevertheless it is worthy of comment. |
| In the above example we have US-FGQ8C198K708 which is built by FGQ so Fountain Powerboats. |
| The interesting thing is we have a 2008 model |
| US-FGQ8C198K708 |
| But the boat was built in 2007 not 2008. This is not unlikely as manufacturers may produce next years model and stockpile it for sale in the next year. If the yacht was noted by the HIN to be built more than 1 year previous to the model year than that would be considered suspect and the HIN may have been faked. |
| The usual location for a HIN/CIN would be the starboard side of the transom, above the waterline. As an example I have seen the following locations : |
| Bertram 670 - Starboard side of transom Full HIN number |
| Beneteau (modern) - Port side topsides aft (Hull number only, 3 digits) |
| Bavaria (modern) - Starboard topsides aft at logo (Full HIN number Plate or branded into gelcoat) |
| Fountane Pajot Venetia - Starboard hull on inner topsides aft. |
| A second HIN/CIN will be affixed in a secret location inside the boat but this location will only be known by the builder. |
