Mr 88 wrote:[My boat's HIN] is BWC 9B012 0787.
We are now depending entirely on your visual interpretation of the HIN. Please post a close-up image of the actual HIN from the hull. You may be misinterpreting a letter or number.
Mr 88 wrote:I read [in the FAQ] the month built [in the HIN format in use after 1984] is designated by a letter.
Yes, that is federal law.
Mr 88 wrote:[The HIN on my boat] does not meet that criteria.
Were that true, then Boston Whaler would have been in violation of federal law in the marking of this 1987 hull.
Mr 88 wrote:...I would interpret [the hull] is a 1987 built in July and hull number 12.
There is no basis for your interpretation of the month to be July. The month is not represented by a number. Also, model change over usually occurs in July, so if the boat were built in July 1987 it would more likely be a 1988 model year.
Mr 88 wrote:Not sure where the model fits into these numbers, or why I do not have a letter that matches up with a month that [the hull] was built.
To learn "where the model fits into these numbers" you have to use the HIN-Sequence table. Please see the FAQ for more about the HIN-Sequence table.
A more likely interpretation:
BWC = Boston Whaler
9B012 = five character production sequence ID; see below
0 = possibly misinterpreted character; perhaps actually a "D" for April
7 = last digit of year of production, thus because model year was 1987, this mean production year was 1987
87 = definitely 1987, this means use of the "new" format was mandatory
HIN-Sequence "9Bnnn" is for 27-foot hulls. 9B012 would be the 12th hull in the 27-foot hull series.