Help interpreting HIN

A conversation among Whalers
Tacky79
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Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 1:49 pm

Help interpreting HIN

Postby Tacky79 » Tue Jun 04, 2019 2:13 pm

I checked the FAQ and still don't quite understand this HIN of a used boat I came across. Would anyone care to help?

Image

To me, it appears to be BWCJAD84D393

Making it April of '93 production and a 1993 model? I don't see the JAD84 anywhere on the model designation list.
2017 Boston Whaler Montauk 190 w/ 150 Merc/Fish Pkg/Bowrail delete/aft seating
1979 Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2 sailboat with sails and a tiller :D

jimh
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Re: Help interpreting HIN

Postby jimh » Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:14 pm

BWC = Manufacturer Identity Code = Boston Whaler
JA084 = five character production number; see further discussion below
D = Month of production; D = April
3 = Year of production; 1993
93 = two-digit model year

The boat was made by Boston Whaler in April of 1993 as a 1993 model-year.

The production sequence JA084 is decoded in a separate index called the HIN-SEQUENCE index and mentioned in the FAQ and a hyperlink is given in the FAQ for accessing this information. The third character of this five-character group is a zero, but careful observation is necessary to determine this. Comparison with the later "D" embossed character for month of production shows this production number character is not a "D" but a "0" (zero).

According to the HIN-SEQUENCE index a production code with prefix "JA" was used on 21-foot OUTRAGE models, starting at the sequence JA000. On that basis this boat is probably an OUTRAGE 21 that was the 84th hull in the initial production sequence.

Thus the boat with HIN BWCJA084D393 is most likely a model year 1993 21-foot OUTRAGE that was produced in April 1993 and is probably the 84th hull made for that model.

Q1: Is that interpretation consistent or in harmony or in agreement with the actual boat bearing this HIN tag?

Tacky79
Posts: 130
Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 1:49 pm

Re: Help interpreting HIN

Postby Tacky79 » Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:36 pm

Thanks Jim. Yes - that jives with the advertised model (1993 Outrage 21)! Pictures didn't show the hull to well, so I wanted to confirm that.

Boat looks like it just came off the showroom floor with twin 150 Yamahas. I'm going to check it out!
2017 Boston Whaler Montauk 190 w/ 150 Merc/Fish Pkg/Bowrail delete/aft seating
1979 Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2 sailboat with sails and a tiller :D

jimh
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Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
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Re: Help interpreting HIN

Postby jimh » Thu Jun 06, 2019 9:39 am

I really like those c.1993 OUTRAGE 21 boats. WIth 300-HP it should be a rocket ship.

Mr 88
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Re: Help interpreting HIN

Postby Mr 88 » Tue Jun 11, 2019 7:40 pm

[My boat's HIN] is BWC 9B012 0787.

I read [in the FAQ] the month built [in the HIN format in use after 1984] is designated by a letter. [The HIN on my boat] does not meet that criteria.

What I would interpret is that it is a 1987 built in July and hull number 12.

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.

jimh
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Re: Help interpreting HIN

Postby jimh » Wed Jun 12, 2019 7:11 am

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.

Mr 88
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Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 8:17 pm

Re: Help interpreting HIN

Postby Mr 88 » Wed Jun 12, 2019 8:48 am

I took the hull ID number from one of the surveys done on the boat. Looked at another survey, ( two came with the boat ) , and the zero is a "C" in that survey. So that's where my confusion was coming from. Thanks for the reply.
Last edited by Mr 88 on Fri Jun 14, 2019 9:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

jimh
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Re: Help interpreting HIN

Postby jimh » Thu Jun 13, 2019 8:44 am

The production month code "C" means March, and that makes more sense for the boat to be a model year 1987.

We now have the answer to why the HIN you reported as being on your boat did not match the requirements of federal law; your report of the HIN was probably based on an inaccurate transcription of the HIN by someone else.