State "Homemade" Manufacturer Identity Codes

A conversation among Whalers
jimh
Posts: 11670
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

State "Homemade" Manufacturer Identity Codes

Postby jimh » Tue Aug 02, 2022 6:20 am

Recently a fellow asked about a boat whose federal HIN number was MSZ00424H696. This prompted the following discussion.

jimh
Posts: 11670
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: State "Homemade" Manufacturer Identity Codes

Postby jimh » Tue Aug 02, 2022 6:26 am

The FAQ gives information on decoding a federal hull identification number (HIN). See

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/FAQ/#Q2

HINT: the manufacturer of a boat is identified in the federal HIN by the first three letters in the HIN, called the Manufacturer Identification Code or MIC. The meaning of the MIC "MSZ" can be determined by using the resources mentioned in the FAQ, maintained elsewhere. For this example, the MIC MSZ decodes to "Massachusetts Homemade Boat."

If a HIN for a boat that otherwise appears to be not a homemade boat is indicating the boat's manufacturer was "Massachusetts Homemade Boat" then apparently at some point the boat was titled or registered in the State of Massachusetts by a previous owner who presented the boat without having the boat's original manufacturer's hull identification number. The State of Massachusetts then issued that boat the HIN beginning with MSZ. This occurred perhaps because the boat owner seeking a title or registration did not have any evidence of a HIN provided by the boat manufacturer--the most likely--or that person actually made this boat himself--the least likely.

To learn more about how to identify an older Boston Whaler boat, just read the FAQ answers at Q1 and Q2. These are the most common questions asked and the answers to them are comprehensive and carefully written.

User avatar
Phil T
Posts: 2602
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2015 6:08 pm
Location: Was Maine. Temporarily Kentucky

Re: State "Homemade" Manufacturer Identity Codes

Postby Phil T » Tue Aug 02, 2022 11:10 am

When the manufacturer HIN is illegible, not recognized, or missing, the state entity that administers boat registrations assigns a state issued HIN.

Typically the first two positions are the state's abbreviation. All Massachusetts boat registrations start with MS.
1992 Outrage 17
2019 E-TEC 90
2018 LoadRite 18280096VT
Member since 2003

jimh
Posts: 11670
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: State "Homemade" Manufacturer Identity Codes

Postby jimh » Tue Aug 02, 2022 1:22 pm

Re the "state's abbreviation" as mentioned by PHIL T above:

Based on a bit of testing with the MIC database queries, it appears that for many (perhaps all) states, the MIC code is composed of the the two-letter state abbreviation as used in boat registration numbering, followed by the letter "Z" to create that state's "homemade boat" HIN MIC prefix.

For example:

Abbreviations used in registration numbers
State Two-letter Three-letter MIC denoting home made boat in that state

Michigan MC MCZ
Delaware DL DLZ
Alabama AL ALZ
Alaska AK AKZ
Texas TX TXZ


The list of state two-letter abbreviations used in boat registration numbers can be found at

https://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/5/do ... efixes.pdf

Note that the official U.S Postal Service state two-letter abbreviations are not the same as the official boat registration number state two-letter abbreviations for many states, so do not confuse them. For example, Michigan is MI in postal abbreviations and MC in boat registrations.

ASIDE: here in Michigan referral to a boat's registration number is often done by asking for "the MC number."