How to find boat history by vessel name

[islandjim]

I bought my dinghy the early part of the 2009 season. It is an old fiberglass dinghy with wood trim around the top edge. It is old, but holds water. There is a name "SEA BRIGHT" on the side and it looks to be the original paint. I would like to investigate to find the vessel this dinghy came from, just in case there is some history behind it. Does anyone know how I would go about finding out information about the vessel SEA BRIGHT. I presume it came from the Jersey shore as there is a town of Sea Bright and the dinghy must some how be related to the town, either by the the vessel being kept there, or the owner living there. Can anyone tell me how to find the vessel SEA BRIGHT? Can anyone identify the make of dinghy?

 

[Tim R.]

Here is the USCG documentation page:

http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/CoastGuard/VesselByName.html

 

[sailingdog]

Unfortunately, there are only three "Sea Bright"s listed... and none are from New Jersey. Of course, the boat could have been state registered, or had its name changed, or been lost/sold/destroyed... which would leave it out of the database.

Just because there is a town named Sea Bright doesn't indicate that the original ship was there... and making that assumption is likely to lead you astray more than help IMHO.

 

[islandjim]

A thank you is in line

Thank you both for the information. Judging by the wear and tear of the dinghy, it has some years on it. I purchased it in Berkely Heights New jersey and that was my reasoning for thinking maybe someplace local. Your suggestion is right on and I will see what else I can find. Out of the three vessels listed only two of them have current insurance, the third has not be insured since 2005. Now to figure out who the manufacturer was. Thank you both for your time.

If anyone else has something to add, I'm all ears.
Jim

 

[Ron20324]

A prudent skipper would not put thier boat name on the dingy. It's a good way for undesireables to know when the crew is ashore.

 

[RAD]

That looks like a boat that was mfg in Oakdale,NY and I cannot for the life of me think of the name, I have the exact dink and they were very popular before the inflatable....is there foam under the seats?

 

[islandjim]

I haven't checked under the seats. I am going to do some work on it this winter and will find out at that point in time. It needs some fiberglass work on the back and bottom as the fiberglass seems to have stresss cracks. I plan on adding one layer of glasss to the bottom, and maybe removing the transom, replace the wood, and reglass. It is pretty heavy already, but worked fine getting to the boat this season.
Thank you. If you remember the name, let me know. Jim