I'm in the process of purchasing a 1980 Hughes 38' and the surveyor did not locate the HIN. The survey simply stated that it was not located on the transom. Without the HIN my insurance company will not insure the boat for shipping as they can't confirm the year of construction. It's a red tape issue as the boat carries a Canadian Federal License stating she's a 1980. In Canada the HIN was only required on the stbd transom after August 1st 1981, so it could be anywhere. To help me satisfy the Insurance gods, does anyone know where the HIN would be located on a 1980 Hughes 38'? Also, if you're in the know, do you know where the second internal HIN could be located. This boat was built for a few years under the Northstar name. This HIN search is complicated by several issues, including the boat still being over 1,200 miles away. Otherwise I'd just grab a flashlight and look until I found it. Thanks, Dana
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numbers
My sailing buddy had a hughs and there was a brass plate at the transom inside the cockpit.some one must half pulled yours
My sailing buddy had a hughs and there was a brass plate at the transom inside the cockpit.some one must half pulled yours
Hughes HIN
Dana, A member of our club has the same boat according to our club directory. Try him at 604-868-6646 Peter
Dana, A member of our club has the same boat according to our club directory. Try him at 604-868-6646 Peter
You may not have one...
If you don't how can you be sure it is a 1980? How many owners has it been through? I had a Hughes 25 that had a number plate in the cockpit but all it said was "#173" plus Hughes Boatworks etc. Without some sort of way to quantify how many boats of its kind were made in any given year the number is meaningless. I now have a Crown 34, also without a HIN on the transom. In theory I could call it a 1981 and claim I could never find the HIN. The previous owner claims it is a 1978 but I can't prove it...
If you don't how can you be sure it is a 1980? How many owners has it been through? I had a Hughes 25 that had a number plate in the cockpit but all it said was "#173" plus Hughes Boatworks etc. Without some sort of way to quantify how many boats of its kind were made in any given year the number is meaningless. I now have a Crown 34, also without a HIN on the transom. In theory I could call it a 1981 and claim I could never find the HIN. The previous owner claims it is a 1978 but I can't prove it...
Hughes Boats Hull Numbers
Hull # for Hughes boats were stamped on a metal plate riveted to the side of the cockpit near the transom. If the boat is a 1980 it is not a Northstar... the Northstar name was only used when US Steel owned Hughes Boatworks in the early '70s. Howard Hughes, who started the company in the 1960's (not the American millionaire, a Canadian Howard) bought the company back in the late 1970s and started building Hughes boats again... a 1980 model would have been called a "H38" (also referred to by sailmakers as a Hughes 38 Mk II because the rigging is a bit different from the earlier Hughes 38 Mk l). It is not easy to change the model year of a Canadian registered boat... the boat is surveyed and "weighed" before the name is registered using the original sale documents. Once the model year is on the initial registration in the file at Transport Canada Ship's Registry I doubt if there's enough red tape in Ottawa to allow it to be changed (it might take an act of parliament!). As far as I know Howard Hughes is still alive and lives in Orangeville Ontario, which is where Hughes boats were built until the company closed in the early 1980s after a fire destroyed the factory and moulds... perhaps someone should ask him where the numbers are on his boats in case he had several locations (I think his son is the webmaster for the Hughes Owner's web site at http://www.sailcaddy.com/history.htm , maybe he would do it).
Hull # for Hughes boats were stamped on a metal plate riveted to the side of the cockpit near the transom. If the boat is a 1980 it is not a Northstar... the Northstar name was only used when US Steel owned Hughes Boatworks in the early '70s. Howard Hughes, who started the company in the 1960's (not the American millionaire, a Canadian Howard) bought the company back in the late 1970s and started building Hughes boats again... a 1980 model would have been called a "H38" (also referred to by sailmakers as a Hughes 38 Mk II because the rigging is a bit different from the earlier Hughes 38 Mk l). It is not easy to change the model year of a Canadian registered boat... the boat is surveyed and "weighed" before the name is registered using the original sale documents. Once the model year is on the initial registration in the file at Transport Canada Ship's Registry I doubt if there's enough red tape in Ottawa to allow it to be changed (it might take an act of parliament!). As far as I know Howard Hughes is still alive and lives in Orangeville Ontario, which is where Hughes boats were built until the company closed in the early 1980s after a fire destroyed the factory and moulds... perhaps someone should ask him where the numbers are on his boats in case he had several locations (I think his son is the webmaster for the Hughes Owner's web site at http://www.sailcaddy.com/history.htm , maybe he would do it).
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