Sailboat recognition cheat sheet

[muised]

I was in the boatyard yesterday (I feel like I live there now) and saw a boat for sale which I thought was an O'Day 27 but could not tell exactly, except it looked "O'Day-like". When I was in the military we had Aircraft and Armoured Fighting Vehicle recognition cards, basicly flash cards to help you identify these vehicles based on the number of wheels, engines, silhouette, etc. Is there anything similar for sailboats? It would be nice to be able to identify at least some of the more common manufacturers based on simple identifying characteristics - maybe there's a business opportunity here?

 

[Gord May]

Cove Stripe Identifiers

Given the 100's of sailboat make and models, this would require a complete book, such as:“A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America” ~ by Richard M. Sherwood or“Boatwatch: Master Guide to Sailboats of the World” ~ by Max Wade Averitt“Good Old Boat” magazine has an on-line guide:“Cove Stripe Boat Identifiers”goodoldboat.com/cove_stripes.htm

 

[Steve O.]

HIN

The Hull Identification Number (HIN) located on the transom can give a clue to the mfg. For example, all Hunter #s begin with HUN, followed by the model #, date of mfg. and hull #. The codes for other mfgs. can be found on the web.