Daysailer I Hull Number Location

[mistershoes]

Hi,

Yesterday I bought a DaySailer I, and now I'm trying to get it registered. The title (California) isn't clear on what the hull number is. After the hull number field it says "pleasure", and before the hull number field it says "1940". The title says it and the trailer was manufactured in 1971. The DMV was certain that "pleasure" is the hull number because they say that "1940" is too short to be a hull number.

Anyways, now that I have it home, I'm trying to find the hull number on the boat somewhere, and so far I'm coming up empty. I've looked for numbers stamped on the transom, inside on the transom and under the rear deck, inside the cockpit, and under the cuddy area on the roof and the walls... and so far I've found nothing. Is there something I'm missing?

I sure look forward to getting it out on the water. This is my first sailboat. I've never sailed before but I've wanted to pretty much my whole life.

Thanks for your time!

Matt

[GreenLake]

"You can use the info HERE to try to date your DS1 based on features. You should also plug your data in so it helps complete the records." writes user @ctenidae who also created this spreadsheet.

The DS1 underwent quite a few small design changes in its early years, some of which let you pinpoint a year.

Before 1973 the hull numbers weren't standardized, and some manuf. had short ones. O'Day did not, because they built so many boats and the hulls of all of them were apparently numbered in a single sequence, i.e. not one numbering sequence per model.

The 1940 could be the sail or class number, in which case your boat would be around 1964-5 (rough guess).

The trailer may not have been bought with the boat, so that's only an approximate indication. My own DS1 is registered as a 1971, but clearly is a 1963 model, based on the above spreadsheet. It's "hull" number in the state records (not CA) was (almost certainly) the sail number.

My (unverified) guess has always been that the early seventies were a time when vehicle/vessel registration procedures were re-organized (perhaps put on a mainframe for the first time) and as a result older boats with uncertain date/hull numbers and no standardized HIN information may have simply been grandfathered somehow.

If 1940 could be your sail number and if you don't have sails on the boat that show that number, you can write to the DSA secretary to inquire whether that number has been taken, and if not, have it assigned to you.

You may not be able to find a hull number, because in the early years they were stamped on plates that were riveted to various parts of the boat (rear coamings in my case) and were subsequently lost.

On final area you can check is starboard bow under the rubrail. (Not that I have high hopes your boat will have anything there).