TOPIC: What year did they start the HID system?

Drug home a Tahiti, no papers what so ever.
Seller said it was a '72 ?
Only markings on it is that of a Serial Number?
No HULL ID plate on transom?

Badges say Schuster Boats Inc. Bellflower, Calif.
the Metal tag on the Dash are:
Distinctive Watercraft by Schuster Boats Inc.
8832 Ramona Bellflower, Calif.
Serial # is the only thing visible? not Max Hp, no weight limit, max person?

Was going to go through Wisconsin and try back door method, but since i don't have a title I want or hope there is no issues..so I called my region IDNR office to get ball rolling...if not I may be out my $$ I spent on it and the boat&trailer?

So curious what year they actually started HID plates I know Schuster Boats Inc. was around in '69 .. the motor I pulled wa that of a late 60's ?

in '71 the coast guard mandated that in '72 manufactures standardize the HIN's. Most manufactures held out until '73.

I still say register it as 15.9' and be done... The state of IL makes it nearly impossible to title without the original. You could always pursue it as an abandoned boat. It would take you the better part of the winter but you would eventually be able to get a title.

helps a lil bit there...
I ging to fo the Wis thing...I measured tonight and tip to stern and had 16' even...i wanted a title mainly though.
I ended up calling my regional office to see what steps to take.
I have a bit of any idea whats involved, person I spoke with will be sending me paperwork to prepare to ahve filled out, and pay my Illinois sale tax on, imagine that.
A CPO will have to come to residence and look over boat and perfrom an inspection...course last night curiousty got the best of me pulled seats, carpet and cut small section out of floor where it was saturated and put a fan in to help dry it out a bit...

so now its a waiting game I guess....I told persom last stae registered in was Michigan and if I should start there, they told me no.

Any one else with historical data on HID numbers? thinking this boat maybe older that than described? anyway to determine from serial number??

Hi Matt,
I am not sure if you will find this helpful, but my remembrance is that the HID requirement was part of the Safe Boating Act of 1973. Manufacturers were given the chance to use the new system in 1972, but most did not. I would recommend the use of the factory serial number posted on the manufacturer's plate.
I do not have Tahiti's specifications handy, but we were a Sidewinder dealership at the time, and here are the specs from a 1972 Sidewinder brochure for a 16' Super Outboard:
15' 10" Centerline
77" Beam
125 Maximum Horsepower

Regards,
Joe
www.fergusonpoolemarine.com
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

heck, if the factory says its 15' 10", thats under 16' to me

November 1972 was when it went into effect. That would be the 1973 model year.

There were TWO different systems that could be used; model year or straight year format. In the Model Year format, the ninth character is the letter "M" representing Model Year format. The letter "A" is the code for the month of August, "B" = September, "C" = October, etc...

A new format was created and mandated on 01 August 1984. The model year format was nixed. The ninth character was the month, tenth character is the last digit of the year of manufacture and eleventh character is the model year. They started the month code "A" as January, "B" = February, etc...

Of course the first three letters are a code for the manufacturer. For example, Thompson was "TMS".

Andreas

Matt,
Congrats on your boat, I have a sweet spot for the 70's sport boats. You have an EXCELLENT candidate for a full restoration where all the parts and interior is there. I would use all that to bring it back to original. In the end the boat is worth more if it is correct, just like cars. I believe we all will find the interest in glass will continue to grow and the nice examples will be worth more, much more as original parts are discarded through carless restorations. Just my opinion.
Persoanally, I enjoy the challange of making it "right" it is easier to do it incorrect, so many take the easiest path, nothing wrong with that but it is pretty cool when you see something just as it was.
To do the boat right you will have to split the deck off, gut all the rotted junk and rebuild, it simply is the best way, it takes time but in the end worth it, it sounds complicated but it actually makes everything a lot easier. Keep the pieces as intact as possible for templates if you can. The good news/bad news is that the boats were not made that well so they break down over time but then again this makes it easier to remove all the broken down pieces. Keep all the original labels and tags, emblems for boat too. There is aguy who will laser cut emblems, I'll bet he can do very good original sidewinder emblems if you can obtain a good photo of one.
As far as the instruments go, and again this is my opinion, Think about what you want in there BEFORE you do the restoration.
That way you will know what to do with the dash holes. Also it is helpful to know what motor, so control mounting, steering, tilt/trim can be anticipated.
There are plenty of clean period correct instruments on e-bay all the time, look for matching some if you want tach and speedo etc.
I would consider having no gauges then you never have to worry about future issues with having to instal a non matching gauge.
I do it both ways, with correct vintage matching and also without.
If I do no gauges I still run a modern water pressure gauge under the dash so I don't have to put unwanted holes anywhere but monitor the single most important engine status, the gauge cna be hidden away at show time. You can use a tach in your hand to do prop selection, you never really need a tach after that, and just have a hand held GPS for speedo if desired. I find it just as much fun enjoying the ride and not knowing my speed /RPM, simplicity has it's virtues. Modern gauges take away from a vintage resto but that is my opinon only.
The boat looks painted and will strip easily with stripper that will not hurt the glass underneath, get down to original finish to insure the new finish will stick.
Anyways I wish you luck, keep us informed, and use the site for support.
Randy

Ferguson_Poole wrote:

1972 Sidewinder brochure for a 16' Super Outboard:
15' 10" Centerline
77" Beam
125 Maximum Horsepower
Regards,
Joe
www.fergusonpoolemarine.com
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I believe he did say under 16' ?? they were sending me tax papers regardless...probably will title as a 16' vrs that of a 15'.

63g3:
Thank you...if paperwork all works out..i think it will be renovated back to original the best i can...as you can see in this picture dash looks unscathed...this boat is all original.(except the pain)t.still has original or at least looks like origianl coat of fiberglass ver the plywood for the floor..... Seats frames are trashed along with the bases...i did as you mentione actually before reading this, i pulled the seats out the other night marking seating and ever so gently pulled the main sectionals out... one base was 1/2@zz there measured it out and marked them down..

Seating ....

boat was equiped with a late 60' 65hp Merc...with control..no key...just so I had same set up at home and luck would have it SAME KEY !! motor already pulled...we pulled this a few days after bringing it home...unfort. the lower part of the motor bracket punctured the glass at the rear..wood inside is gone (mush).
thingking boat was stored nose up and water settled at back, plywood floor was saturated too...removed a small section and put a fan on it for 2 days w/ the hope of drying some what out.

heres a pic just arriving home....

my shop helper.........

Picked up some Zissler paint stripper (for fiberglass) not the citrus one.
Looks like boats color scheme was that of a red flake accented with some silver.. thinking the whole boat if flaked no solid.
tried taking pics of it not the best quality due to being in the garage.




don't think it would be to hard to strip it down....if i had some help...

"Ataboy" for digging right in and getting started Matt. I know this probably goes without saying, but make sure you keep your "little helper" out of the garage when using the stripper. He's precious, and we don't want him getting that stuff in his eyes, mouth, lungs, etc...... (You too, make sure you have plenty of ventilation in the garage, and maybe some sheet plastic on the floor to make cleaning up the mess easier?) Looks like he's into the project there, great bonding time with Dad!

Keep the pics coming, great to see you're already "elbow deep" into the process.

Looks good, do the hard stuff swhile you are cranked up about the boat! A tip on stripping. I get thin plastic, like the cheap dropcloth stuff at the Depot. Line the floor under the boat with it so after you are done, you just roll all that has dropped on the floor up and throw it way. Also very helpful: After you slather on the stripper, cover it with the plastic, this keeps the active ingredient from evaporating away and aids in lifting the paint off.
It cuts down on odor too. Just let it sit for a few hours and the paint will come right off with a plastic squeege blade. Do this in the shade not sun!
Randy

if you need any help with it... let me know. I'm not that far away and have a couple jobs under my belt.

For the transom... do yourself a favor and use Seacast. Its not cheap but it will never rot or break.

Thanks guys .. I stripped a lil more paint tonight to get a better idea of what it may have looked like back in '72.
I do need to line the floor that stuff I'm using i think is potent enough i think it was pulling my sealer out of my concrete thanks for those tips randy.

MarkS;
I kick my lil guy out if I'm doing anything noisy, harmful or semi dangerous..lol

Jetboat if I get into something i need a hand with I may take you up on that offer.lol... as far as sea cast, i don;t think I'll be able to use that stuff just because of the overall condition and i think it would actually be easier to lay up the wood and fiberglass..but will know more down the road....i have a few pic of the transom from inside..it would give all a better idea of overall condition...

thanks again...mo pic when i can....

I just posted into the LIBRARY forum a good article about the Hull ID system used by the US Coast Guard. It has a good explanation about how it was done starting in 1973 and how it changed in 1984.

Andreas

I looked in the library but couldn't find it. Can you give us a link?

Here ya go Ike;
www.fiberglassics.com/glassic-forums/16-library-additions/47993-hull-id-system-explanation.html#47993
(It's still in the "submitted" stage, hasn't been added to the library yet.)

Thanks. I remember that article. It was published just before I retired from the Coast guard Office of Boating Safety,

At Tahiti we moved in 1971 from the shop on Romona to the shop on Crusader in the city of Cerritos.