We just received our Coast Guard Documentation Certificate and now need to locate our "7-digit Official Number" in 3" letters "marked on some clearly visible interior structural part of the hull". Does anyone have a suggestion as to the best location of these numbers?
Thanks
Chuck
recommended to me was to get 3" vinyl numbers put them on the aft cabin starboard side wall, then epoxy one layer of fiberglass over them....I saw one that was done like this. He masked off a rectangle around the numbers and used a minimum of epoxy. It looked like it was always there. Also use West System or similar so the surface cures and doesn't stay tacky.
Jim
I used a router to engrave mine in a piece of oak. Then epoxied it underneath the stairs in the aft cabin.
mine are painted on and epoxied over under the settee in the aft cabin.
Mine were in the aft starboard lazarette and covered with resin.
Mine is like Craig's in the aft lazarette.
I used a router on a piece of mahogany to engrave the numbers.
Then the mahogany is epoxy-ed to the inside of the starboard side of the hull under the small aft cabin cutout.
Mine are underneath the V-berth, but since it's so hard to access in case I get stopped, I'm going to put them in the aft cabin behind the seat back for quick and easy access.
The previous owner of my boat created a wooden plaque with the number engraved and mounted it under the center drawer in the v-berth.
My Documentation # is carved into a board and epoxyed into the aft lazerette. Makes it very accessible to see if you ever get stopped.
Personally, I'm glad to have it there for it's ease of access and yet still concealed. I'm not too wild about having large numbers on display in the cabin.... But thats me. :abd:
Ours are routed into a wooden board, painted and expoxyed into the port locker. There's no obligation to have it visible all of the time. (Which is just as well, since ours turned out pretty ugly.)
Since the port locker is also where we have the Marpol packards, the cheap foam PFDs, and the visual distress signal kit, it makes inspections easier. The inspector doesn't have to go crawling into some dark recess of the hull.
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Ours are routed on a board and mounted in the aft cabin.
All good ideas. We just got our documentation from the Coast Guard as well so I've been reading this with interest. Really think I'll use stick on numbers and varnish over on the inside of the port lazerret where the flares, life jackets and other safety equipment the coast guard will want to inspect are stored. Kind of kill two birds with one stone idea.
Ralph
Ciao Bella
Guys : Where we all put our documentation numbers is very interisting. But what really counts is where the USCG specifies they should be mounted !!
In mid 1980's the USCG specified the documentation numbers be "permanently affixed to the hull". A thought
Our CG Documentation number is painted and epoxied over on the hull under the port settee forward of the waste tank.
Thought I would pass this along from the USCG National Documentation Center. :abd:
HOW DO I MARK MY VESSEL?
The official number assigned to documented vessels, preceded by the abbreviation "NO." must be marked in block-type Arabic numerals at least three inches high on some clearly visible interior structural part of the hull. The number must be permanently affixed so that alteration, removal, or replacement would be obvious and cause some scarring or damage to the surrounding hull area.
The name and hailing port of a recreational vessel must be marked together on some clearly visible exterior part of the hull. The vessel name of a commercial vessel must also be marked on the port and starboard bow and the vessel name and the hailing port must also be marked on the stern. All markings may be made by any means and materials that result in durable markings and must be at least four inches in height, made in clearly legible letters of the Latin alphabet or Arabic or Roman numerals. The "hailing port" must include both a place and a State, Territory, or possession of in the United States. The state may be abbreviated.