86 Chapter Two
USCG BOATING SAFETY
STANDARDS
The Coast Guard has requirements you must
meet. Most are for your safety, but some are
intended to protect you and your boat.
Hull Identification Number
• Boats manufactured after 1972 must
have a hull identification number (HIN).
The HIN is used in the same way as your
cars serial number.
• This consists of 12 letters and/or numbers
(Figure 7-4).
• A country-of-manufacture designator
may precede these numbers and letters.
• The HIN has an important safety purpose;
it enables manufacturers to locate boats
involved in defect notifications and recalls.
• It is not the same as the state registration
number that you display on the bow
of your boat, but it does appear on your
state registration certificate.
You will find the HIN near the top
of the outboard starboard side of the transom,
or near the top outboard portion of
the starboard hull near the stern. On catamarans
and pontoon boats, it is on the aft
crossbeam near the starboard hull attachment.
It is illegal to alter or remove a hull
identification number. If your boat does
not have a hull identification number, your
state will assign one.
Newer boats have duplicate identification
numbers in unexposed locations
inside the boat or under items of hardware.
This duplicate number aids authorities in
identification.
Read the HIN as follows:
ABC = Manufacturers ID Code
12345 = Hull serial number
C3 = Date of certification or manufacture
C =Month (A=Jan / B=Feb / C= Mar etc.)
ABC 12345 C3 93
Figure 7-4. Typical hull identification number
3 = 1993 or 2003 or 2013
93 = Boat’s model year corresponding to
the model year of certification or manufacture
Maximum Capacities Label
A small boat will often accommodate more
people and gear than the boat can safely
carry.
Overloading a boat reduces freeboard,
makes it easy to swamp or capsize in heavy
waves and makes it difficult to control.
A USCG Maximum Capacities information
label, commonly called “capacity
plate,” is placed within visual range of the
helm position:
• On all single-hull boats less than 20 feet
in length
• Does not apply to personal watercraft,
canoes, kayaks, inflatable boats, or
sailboats. These boats without capacity
plates should reference the respective
owner’s manual and state laws.
• The maximum capacity label (federal
standard) states:
• Maximum number of persons for
which the boat is rated
• Total weight of those persons
• Combined weight of persons, motor,
and gear for which the boat is rated
• Maximum horsepower recommendations
for outboard engine boats.
• The rating for the maximum number and
weight of persons is only a guide.
• The most important information is the
maximum combined weight of persons,
motor, and gear. Use it as the controlling
figure.
• Although not required by federal law,
many boat manufacturers have their own
voluntary standards for boats up to 26
feet in length.
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