Trace my boat's history

[Roland Illvesand]

My Sea Ray 260 Sundancer is imported from USA 2011, is it possible to see where it comes from via hull number?

 

[fwebster]

You can contact Sea Ray customer service and ask them who the initial selling dealer was. That is as close to where it came from as you will come because the boat could have had multiple owners after it’s initial in service date.

 

[Roland Illvesand]

You can contact Sea Ray customer service and ask them who the initial selling dealer was. That is as close to where it came from as you will come because the boat could have had multiple owners after it’s initial in service date.

Thanks, I will email them and ask

 

[Shoyrtt]

You can also look up the HIN on the USCG site. It sometimes will show if it was registered in the past under different vessel names and will show any USCG contacts with the boat.
https://cgmix.uscg.mil/psix/psixsearch.aspx

 

[Roland Illvesand]

You can also look up the HIN on the USCG site. It sometimes will show if it was registered in the past under different vessel names and will show any USCG contacts with the boat.
https://cgmix.uscg.mil/psix/psixsearch.aspx

Thanks!
But it didnt show anything :-(

 

[Shoyrtt]

Thanks!
But it didnt show anything :-(

A 260DA might not have been ever registered by the USCG, but instead with the state. I'm not sure if you could attempt the same sort of a search with the state the boat was located in before it was imported to Sweden.

 

[Pirate Lady]

I sold a 268 to a friend. Same state, cant track the transfer, good luck transfer overseas.

 

[fwebster]

Thanks!
But it didnt show anything :-(

Probably not, because it is a record of USCG documented vessels..........the USCG means vessels documented with the United States Coast Guard.....state registrations and vessels documented in other countries are not included.

 

[Shoyrtt]

Probably not, because it is a record of USCG documented vessels..........the USCG means vessels documented with the United States Coast Guard.....state registrations and vessels documented in other countries are not included.

Frank, if Rolland, our Swedish CSR friend were to post a picture of his HIN, we could decode it to at least tell him when and where it was made. My thought was the boat may have had a USCG documentation at one time and then it was imported to Sweden in 2011.
Rolland, can you post a picture of your HIN? Here is the HIN on my boat that Frank decoded in the past:

 

[see ray]

Here is SEA RAY CUSTOMER SERVICE phone
(321) 449-8628 Or (865) 971-6250
Listen to the prompts , I use the first phone number .(You have to ask for all that info or you’ll just get minimal information!

you can ask for , THE SELLING DEALER , BUILT SHEET(factory order slip with sold options , the engine numbers and out drive numbers ,
You can also email the request to
Rick.Bressner@searay.com , he will forward info to you via Email

 

[Roland Illvesand]

Frank, if Rolland, our Swedish CSR friend were to post a picture of his HIN, we could decode it to at least tell him when and where it was made. My thought was the boat may have had a USCG documentation at one time and then it was imported to Sweden in 2011.
Rolland, can you post a picture of your HIN? Here is the HIN on my boat that Frank decoded in the past:
View attachment 106443

Here are my HIN.

 

[JimG]

SERR- Riverview TN (runabouts)
SERV- Tellico Lake TN (sport boats)
SERT- Knoxville TN (cruisers)
SERF- Merritt Island FL (Sport Yachts or 34-44)
SERP- Palm Coast FL ( Sport Yachts 45-50)
SERY- Sykes Creek (Yachts) located in the town of Merritt Island

 

[Shoyrtt]

From what Frank taught me, here is my best attempt at decoding your HIN:

US. Boat was built for the US market
SER Vessel is a Sea Ray
R boat built in the Riverview Tennessee plant
6005 this is the serial number of the boat The next number in sequence could be a sport boat or a yacht
J boat was built in October
Now here is where I am not certain. Based on your serial number I believe your boat was made sometime after 2002. I only say that because of this HIN that we decoded in the 450 EB section:

This boat was built in 2001 as a 2002 model.

From your HIN, just after the "J" comes the "0". So your boat was built in 2000 or 2010? I think it was built in 2000. Next is "01" which should be the model year. Logically this means your boat is a 2001 model. I'm struggling with this only because your serial number "6005" is 521 boats after the above 2002 450 EB was built.

The lower number is an internal number for Sea Ray and their dealers and generally has no significance outside of Sea Ray and their dealers.

260DA is the boat model
1096 is the hull number and is the number SR and the dealers refer to when they need to discuss a specific boat. This number is sequential within the factory but may change at a model year change.

The big unknown is if your boat is a 2001 model and if so, why is the serial number so high? This is only a guess, but maybe your boat sat at the Riverview plant for a while before the serial number was affixed? Hopefully Frank can help us out.

 

[mrsrobinson]

On a slightly unrelated note, out of curiosity I Googled the name of a boat I was planning to purchase. I also Googled the HIN. To my surprise results came back that were informative.

 

[Pirate Lady]

SERR- Riverview TN (runabouts)
SERV- Tellico Lake TN (sport boats)
SERT- Knoxville TN (cruisers)
SERF- Merritt Island FL (Sport Yachts or 34-44)
SERP- Palm Coast FL ( Sport Yachts 45-50)
SERY- Sykes Creek (Yachts) located in the town of Merritt Island

Mine is SERM - Oxford MI (cruisers)

 

[fwebster]

From what Frank taught me, here is my best attempt at decoding your HIN:
View attachment 106461
This boat was built in 2001 as a 2002 model.

<I posted this using the editing function. If it inserts "a click here to expand", please do so.>

From your HIN, just after the "J" comes the "0". So your boat was built in 2000 or 2010? I think it was built in 2000. Next is "01" which should be the model


year. Logically this means your boat is a 2001 model. I'm struggling with this only because your serial number "6005" is 521 boats after the above 2002 450 EB was built.

The lower number is an internal number for Sea Ray and their dealers and generally has no significance outside of Sea Ray and their dealers. Correct. This is a "production number" and it has nothing at all to do with the HIN#. This number is only meaningful if you have access to Sea Ray's master computer system because it is helpful in looking up parts, vendors, vendor part numbers, gelcoat colors, etc. on the Master Material Requirements Planning System. It is particularly useless to owners because you can get all that same info on one screen away by keying in the HIN# when you are on the phone with your Customer Service Rep.

260DA is the boat model
1096 is the hull number and is the number SR and the dealers refer to when they need to discuss a specific boat. This number is sequential within the factory but may change at a model year change.

Maybe this will help:

US. Boat was built for the US market
SER Vessel is a Sea Ray
R boat built in the Riverview Tennessee plant- Riverview was one of the Knoxville plants and has been closed for several years and all data from the plant has been archived or relocated .
6005 this is the serial number of the boat The next number in sequence could be a sport boat or a yacht- This is a sequential number for the entire company. The next number in sequence could be a boat produces in any factory so being the next or preceding number means nothing as to how many or what model is the next in line.
J boat was built in October -The 9th and 10th character in the 12 digit HIN # are simply the month and the year the boat with the HIN # was produced. A "J" character means the boat was produced in the 10 month of the year or October.

The 11th and 12th characters in the HIN# are the model year for the boat bearing the HIN#.

So, a "J0" boat was actually built in October of 2000 and if it bears an "01" in the 11th and 12th position on the HIN# then the boat was built as a 2001.

Now here is where I am not certain. Based on your serial number I believe your boat was made sometime after 2002. I only say that because of this HIN that we decoded in the 450 EB section:
View attachment 106461
This boat was built in 2001 as a 2002 model.

From your HIN, just after the "J" comes the "0". So your boat was built in 2000 or 2010? I think it was built in 2000. Next is "01" which should be the model year. Logically this means your boat is a 2001 model. I'm struggling with this only because your serial number "6005" is 521 boats after the above 2002 450 EB was built.

The lower number is an internal number for Sea Ray and their dealers and generally has no significance outside of Sea Ray and their dealers. Correct. This is a "production number" and it has nothing at all to do with the HIN#. This number is only meaningful if you have access to Sea Ray's master computer system because it is helpful in looking up parts, vendors, vendor part numbers, gelcoat colors, etc. on the Master Material Requirements Planning System. It is particularly useless to owners because you can get all that same info on one screen away by keying in the HIN# when you are on the phone with your Customer Service Rep.

260DA is the boat model
1096 is the hull number and is the number SR and the dealers refer to when they need to discuss a specific boat. This number is sequential within the factory but may change at a model year change.

The big unknown is if your boat is a 2001 model and if so, why is the serial number so high? This is only a guess, but maybe your boat sat at the Riverview plant for a while before the serial number was affixed? Hopefully Frank can help us out.

Here is where the serial # thing gets a bit confusing: The serial numbers aren't necessarily sequential. They are assigned globally. One number could be a 260DA and the next in sequence could be a 540DA. Sea Ray was managed by very good business minds in those days. The frequently grouped similar models together just for economy of scale.........you might find several identical models grouped together just because it was cheaper to run several identical boats thru the factory at the same time, however, it was not always done that way. This is the reason that you can often find 2-3 of the same model geographically near each other or having other similarities.

Frank.....

 

[Shoyrtt]

Here is where the serial # thing gets a bit confusing: The serial numbers aren't necessarily sequential. They are assigned globally. One number could be a 260DA and the next in sequence could be a 540DA. Sea Ray was managed by very good business minds in those days. The frequently grouped similar models together just for economy of scale.........you might find several identical models grouped together just because it was cheaper to run several identical boats thru the factory at the same time, however, it was not always done that way. This is the reason that you can often find 2-3 of the same model geographically near each other or having other similarities.

Frank.....

Frank,
Do you agree that Rolland's boat was built in 2000 as a 2001 model?

Rolland,
If this is correct, the big unknown is where your boat was for the 10 years before it was imported. Again you might be able to contact Sea Ray to see where it was delivered. At that point you might get lucky searching a database in that state to see if it was licensed there. Good luck!

 

[mrsrobinson]

Again, slightly unrelated, I always assumed the engines were built the same year as the boat. They are not in some cases. The survey on the 2001 Regal 3780 said the engines were built in 1998 or 1999, I can't remember which. Surveyor said then it was not uncommon for manufacturers use engines that were in stock/sitting in the warehouse if you will.

 

[fwebster]

Frank,
Do you agree that Rolland's boat was built in 2000 as a 2001 model?

Rolland,
If this is correct, the big unknown is where your boat was for the 10 years before it was imported. Again you might be able to contact Sea Ray to see where it was delivered. At that point you might get lucky searching a database in that state to see if it was licensed there. Good luck!

Yes..............
"So, a "J0" boat was actually completed in October of 2000 and if it bears an "01" in the 11th and 12th position on the HIN# then the boat was built as a 2001 model."

 

[Roland Illvesand]

To day when the sun was at right angel I did see a contour of a old text that says Somers Point NJ. Now I know where my boat comes from.