How do I find out how old my boat is?
If you are buying or selling a recreational boat in Western Australia, it can be difficult to work out how old the boat is, especially if it was built before 2001. Many boats are advertised with the incorrect model year, mainly because people dont know and guess, or because they assume the Hull Identification Number on the boat contains the year it was built or sold new. This can sometimes mean the 2005 boat you just bought is in fact a 1982 model and maybe worth less than what you paid.
Please read the info below to understand the ways your boat year can be identified and checked.
Before Hull Identification Numbers (HIN) became compulsory for all recreational boats built after February 1st, 2001 many boats were built without any identifers such as a HIN or builders plate. That makes it extremely difficult to work out just how old the boat is.
HIN's are now compulsory not only for boats built after February 2001, but also for boats that were built before then, when they are registered for the first time, change hands or are re-registered after being unregistered for a time.
Most boats built after February 2001 that have been built by a boat manufacturer will have a manufacturers HIN. This HIN starts with the country of manufacture, followed by the manufacturers unique code, then their own serial number, then a date code consisting of a letter for the production month (A = January, B = February etc), followed by a number for the build year and two more numbers for the model year of the boat. An example is below:
What this HIN tells us is the boat was built in Australia, the manufacturers code is AMB, the manafacturers serial number is B3701, the boat was built in August 2014 for the 2015 model year.
This type of HIN tells you the month and year the boat was built!
The other type of HIN you will see in WA is the Transport WA HIN. These HIN's have been issued and affixed to boats that were either built before Feb 2001 ond didnt have a HIN issued and affixed by the manufacturer, or were built after Feb 2001 by a manafacturer who was registered to issue a HIN, maybe becasue they were a small volume producer or they only built one boat.
This HIN also starts with the country code, which is always AU for Transport WA HIN's, followed by the issuing authority code (WA Hin's are always TWA) followed by a sequential number (the total amount of HIN's issued to that actual HIN), followed by the agent code (the code for the HIN Provider who issued and affixed the HIN), follwed by a single digit number, which is the date code for the year the HIN was fitted by the HIN Provider.
This type of HIN DOES NOT tell you the year the boat was built! See an example of a TWA HIN below:
This HIN shows that its a Transport WA HIN, the 51,192 HIN issued by HIN Provider DG in either 2001, 2011 or 2021. We could probably guess that this was issued in 2021, based on the number being in the 50'000s.
If your boat, or the boat you want to buy has a HIN similar to this, you cant tell its age from the HIN.
So, just how do you tell how old a boat is when it has a TWA HIN, or no HIN at all?
1: Look for a builders plate. If the boat manufacturer put a builders or serial number plate on the boat, it may contain the build date. This is pretty rare on older boats.
2: Use the registration number. The registration number on recreational boats in WA is issued when the boat is first registered and stays with the boat for the time the boat stays in and is registered in WA. Even if the boat registration is allowed to lapse, the boat keeps the same registration number.
This is handy for us as it allows us to work out when the boat was first registered. Whilst this doesnt neccessarily mean the boat was built the same year as the boat was registered, its usually pretty close, within 12 months.
If you have a boat that was first registered in January 1975, then you can reasonably assume the boat was built sometime in 1974. Its not a foolproof system, but it really does help to narrow the year of the boat down.
The registration number date system only works for boats that were registered first in WA and still have the original WA regisitration number. If a boat was first registered in NSW, then brought to WA and registered a number of years later, then the WA registration on the boat will be from the year it was registered here, not the year it was first built.
So, if you are buying or selling a boat and are unsure of the year of the boat, or are suspicious of a claimed year that seems to be far more recent than the boat style, type and model would suggest, use the chart below to work out when it was first registered in WA.
For any registration numbers newer than 2013, use the manafacturers HIN to age the boat.
Registration number Date issued
001-5000 January - February 1963
5001-6000 March - October 1963
6001-8000 November 1963 - January 1964
8001-19300 February 1964 - November 1969
19301-21400 December 1969 - October 1970
21401-30000 November 1970 - July 1974
30001-33100 August 1974 - February 1975
33101-34650 March 1975 - July 1975
34551-36000 August 1975 - November 1975
36001-39000 December 1975 - June 1976
39001-45800 July 1976 - December 1977
45801-51300 January 1978 - December 1978
51301-55999 January 1979 - December 1979
Except:
55333-55400 16/01/80 - 06/02/80
55609-55699 11/01/80 -25/02/80
55901-55999 16/01/80 - 24/01/80
56000-60300 January 1980 - December 1980
Except:
56754-56800 21/01/81 - 06/03/81
57548-57600 06/01/81 - 21/01/81
57765-57800 08/01/81 - 08/05/81
58822-58889 06/01/81 - 06/02/81
59218-59300 09/01/81 - 02/02/81
59486-59745 05/01/81 - 17/12/81
59746-59800 12/01/82 - 06/05/82
59801-59900 12/03/81 - 12/01/82
59902-60020 20/12/79 - 28/12/79
60301-62999 January 1981 - December 1981
Except:
61360-61400 12/01/82 - 11/02/82
62143-62200 12/01/82 - 25/03/82
62305-62327 23/06/82 - 22/12/82
62328-62374 14/01/83 - 29/11/83
62375-62400 12/01/84 - 28/05/84
62721-62794 11/01/82 - 01/12/82
62795-62800 11/03/83 - 03/11/83
63000-63999 December 1981 - February 1982
64000-65000 February 1982 - September 1982
65001-65999 September 1982 - December 1982
66000-66999 December 1982 - March 1983
67000-67999 March 1983 - October 1983
68000-68999 October 1983 - January 1984
69000-69999 January 1984 - May 1984
70000-79999 May 1984 - December 1984
70000-71999 December 1984 - March 1985
72000-72999 March 1985 - August 1985
73000-73999 August 1985 - December 1985
74000-74999 December 1985 - April 1986
75000-75999 April 1986 - October 1986
76000-76999 October 1986 - December 1986
77000-77999 December 1986 - April 1987
78000-78999 April 1987 - September 1987
79000-79999 September 1987 - January 1988
80000-89999 January 1988 - March 1988
81000-81999 March 1988 - December 1988
82000-82999 December 1988 - January 1989
83000-83999 January 1989 - April 1989
84000-84999 April 1989 - July 1989
85000-85999 July 1989 - December 1989
86000-86999 December 1989 - July 1990
87001-87911 July 1990 - June 1991
90000-90999 April 1990 - January 1991
91000-91619 January 1991 - June 1991
A001-A999 July 1991 - October 1991
AA001-AA999 October 1991 - January 1992
AB001-AB999 January 1992 - May 1992
AC001-AC999 May 1992 - October 1992
AD001-AD999 October 1992 - December 1992
AE001-AE999 December 1992 - February 1993
AF001-AF999 February 1993 - July 1993
AG001-AG999 July 1993 - September 1993
AH000-AH999 September 1993 - January 1994
AI001-AI999 January 1994 - May 1994
AJ001-AJ999 May 1994 - October 1994
AK000-AK999 October 1994 - December 1994
AL000-AL999 December 1994 - March 1995
AM000-AM999 March 1995 - September 1995
AN001-AN999 September 1995 - November 1995
AO001-AO999 November 1995 - February 1996
AP000-AP999 February 1996 - May 1996
AQ000-AQ999 May 1996 - September 1996
AR001-AR999 September 1996 - November 1996
AS001-AS999 November 1996 - January 1997
AT000-AT999 January 1997 - April 1997
AU000-AU999 April 1997 - September 1997
AV000-AV999 September 1997 - November 1997
AW000-AW999 November 1997 - January 1998
AX000-AX999 January 1998 - April 1998
AY000-AY999 April 1998 - September 1998
AZ000-AZ999 September 1998 - November 1998
BA000-BA999 November 1998 - January 1999
BB000 - BB999 January 1999 - April 1999
BC000 - BC999 April 1999 - September 1999
BD000 - BD999 September 1999 - November 1999
BE000 - BE999 November 1999 - December 1999
BF000 - BF999 December 1999 - March 2000
BG000 - BG999 March 2000 - June 2000
BH000 - BH999 June 2000 - August 2000
BI000 - BI999 August 2000 - October 2000
BJ000 - BJ999 October 2000 - February 2001
BK000 - BK999 February 2001 - March 2001
BL000 - BL999 March 2001 - September 2001
BM000 - BM999 September 2001 - October 2001
BN000 - BN999 October 2001 - February 2002
BO000 - BO999 February 2002 - April 2002
BP000 - BP999 April 2002 - August 2002
BQ000 - BQ999 August 2002 - October 2002
BR000 - BR999 October 2002 - December 2002
BS000 - BS999 December 2002 - March 2003
BT000 - BT999 March 2003 - June 2003
BU000 - BU999 June 2003 - September 2003
BV000 - BV999 September 2003 - November 2003
BW000 - BW999 November 2003 - January 2004
BX000 - BX999 January 2004 - March 2004
BY000 - BY999 March 2004 - June 2004
BZ000 - BZ999 June 2004 - October 2004
DA000 - DA999 October 2004 - December 2004
DB000 - DB999 December 2004 - January 2005
DC000 - DC999 January 2005 - March 2005
DD000 - DD999 March 2005 - June 2005
DE000 - DE999 June 2005 - September 2005
DF000 - DF999 September 2005 - November 2005
DG000 - DG999 November 2005 - December 2005
DH000 - DH999 December 2005 - March 2006
DI000 - DI999 March 2006 - April 2006
DJ000 - DJ999 April 2006 - July 2006
DK000 - DK999 July 2006 - September 2006
DL000 - DL999 September 2006 - November 2006
DM000 - DM999 November 2006 - December 2006
DN000 - DN999 December 2006 - February 2007
DO000 - DO999 February 2007 - March 2007
DP000 - DP999 March 2007 - May 2007
DQ000 - DQ999 May 2007 - August 2007
DR000 - DR999 August 2007 - October 2007
DS000 - DS999 October 2007 - December 2007
DT000 - DT999 December 2007 - January 2008
DU000 - DU999 January 2008 - March 2008
DV000 - DV999 March 2008 - May 2008
DW000 - DW999 May 2008 - August 2008
DX000 - DX999 August 2008 - October 2008
DY000 - DY999 October 2008 - December 2008
DZ000 - DZ999 December 2008 - February 2009
EA000 - EA999 February 2009 - May 2009
EB000 - EB999 May 2009 - September 2009
EC000 - EC999 September 2009 - November 2009
ED000 - ED999 November 2009 - January 2010
EE000 - EE999 January 2010 - May 2010
EF000 - EF999 May 2010 - September 2010
EG000 - EG999 September 2010 - November 2010
EH000 - EH999 November 2010 - January 2011
EI000 - EI999 January 2011 - March 2011
EJ000 - EJ999 March 2011 - July 2011
EK000 - EK999 July 2011 - October 2011
EL000 - EL999 October 2011 - December 2011
EM000 - EM999 December 2011 - March 2012
EN000 - EN999 March 2012 - July 2012
EO000 - EO999 July 2012 - November 2012
EP000 - EP999 November 2012 - January 2013