Yard Numbers, Sail Numbers, and Hull Numbers

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The Yard Number is the number on the plate in the hatchway and consists of a letter then 3 numbers i.e. A 123 The prefix letter originally indicated from which shed in Waterlooville the hull was made but soon came to represent the specific model being built. The digits represent the number of that specific hull.


The Sail Number is a different number to the hull number. Some boats were registered internationally so weren't given class numbers (GK24s for example). Sail numbers were issued numerically and in series when orders were placed, but if orders were cancelled the next ordered Sail Number was issued to the next hull coming off the production line. As the hulls were coming off the production line in numerical order, the Sail Number issued to it was the next ordered and paid for Sail Number. In this way, Sail Numbers and Yard Numbers got jumbled up. Added to this, some designs used the same hull but different tops.


The Hull Numbers were stamped into the moulding of the hull on the stern of the boat on the starboard side near the top of the hull. It is solely a Certificate of Hull Construction number issued by Lloyds Register of Shipping and is in the form ABC 123456. There is an example of a 1967 Centaur Hull Number here: [1]


If by chance your boat's Yard Number and Sail Number coincide, that is a rare occurrence. More often than not the numbers do not coincide and because your Yard Number is 219 it does not mean that your Sail Number is 219. For example the Renown share the same hull with the Pentland, and the very first Renown built R1 has a Yard Number of O (oscar) 036. The authors Renown has a sail number of 129 but a Hull Number of O (oscar) 243