My new (old) boat

[wgnorth]

Hey everyone,

I've been given my grandfather's old 14' jon boat and trailer. The boat is 36" at the bottom, 53" on the beam, all welded construction, and solid. My father remembers the boat came from Sears around 1965-1966, the trailer was a custom build. It's never been registered or titled so i'm going through that process now in VA (boat and trailer are in NC). It's a project, but I remember it from my childhood and it will be a good river/small lake boat. I've researched the process for the boat and trailer here in VA and have the necessary forms...I just want to see if anyone here can help me ensure I get the model and serial number correct. It's a pre '72 so there is no HIN, but the plate on the bow is intact. I've attached a couple of pictures for reference.

 

[DaleH]

Check the sticky I posed for the index to boat Mfg'res, that tin Sears was most likely made by Rich Line for them.

 

[wgnorth]

Dale,

Thank you for the reply! I've searched through the database and looked through most of the manufacturer's information but haven't found anything that matches up. I don't think the boat is a car topper model as she's pretty heavy built...I couldn't imagine it on a vehicle's roof. With the year and make close enough...do you think the serial number is the 4EW9AD or the 00744 or the two combined?

 

[DaleH]

...do you think the serial number is the 4EW9AD or the 00744 or the two combined?

I'd say the 00744 is the s/n as the 744th one made that year.

Hopefully your State is easy/tolerant on new Regs for old boats. Here in Mass (once the cradle of liberty ... ?) all boats need a full HIN and if you can't find it, it needs an on-site inspection by the Dept of Environmental Fisheries/Wildlife to be assigned a new ID#.

 

[Wheels Big]

Going through the process with Virginia right now, the good and bad..
For the good part, relatively easy since everything is done through gooutdoorsvirginia dot com
Pay the fees, upload your documents, fill out the information , everything.
Here is the bad, for an unregistered / never registered, pre 1971 or whatever (no HIN), they require proof of ownership. Apparently, a signed Bill of Sale by myself and the guy who sold it to me isn't good enough and they then asked I fill out a form that has the same information the Bill of Sale supplied. No big deal, a little annoying, but simple enough right?
They also want pictures of the boat from all four sides, for God knows what. This wouldn't be a problem for most, but then again most people aren't stuck out on deployment since January, half way around the world, without the ability to dig it out of storage to take all around pics.
They only mentioned these requirements after I paid for a new Title, Registration, and other fees. Hence, why I listed that item first.

As much as a pain in the A as it's been for my specific scenario, it should be fairly straight forward for you. Best of luck!