by Dolphin » Sat Aug 04, 2012 5:59 pm
G'Day Dave,
You do ask the best questions.
If you put sail numbers on, the one on the stbd side must be above the one on the port side. So you can't read 8011 as 1108 etc. The same number must be on both sides. A 29er from Sydney has AUS 461 on one side and AUS 641 on the other. Sail numbers are issued by Yachting Aust.
The numbers on the sails are the best to identify a boat by. You can get on to the register and find out who has the number as most people don't re register their number or cancel it when they sell a boat. Some clubs have their own series, Lake Macquarie is M, Middle Harbour (Sydney) MHnn etc.
In nsw the hull has a separate number ending in N, Qld has letters and numbers ending in Q. SA in S etc. The number is usually 3 letters and 3 numbers and then the Suffux, or you can apply for a special number but it must to end in N. The best one I saw was a stink boat 4sipiN.
If the rego is all numbers it is a commercial registered vessel.
If its a LFB or similar it is a Liscenced Fishing Boat.
The racing rules state that a racing boat must have on its stern, its registration number ABC123N, its sail number M123 and its registered club eg LMYC.
VHF radios used to be registered but now they are type approved and only the operator has to be lisenced. That used to be 3 letters 4 numbers eg, VZN1234. The callsign is the name of the boat or the radio registration.
In NSW, I don't know if you have it in Vic, we have a HIN. Hull Identification Number.
The NRMA started a scheme previous to that that was coded and I had SNLAUF3GK184 Which was someting like Sailing vessel, NSW registered, in Australia. and built in Jan 1984.
Confused?
If you put the sail numbers on your sails they are hard to remove and will always show a watermark so may help if they are stolen or lost.
Greg.
Greg
Felicite Mk III
Lake Macquarie
"After it's all said and done, there is a lot more said than done!" Aesop 620 BC