Identifying a boat - what are the main parameters?
 

Hi all,

I'm currently working on a database for a client which aims to
allow users to trace cars + boats they have owned in the past.

The database will hold information that allows the
identification of the car/boat.

So for a car, it holds the make/model/colour/registration/year
of manufacture and where the car was at different times in it's
life.

Sadly, I know nothing about boats. So I'm asking for your help.
I need to build up a list of important parameters than can be
used to identify a boat. Not too many, maybe 6 at the most.

I know the term 'boat' covers a much wider range than 'car', but
the purpose of the database is to allow private individuals to
trace their old boats, so the range of boats will be limited to
those which:

[a] Are likely to be owned by private individuals (no ocean
liners or oil tankers!)

and

[b] The owners are likely to want to trace. I don't suppose many
people whould be particularly interested in a small dingy they
owned 20 years ago (maybe I'm wrong, I don't know).

Any help much appreciated.

TIA

--
Grunff

Identifying a boat - what are the main parameters?
 

Grunff wrote:

The database will hold information that allows the
identification of the car/boat.

So for a car, it holds the make/model/colour/registration/year
of manufacture and where the car was at different times in it's
life.

I guess engine/chassis numbers would be rather more important.

Sadly, I know nothing about boats. So I'm asking for your help.
I need to build up a list of important parameters than can be
used to identify a boat. Not too many, maybe 6 at the most.

All of the above, plus name. The problem is that not all boats
are registered, and unless fairly recent, may well not have serial
numbers, so can be impossible to identify with certainty.

What is the purpose of your database? Being able to prove age
and history of location (in order, for example, to prove VAT
status), being able to recover stolen vessels, or just vague
general interest?

Identifying a boat - what are the main parameters?
 

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"Grunff" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I'm currently working on a database for a client which aims to
allow users to trace cars + boats they have owned in the past.

The database will hold information that allows the
identification of the car/boat.

So for a car, it holds the make/model/colour/registration/year
of manufacture and where the car was at different times in it's
life.

Sadly, I know nothing about boats. So I'm asking for your help.
I need to build up a list of important parameters than can be
used to identify a boat. Not too many, maybe 6 at the most.

I know the term 'boat' covers a much wider range than 'car', but
the purpose of the database is to allow private individuals to
trace their old boats, so the range of boats will be limited to
those which:

[a] Are likely to be owned by private individuals (no ocean
liners or oil tankers!)

and

[b] The owners are likely to want to trace. I don't suppose many
people whould be particularly interested in a small dingy they
owned 20 years ago (maybe I'm wrong, I don't know).

Any help much appreciated.

TIA

--
Grunff

Boats have names, unlike cars, so if I were to want to trace a
previously-owned boat, I would want to know 1) power or sail, 2) builder, 3)
type and size, 4) Present and past names of vessel, 5) Present owner's name
and contact details.

--

Identifying a boat - what are the main parameters?
 

Ronald Raygun wrote:

I guess engine/chassis numbers would be rather more important.

This is a general interest database, a little like Friends
Reunited but for cars and boats. It's very unlikely that someone
wanting to trace a car they owned 20 years ago would have a
record of the VIN (chassis number), which is why it's omitted.

--
Grunff

Identifying a boat - what are the main parameters?
 

Dennis Pogson wrote:

Boats have names, unlike cars, so if I were to want to trace a
previously-owned boat, I would want to know 1) power or sail, 2) builder, 3)
type and size, 4) Present and past names of vessel, 5) Present owner's name
and contact details.

Thanks, that's very useful. A couple of Qs:

Type - is there a list of boat 'types', or would that list be so
diverse as to be useless?

Size - AM I right that boat size is always in feet?

Thanks.

--
Grunff

Identifying a boat - what are the main parameters?
 

Grunff writes:

Hi all,

I'm currently working on a database for a client which aims to allow
users to trace cars + boats they have owned in the past.


The database will hold information that allows the identification of
the car/boat.


So for a car, it holds the make/model/colour/registration/year of
manufacture and where the car was at different times in it's life.


Sadly, I know nothing about boats. So I'm asking for your help. I need
to build up a list of important parameters than can be used to
identify a boat. Not too many, maybe 6 at the most.


I know the term 'boat' covers a much wider range than 'car', but the
purpose of the database is to allow private individuals to trace their
old boats, so the range of boats will be limited to those which:


[a] Are likely to be owned by private individuals (no ocean liners or
oil tankers!)


and

[b] The owners are likely to want to trace. I don't suppose many
people whould be particularly interested in a small dingy they owned
20 years ago (maybe I'm wrong, I don't know).


Any help much appreciated.

Any sailing boat which has ever been raced (and quite a lot which
haven't) are likely to have a sail marking and a sail number. They are
likely to keep the same sail number for the whole of their lives (with
some rare exceptions - I believe in a few mass production dinghies the
sail number is the serial number of the _sail_, not an identifying
number of the _boat_). Note that there are very many classes, and each
class will issue numbers independently, so knowing the sail number is
not enough - you need to know the class as well (which is often but
not always indicated by a marking or logo on the sail). So you'd need
to record 'class' and 'sail number'. The sail number is alphanumeric,
not just digits - international classes will have the number prefixed
by some letters indicating the country of issue.

Most boats have a builders mark or plate somewhere; often this will
include a date or serial number. However, not all do.

Boats, unlike cars, are frequently repainted during their lifetimes,
so colour is not a good identifier.

Some boats are registered. However, the normal registry for small
private boats in the United Kingdom, the Small Ships Register, does
not as I understand it issue numbers for the lifetime of the vessel,
so the SSR number of a boat may change over its life.

The radio callsign and MMSI ('Marine Mobile Service Identifier')
number should not change provided the boat continues to be licensed to
carry a radio - but not all boats are.

Over all length, beam (width) and displacement (weight) are unlikely
to change in the lifetime of a boat, although, of course, some do get
modified.

Sorry this isn't more helpful!

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; If you're doing this for fun, do what seems fun. If you're
;; doing it for money, stop now.
;; Rainer Deyke

Identifying a boat - what are the main parameters?
 

1) Category (sail, motor, motorsailer, trawler, etc,)
2) Brand
3) Model/Year
4) Registration or documentation number
5) Insurance claims
6) Number of previous owners



"Grunff" wrote in message ...
Hi all,

I'm currently working on a database for a client which aims to
allow users to trace cars + boats they have owned in the past.

The database will hold information that allows the
identification of the car/boat.

So for a car, it holds the make/model/colour/registration/year
of manufacture and where the car was at different times in it's
life.

Sadly, I know nothing about boats. So I'm asking for your help.
I need to build up a list of important parameters than can be
used to identify a boat. Not too many, maybe 6 at the most.

I know the term 'boat' covers a much wider range than 'car', but
the purpose of the database is to allow private individuals to
trace their old boats, so the range of boats will be limited to
those which:

[a] Are likely to be owned by private individuals (no ocean
liners or oil tankers!)

and

[b] The owners are likely to want to trace. I don't suppose many
people whould be particularly interested in a small dingy they
owned 20 years ago (maybe I'm wrong, I don't know).

Any help much appreciated.

TIA

--
Grunff

Identifying a boat - what are the main parameters?
 

You may need more than your 6 criteria.

1^st is it a powerboat with or without accommodation (this covers water
ski boats etc), or is it a sailboat with accommodation (yacht) or
without Dinghy. (Yes I would be curious to know if my Mirror sail No 530
is still around 43 years after it was built).

The next two criteria is builder/manufacturer and their model. Some
boats were built by more than one yard (505 dinghy was built by Parker
boats, Ronda boats and others). However a Moody 41 or a Moody any thing
else will only be built by Moody

Size can be in feet or meters

The style of Rig maybe a good criterion to have (Bermudan Sloop, Cutter,
Schooner, Ketch etc)

A general description in yachts for the one off’s either under the old
Ton rating system or the more modern R.O.R.C. (Royal Ocean Racing Club)
classes

The current owner (although how you keep that up to date?)

Any Registration info

Names of vessel present and Past

That’s the absolute minimum



Grunff wrote:

Dennis Pogson wrote:

Boats have names, unlike cars, so if I were to want to trace a
previously-owned boat, I would want to know 1) power or sail, 2)
builder, 3)
type and size, 4) Present and past names of vessel, 5) Present
owner's name
and contact details.


Thanks, that's very useful. A couple of Qs:

Type - is there a list of boat 'types', or would that list be so
diverse as to be useless?

Size - AM I right that boat size is always in feet?

Thanks.

Identifying a boat - what are the main parameters?
 

"Grunff" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I'm currently working on a database for a client which aims to
allow users to trace cars + boats they have owned in the past.

The database will hold information that allows the
identification of the car/boat.

Sadly, I know nothing about boats. So I'm asking for your help.
I need to build up a list of important parameters than can be
used to identify a boat. Not too many, maybe 6 at the most.



The following link may give you some ideas as to what information is held
for registered boats:

http://www.itu.int/cgi-bin/htsh/mars...earch.sh#start

but there is no requirement for pleasure boats to be registered at all, and
many aren't. Even though they may have been at some time, the registration
may have been allowed to lapse. The country of registry may also change.
Modern boats usually have a hull identification number (HIN), but older ones
usually don't. Some carry sail numbers, but many don't and there is no
requirement for one.

The bottom line is that there isn't really any reliable way to trace a boat,
other than by luck - possibly through newsgroups such as this, or through
owner groups e.g. http://jeanneau.tripod.com/index.htm

Possibly this is why so many boats get stolen.

Pete.

Identifying a boat - what are the main parameters?
 

Simon Brooke wrote:

Sorry this isn't more helpful!

Was very helpful, many thanks.

--
Grunff