I just registered my boat in AZ, and these guys are a lot stricter
than CA. In CA they just used the serial number stamped on by Sears
in the 70s as the hull number. In AZ they said that isn't a hull
number and I need to put one on my boat. It is just a 12' aluminum
jon boat.

How would one go about attaching this number? The woman said I should
use a metal punch, but I don't own one and wouldn't use it for
anything else (not that I don't buy tools on a whim most of the time).

The law in AZ states: Burned, Carved, Stamped, Embossed, Molded,
Bonded, or otherwise permantently affixed to the watercraft so that
alteration, removal, or replacement would be obvious.

The boat has so many holes in it, I don't think it would be obvious
that it was removed no matter what I did... but I don't care so much
about that, just want to be legal enough that they won't hassle me
about it. O-ya, and the letters need to be at least 1/4", and the one
metal punch kit I did see was only 3/16" (I've only seen them on-line,
not in any local stores, which is another hassle).

O-well, the paper says I have 30 days to do this, so I'm still going
fishing this weekend! =]