Swan 44 Manufacturer ID Number
Does anyone know where the Manufacturer ID number (or some call it the VIN number) is located on a 1973 Swan 44? We know where the hull number is (we have hull #3), but cannot find an identification number.

Do you mean this? Indentificatieplaatje Swan 44 That's the only identification we could find.

Ice,

Thank you, but unfortunately that is not what we are after and it could be quite possible what we are after does not exist on a Swan 44. Other "production boats" have identification numbers stamped, usually on the port or starboard quarter, or on a similar plaque inside the boat, but we can't find any numbers on our boat.

Thank you,
Norman Thersby

P.S. Wow, your plaque is much prettier than ours...

Norman,

your Plaque is the first introduced by Nautor, while Ice's is the latest (by the way, it has been moved, because it's usually screwed by behind and you don't see any screws in the recto side)

As far as I know there is no other ID number speaking of S&S Swans. I think in those days they did not use to identify boats if not by model and hull #

Fair winds!

matteo (38/067 Only You)

Dear Norman
Hull Identification Numbers (HIN's) were not in use in Europe at the time when the Swan 44's were built. Depending on the geographical location a HIN may have been given in connection with the import of these yachts, for example in USA this was the practice. It would be of interest to hear if US member Swans have HIN's and how far back this goes.
A HIN begins with letters followed by numbers, today the letters show the country and builder, then a serial number, and last come month and year, but in the beginning there were many national variations.
All S&S Swans were built before the Finnish Marine Industries Federation introduced HIN's in 1991 as required by the international standard ISO 10087.

Builder's Plaques are used by many yards to mark their product. A young yard may not realize that this could be very important later on, and the earliest Swans do not have them. It is known that the second model, Swan 43, at some stage got the aluminium plaque that your attachment shows. Which Swan 43's and possibly Swan 36 member yachts have these plaques? They were prone to corrosion, and may with the time have suffered badly .

For the Swan 44 series early hulls like 002 have the aluminium plaques, but later during the series (hull number unknown) the plaque was changed to the bronze type that Ice displays. The two visible screw heads on this plaque do not represent the original hidden attachment.
It need to be mentioned that sometimes the bronze plaques have been stolen, and new ones are not available from the yard. It is advisable to check that the plaque is there when considering purchase.

This treatise is not complete without mentioning a third way of marking, denoted registration. When a yacht is registered in a national Ship's Register - frequently the British Register is used - she is required to display her official registration number as well as the measured tonnage on a plate on board. Looks like this:
O.N. 123456 R.T. 15 45/100
The tonnage above, approx 15½ register tons is actually for a Swan 44, and it has to be pointed out here that it is not the weight of the yacht, but the volume in register tons of 100 cu.ft. - the British way of measuring.
Tonnage measurement comes from commercial shipping, is intended to define earning capacity, but can give very varying results depending on the rule used. There is an international tonnage convention, but also many national rules, as well as simplified rules for yachts.
Tonnage measurement is normally done by Classification Societies.
Kind regards
Lars

PS
Dear Norman
Suggest that you check the inside and outside of the aft SB toe rail for a HIN. Probably S&S was the importer for this yacht, and their Manufacturer Identification Code was NAJ.
The HIN should begin with these letters.
You could also contact S&S and ask if they have information on record about this import.
US Coast Guard has a register of MIC's, here a link. There you will also find another importer but the letters are NTP, this came after the S&S Swans were built.
Kind regards
Lars
http://www.uscgboating.org/recalls/mic_detail.aspx?id=NAJ

Lars,

Thank you very much for the information. It is interesting and informative.

As you noted, we do have a HIN on our title and California registration, but have no idea where this number originated. It is three letters followed by a combination of numbers and letters.

We also have the tonnage plaque from England where the boat was christened as the "Spirit of Hamble". Our tonnage plaque reads OFF N-359656 REG TON 17 61/100.

Thank you again for the info, we REALLY appreciate it!

Norman

Norman
May I ask what are the first three letters in your HIN?
Lars

Lars,

CFZ. I'm happy to give you the full number if you would like, I just don't want to do that in a public forum.

Also, when I recently came across old papers on our boat and noticed the name was originally Superstar of Hamble.

Regards,
Norman