Boat History.com Report - Seriously, for these oldies??

Anyone else see the irony regarding a boat history report request for a hull made 1950 thru 60's? Given the number of folks who likely frequent the forum & the age of the craft a large majority own or collect, a boat history report is as likely to be found as the proverbial pot-o-gold at the rainbow's end! I could (maybe??) see a history report on the Majestic Thunderbird Craft owned by the former casino magnet / playboy on Lake Tahoe, but a 1950's or '60's Crestliner, Feather Craft, etc???

Re: Boat History.com Report - Seriously, for these oldies??

Its an advertisement chief. They don't know how old your boat is. Not for nothing, but the majority of boaters in these forums have boats newer than '73-'74 (around the time manufacturers were required to use HIN's), so they may very well be interested in a history report.

Re: Boat History.com Report - Seriously, for these oldies??

waukeganomc44 said:

Anyone else see the irony regarding a boat history report request for a hull made 1950 thru 60's? Given the number of folks who likely frequent the forum & the age of the craft a large majority own or collect, a boat history report is as likely to be found as the proverbial pot-o-gold at the rainbow's end! I could (maybe??) see a history report on the Majestic Thunderbird Craft owned by the former casino magnet / playboy on Lake Tahoe, but a 1950's or '60's Crestliner, Feather Craft, etc???

Click to expand...

The irony is that in this day and age of computers and the almighty internet...it may be possible...maybe not today, but certainly in the future, that a database come into existence regarding most old boats...

Just as an example, 20-25 years ago you would be hard pressed to track down the history of some firearms, but in just the last few years, partially thanks to the internet, hundreds of documents, books and historical facts have been put together by the same people who "just want to know" about this or that firearm and the amount of available information is becoming overwhelming...

So while right now that information about a certain old boat may be the "proverbial pot-o-gold at the rainbow's end"...thanks to places like Iboats.com, Fiberglassics.com, johnsoldmercurysite.com, and a host of other websites...that hard or impossible to find information may just be coming to a computer screen near you...

The more people want to know about something, the more that some certain somebodies will try to find and provide that information...

Remember, it all starts somewhere...

Best regards,
GT1M

Re: Boat History.com Report - Seriously, for these oldies??

Admit... shoulda known that, but being a vintage boat & motor guy it just struck me as... Huh?? Didn't know the HIN can into being early '70's though my '50's FC & C-Liner both had serial #'s that track to a production year / date... if you can find them!

Re: Boat History.com Report - Seriously, for these oldies??

HELLO I have a 1962 ROYAL SCOTT DELUXE SWIM & SKI 15. with a 1962 ROYAL SCOTT 43.7 CUSTOM O/B ,Sitting on a 1962 SCOTT DELUXE TILT TRAILER.If it wasn't for the internet i would not know anything about it . Yes it would be nice to do a history check and just run the #'s

Re: Boat History.com Report - Seriously, for these oldies??

YA i tired that site and it told me i have a 27' center console with twin 350's now only if that was true lol. my boat is a 1968 14' chrysler. since it's older one of the precious owners made up a vin i gusse. just thought it was funny.

Re: Boat History.com Report - Seriously, for these oldies??

I bought a report when I purchased my 1999 Chris Craft in 2008. Wasn't worth it. The report confirmed the year, maufacturer and the place it was built. If I remember correctly it also told me to where it was first delivered after manufacture. That was it.

If you're expecting something similar to a Carfax for boats, there's no such animal. Save your money.

My .02

Re: Boat History.com Report - Seriously, for these oldies??

Even Carfax isn't what people think it is.

Yes, it MAY give you the bad info about a car, but often it doesn't.

I ran 2 family vehicles thru carfax that I knew the history of. One had severe accident damage (50% of new cost), and the other had cloudy title history involving an estate sale. Carfax found neither.

Their info is only as good as their sources, and voluntary participation from insurance companies.

Since boats are often damaged without resulting in an insurance claim, there is even less chance of info being found.


A waste of time and money, and a marketing ploy providing a warm fuzzy feeling at best.