If NODW registered it to you and issued title, dont be overly concerned, as long as paperwork #s match the boat #s, its legally yours whatever it actually is, and legal ownership is the important part....
Its likely a pre-1972 Starchief that didnt have a HIN and at ownership transfer @1980, it had to have a year listed and w no access to the correct info, someone (owner or DMV) listed it as a 1980 so it could be logged into the DMV system.
I have a 1960 Glastron FireFlight that was listed as a 1961 or 62 on the paperwork. Glastron changed the FireFlights for 1961 & 62. Based on 1960 and 1961 brochures, it clearly isnt a 1961 and is quite definitely a 1960. It also had a 1961 outboard, and its highly likely that the boat#s were difficult to track, but the motor#s were easy to research. So they used the motor year to date the boat. It wasnt too hard to figure out, but I had plenty of time and access to heaps of info online..... When my boat changed hands and someone went to register it, they didnt have internet access.... I got it changed to read a 1960, but it simply took time and about $35 extra in my home state, YMMV......
Currently there is no Ser# registry to compare your # to.
However, Starcraft typically only made a single year color scheme per model, so all 196x year Starchiefs were painted the same. If yours still has factory paint, compare yours to those listed in the brochure pages posted here
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owner...raft-brochures
EDIT: Um, is it a Starchief or a Chieftain? You have other posts that ID it as a Chieftain. Those posts and your avatar are all Chieftains not Starchiefs
So what ya got?