After 15 tears of haggling, finally, now because
of Homeland Security concerns in the US, it would appear the United States Coast
Guard (USCG) is making some progress bringing about
changes to hull identification number (HIN) formatting of boats. This July, a teleconference
was held with the Boating Safety Advisory Council (BSAC)
HIN Sub-committee to discuss the various issues on implementing a seventeen
(17) character HIN, adding five additional identifiers to the current format.
Some manufacturers may start
using a 12 + 5 HIN system as early as the 2005 model year, until the applicable
law is actually changed and a 17 number system is fully implemented, which may
take anywhere from about one to five years.