TableRockBoater

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As requested, here's a redacted version of our renewal letter: These deficiencies must be corrected before submitting your dock renewal paperwork: *(Redacted) *(Redacted) Does that help? FWIW, our renewals have always had deficiencies that needed to be corrected, but they were always about safety or repairs needed or structure or white foam or vehicles on Corps land, not "decor". Our decor is the decor as it has always been. 🤣

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That HIN is confusing. The last four #s indicate it was manufactured in January, 1980. RLS is a valid Manufacturer Code, but the company was not in business in 1980: R.L.S. ENTERPRISES, INC In Business: 1/13/1989 - 5/7/2008 https://www.uscgboating.org/content/manufacturers-identification.php and there are 6 hull serial numbers when there should be 5 - - - - - - For boats manufactured between November 1, 1972 and August 1, 1984: Manufacturer Identification Code (MIC) and Hull Serial Number are the same as described below. Date of Manufacture Here’s where it gets confusing. Manufacturers were given the option of giving either the date of manufacture, or the model year. HIN with Date of Manufacture Example: ABC123451076 (October 1976) The 9th and 10th characters are the month, and the 11th and 12th characters are the last digits of the year. HIN with Model Year Example: ABC12345M72D (November 1972) The 9th character “M” stands for model year. The 10th and 11th are the last two digits of the model year. The 12th is the letter designating the month of manufacture. Now, here’s where the government got cute: A = August B = September C = October D = November E = December F = January G = February H = March I = April J = May K = June L = July - - - - - - For boats manufactured after August 1, 1984 Example: ABC12345J314 Manufacturer ID Code (MIC) Hull Serial Number Date of Manufacture Model Year ABC 12345 J3 14 Manufacturer Identification Code (MIC) Entering the MIC into this US Coast Guard database will get you the manufacturer and their location. Hull Serial Number These five characters are assigned by the manufacturer. They are normally numbers, but letters (except I, O and Q) may also be used. Date of Manufacture The letter is for the month of manufacture: A = January B = February C = March D = April E = May F = June G = July H = August I = September J = October K = November L = December The number is the last digit of the year of manufacture. Since there’s only one digit, it must be interpreted by the Model Year. In our example, J3 designates that the boat was built in October 2013. Model Year In our example, the year is 2014.

I have never known all three lakes to be over Top Flood Pool at the same time, like now. Combined, that's 56 feet of water more than there should be. Looks like a tournament today.

I posted the history previously, here: http://www.fiberglassics.com/library/index.php?title=Rich_Line Here's how the son of the founder explained it: In the summer of 1952 my father, Gordon L. Schneider and I were standing on the dock at Hyde-Away-Cove at the Lake of the Ozarks watching a Lone Star crossing the lake. My dad commented that he could make an aluminum boat that would plane better than that. He was silent for a time. Then, he said, "George that is what we are going to build at that old Shell Pumping Station in Richland." I had no idea what a Shell Pumping Station was and I had never heard of Richland, Missouri.On May 4 of 1953 the articles of incorporation with 8 members were filed by Gordon L. Schneider with the Secretary of State, State of Missouri. They were approved, creating Richland Manufacturing Company, on May 14, 1953. By August of 1953 we had moved from Independence, Missouri to Richland and I had seen the Shell Pumping Station which my dad was turning into a boat production plant. . . . The first Rich Lines were tested at the Lake of the Ozarks in the spring of 1954. By the fall of 1955 Rich Line aluminum fishing boats, runabouts, and houseboats were streaming off the production line at two shifts a day, five days a week. The Governor of Illinois purchased one of the houseboats. By early 1956, 6,000 Rich Lines had been sold. . . . My dad sold the company in 1957. Richland Manufacturing continued making boats another 21 years. They also purchased Sea Fury and Tom Sawyer Boats for an early fiberglass line. The Rich Line name continued until 2003. Up until Appleby was the builder, the Rich Line MIC was: RCH RICH LINE BOATS RICHLAND MFG. CO.

By the way, if you find an old aluminum Rich Line, and wonder if it's seaworthy, go for it. My canoe is as solid as the day it was made. A guy visiting the neighbor's the other day saw me coming in on the canal and said, "Wanna sell it?"

I found the answer as to why my '76 Model 15C Rich Line canoe has a HIN starting with APB: Sales Manager, J. B. Appleby, left Rich Line in 1960 to found Appleby Boats. He later returned to buy the company in the 1970's and consolidated operations under the Appleby Boats brand. http://www.fiberglassics.com/library/index.php?title=Rich_Line

Yup, and the letter at the end is the month, starting with August being A. The first three letters are the MIC, Manufacturer Identification Code. Manufacturer Identification Code (MIC) Hull or Serial Number Model year("M") followed by a two digit year, followed by a single letter for the manufacture month. Please note that the "Model Year" changeover was assumed to have happened in August with this format, so its possible the boat was built before its model year. The month codes are as follows: A: Aug E: Dec I: Apr B: Sep F: Jan J: May C: Oct G: Feb K: Jun D: Nov H: Mar L: Jul

I suspect that some here may be familiar with Rich Line Boats. I have a Rich Line canoe and am wanting to determine when it was made. But, HIN searches have proven to be unsuccessful. I believe I can decipher it, but I can't confirm it. September, 1976 (76B) APB0957XM76B To complicate it "APB" does not match as the MIC for Rich Line boats: RCH RICH LINE BOATS RICHLAND MFG. CO. But, my canoe has the Rich Line medallion on the port side of the bow, and the HIN plate APB0957XM76B on the port side of the stern. Also, on other forums I have seen people trying to identify their Rich Line boats, and they are posting "APB" HINs: "Can anyone tell me what model richline I just bought? Hull ID # APB0078RM75E,"

Or, that it had been below 900 twelve times before 2001, and not once since? &, since then, in the time it has been held higher, there have been more major floods, especially since 2008. Didn't someone once say that one should learn from history? 😎