Rich Line Boats

[mixermarkb]

On 6/23/2020 at 4:03 PM, Gator Dad said:

I just got a, I think, the same 1969 RLS 1400.  I am trying to find out the information on the boat and I CAN NOT find it anywhere.  I've even attempted to contact the last contact number for Rich Line Manufactoring Co but of course, no luck.  I think they folded and the son-n-law and daughter started their own business.  If you can assist me in anyway, i would appreciate it very much.  There is a plate under the stern and it reads: RLS 1400  690180.  This information can not be found on the web anywhere.

I’m not sure what info you are looking for, but If I can help i would be glad to- been over 30 years since then though! 

[TableRockBoater]

On 6/23/2020 at 4:03 PM, Gator Dad said:

There is a plate under the stern and it reads: RLS 1400  690180.  This information can not be found on the web anywhere.

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.