Boat Registration - Narrowing Down The Year

[Fitou]

Hi all, looking for a little help please. 
 

I bought an ‘A’ registration, A112, day boat and I’m trying to figure out the year. As I understand it ‘A’ registration relates to the 1950’s but I’d like to narrow it down a bit. I’m sure there are members here that have boats with registrations earlier and later than 112 and know the specific year of their boats. It might help me get closer to the year of registration in the 50’s for mine. 
 

I did pop along to the original boat builders, Sabena Marine, previously Sabberton Bros, to see if he could help, but unfortunately he only has records back to the 60’s. 
 

Also, I’ve seen a number of boats with metal registration marks on them. Mine currently has stickers in a fairly modern font which I don’t think looks great. Is there a place I can buy metal numbers/letters in a period font if there is such a thing?

 

Any help greatly appreciated. Many thanks. 

[BroadAmbition]

Ebay / Amazon is a place to start re metal numbers.  You could always enquire at any good s/steel fabrication outfit and get some polished 316 tailor made to suit

Can't help with year of registration though

 

Welcome to the NBN BTW

Griff

[OldBerkshireBoy]

Fitou, Welcome to the forum and 316 is a grade of stainless steel if you didnt know.

[grendel]

well according to the database A111 was built in 1952, thus A112 should be somewhat close to that

[Fitou]

Fantastic! Thank you, couldn’t really ask for more than that…

[grendel]

http://norfolk.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Main_Page

[grendel]

and the next number I can find a date for A116 is 1954-55

[BrundallNavy]

My boat was A620 and was built in 1950.  So I’m not sure they are that accurate.  

[Fitou]

38 minutes ago, BrundallNavy said:

My boat was A620 and was built in 1950.  So I’m not sure they are that accurate.  

Hmmm, maybe you’re just an oddball outlier, no offence! Possible request for that number from the original owner. Early in the new registration period so lots of numbers still available?? 
 

Thanks for the info though. Cheers

[Turnoar]

Is it a coincidence you have registrations prefixed A B T W Y with rivers Ant Bure Thurne Waveney Yare, more often, but not exclusively, on pre 60s boats. I thought S prefix perhaps came in thereafter when they’d run out of rivers before things became more convoluted.

[grendel]

this explains it -http://norfolk.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Registration_Number_History

but essentially from the 1930's up to the 1950s, B, W and Y were used (Bure, Waveney or Yare) hence Water Rail B77 (Herbert Woods Delight 7) from around 1933, then started through the alphabet with the letter first up to the mid 1980's, around 1990, they started again with the letter after the number.

 but thats not necessarily a true indication, because yards would be allocated a block of consecutive numbers to use on a series of the same boat, which could be several years apart. hence Delight 2 through 8 being B72-B78

 

[JanetAnne]

Sadly the early registration numbers don't follow build dates. I have A839 on a boat that was probably originally B72. A839 being a number issued to a boatyard that rebuilt her back in the day.

Another boat carries an 'F' registration that was issued when it was refitted in the 70's but was originally a 'W' number. That original 'W' number is now on a different wooden boat that was built at the boatyard nextdoor to where mine originated!

Some yards seemed to have had blocks of numbers which they used as boats were completed whereas other builders just registered individually.

Up until just a few years ago the BA had a complete set of records for all the registrations but, in their wisdom, they deleted the lot when the new GDPR rules started to come in. Before then you could ask for the complete history of your boat just like DVLA once offered for your car.

Edited November 12, 2022 by JanetAnne
Can't spell...

[LizG]

JA and Grendel have explained the anomalies!

A photo of the boat might give a clue to some of our more knowledgeable members or to try and find a bulk head number - there is the possibility of one being intact depending on how much rebuilding to the boat has been undertaken.  You can then take that information to the Norfolk Archive and find the boat logs that are there.  Hence how I know more about the age of Water Rail and the other Herbert Woods boats

Liz

[Fitou]

I’m not sure a photo will help as she’s had a fairly comprehensive restoration over the years. But any excuse to post some photos! Will try hunt down some bulkhead numbers though, thank you!

 

[PCL023]

1 hour ago, JanetAnne said:

Sadly the early registration numbers don't follow build dates. I have A839 on a boat that was probably originally B72. A839 being a number issued to a boatyard that rebuilt her back in the day.

Another boat carries an 'F' registration that was issued when it was refitted in the 70's but was originally a 'W' number. That original 'W' number is now on a different wooden boat that was built at the boatyard nextdoor to where mine originated!

Some yards seemed to have had blocks of numbers which they used as boats were completed whereas other builders just registered individually.

Up until just a few years ago the BA had a complete set of records for all the registrations but, in their wisdom, they deleted the lot when the new GDPR rules started to come in. Before then you could ask for the complete history of your boat just like DVLA once offered for your car.

The penny has just dropped, so you are currently looking after 5x5. I thought her disappearance in the past meant she may have ended up somewhere else 💨 .Pleased to hear she didn’t go that way,  like so many around that time. 👍

[NeilB]

 Very nice launch!  Loynes must have had about 50 odd up until the early 80’s but most seem to have disappeared.