Hi, I went out to look at a bargain basement priced Ariel today in Benicia, California. The title holder, was looking to sell her off for $500 (a drop from the $995 craigslist posting price). After an examination, I could see many reasons she was priced at $995 and wondered what I missed to warrant the fire-sale discount to $500 plus an offer to "help you move it to your slip/waterway of choice" offer...
I know I'm a nice guy and all, and true sailors always like to see their boats go off in good hands and all...
One of the main sticking point for me was the Hull Number Identification. There was no badge, and we couldn't find a number on the strong back area, or anywhere else at the time I was examining...
Is there a Hull Number Roll Call list or where would one locate a factory stamped or inscribed Hull Number on an Ariel other than the badge... I know the sails numbers are not conclusive and even the official DMV paperwork can also be misleading...
I decided to pass on this opportunity but would like to learn something about ID info and Hull Numbers from the process!
Thank You.
Chris
And, for those curious: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/boa/6520470035.html
The only source for hull numbers is the builder's plate. In most cases, the sail number is the hull number, unless the sails came from elsewhere. One skipper got lucky and found an inked hull number somewhere near the strong back. BTW - hull number 264 is located in Maryland. We might be able to ID the boat if we had the CF number.
Thanks Bill, here is the CF: CF 1601 KX
I found a Hull Number correlation between the CF number of this Craigslist boat and those found in the photos of the same (circa 2015) Ariel in this blog. #268 is what it seems to be if the previous owner had the right Hull Number info: https://pearsonariel268.wordpress.com/2015/05/25/half-moon-bay/
OK, that's KUAN YIN (last name we have). She's had several owners in the past 25 years, some better than others.
268 was mine for a while, just sold her a few months ago.. She is as solid as any Ariel. Brand new paint and a lot of work. She needs more of course. But if you want a great boat that you don’t mind putting work into, you could do a lot worse.