My Ariel "Althea"...

[Richard]

I just spent my Memorial Day holiday weekend cleaning out the former owner's mess on my Ariel (soon to be named "Althea") that I purchased early in February.  Since the boat is in Maryland and I am in Buffalo, this was the first time I've visited since the original purchase.

I mainly did a lot of cleaning, tried to identify potential problems,  and started the obligatory "to do" list.  I took lots of photos, some of which I will post after I get them loaded onto my computer.

HULL NUMBER STILL UNKNOWN:
Unfortunately, there is no sign of a hull number anywhere on the boat...not on the aft cockpit bulkhead...not on the outboard motor access cover...not on the mainsail (the sail is relatively new)...not on the transom...nor anywhere else I thought to look.  So, I am working to find previous owners of the boat in my quest to unearth this information.  The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will be researching their records for me...and I found a couple of names onboard the boat that I will try to contact.  Once I get more of a history compiled, I will share it with you on the off chance that any of you may be able to help.

She's a great old boat and I can't wait to get back to her.

-Richard

[mrgnstrn]

if the previous owner had any of the following, it may contain some sort of hull ID
-insurance
-MD Dept.Nat.Res registration
-Your new title
mine was shown on the MD DNR registration and the MD title.

but like you, there was no actual marking on the boat.  no inscription,molding, plate.  nothing.

[Richard]

The previous registration & title had an old Florida state registration number as the Hull ID #.  Somewhere along the line a mistake was made.

[Bill]

Ouch, sounds like a former owner in Florida may be the culprit -- took the Pearson builder's plate for a souvenir.   That is the only place on the boat were you would find the hull number.   Hopefully, a former owner who knows the number can be identified.  Or, maybe checking with Florida, since you have that registration number?

[Gary Yaniga]

Hint that might work for you. I am replacing the counter tops on 182 and when I took off the counter top above the ice box,hanging locker and drawer unit my hull NO. was written on all three surfices. You might try takeing one of them off and see if your hull NO. is marked there:)

[Richard]

Thanks, Gary for that info.  I'll certainly check that out the next time I'm visiting the boat.

I spoke to Christy at the Department of Natural Resources office in Annapolis - she has been very helpful so far and has been able to research the owners back to 1977 (which is when the Florida reg.# may have been transposed as the hull #).  She is going to mail me a copy of the vessel's owner history so I can continue the research.

I'll keep you all posted.

[Theis]

This is probably too obvious, but have you checked the mainsail to see if it has a number?  The boat number was placed on the original mainsail I believe (As big as the A for Ariel)  Good luck.

[Richard]

Yeah, I checked the mainsail.  Fortunately, its a relatively new sail.  Unfortunately, no number.

By the way, here she is...

[Theis]

Hey, it was a try.  It must be one of the older ones (whatever that means) since it has the mahogany winch mounts.  Bill might know what year they cut over.

[Mike Goodwin]

Does it have the cutouts in the stern toerail for runoff? That will help to date it too, #45 does not.

[S.Airing]

Sirocco is a 1964 #205 and is all mahogany wood topside ,with cut out toerails.

[Richard]

OK - two of the previous owners of this boat were:

Colin Olliver (4802 Washington Blvd., Arlington, VA) purchased the boat on 10/22/1977 from John F. Lukas (Box 623, Marathon, FL).  Apparently, Colin Olliver moved the boat from Florida to Virginia/Maryland.  The Florida Title issued to John Lukas on 2/28/1977 lists the boats serial number and registration number as the same: "FL 6880 AY."  Prior to 1977 the boat is still a mystery.

Anyone ever heard of either of these two owners?

I am going to make another trip down this coming week - I'll definitely check under the counter surfaces while I'm there.
By the way - the boat was built in 1966.

[Richard]

I sent off a request (and a check) to the state of Florida for the complete history of the boat prior to 1977.  Hopefully they have the information archived somewhere...

[Bill]

Good Luck!  I hope they have the answers . . .  

[Dave]

One more place to look: I'm replacing bilge pumps and have been crawling under the cockpit through the seat lockers (go feet first).  The hull number was written on a piece of tape that was glassed over on the forward, port seat support.