Did you know? #7: Boat numbers
Once built, each mini 6.50 gets assigned a unique boat number by Classe Mini which will stay with the boat for its whole “boat life”.
This has not always been the case. Up until about 1995 the boat numbers were reassigned on every Mini Transat.
Currently the latest boat number for a newly built boat is the 864 for a RG6.50 series boat. You can look those up for all registered boats here.
The boat number has to be carried on the hull (the bow), the mainsail and the solent (all the places marked with XXX on the image).
Having boat numbers on the hull is common in offshore classes (like the minis, class 40, open 60, mod 70, etc.) so that the boats can be easily identified by planes or helicopters. That’s why the boat number also has to be painted on the deck.
My boat number is the 732, in a fresh design for 2014:
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