Serial numbers are hand-engraved, stamps, or printed on your boat or board. To find your boat’s serial number:
- • On canoe & kayaks, serial numbers are located near the rear of the boat, on the underside on most models.
- • On SUPs, serial numbers are located either near the rear of the board on the side rail or next to the finbox.
Many newer boats have a rectangular, raised ridge around the serial number to make it easier to find. Rubbing a small amount of graphite or soil into the serial number engraving may make it easier to read. Each serial number follows one of the following patterns:
- • ZWDB1234A708
- • CA-ZWDB1234A708
Broken into its component parts (CA- | ZWD | BB123 | A | 7 | 08) , a boat serial number conveys the following information:
- • “CA-” is the country of origin of the boat. The country of origin may not appear on older boats or be present from all manufacturers.
- • ZWD: Indicates the manufacturing company.
- • BB123: Indicates the model and sequential serial number. In many cases, the model is indicated with a single letter, but sometimes two letters are used.
- • A: Month of manufacture – A (January) through L (December).
- • 7: Last digit of the year of manufacture.
- • 08: Last two digits of the model year.