Boat License Numbers

[lewisericeric]

A friend is looking at purchasing a boat - hasn't viewed it yet - but has received info re the license.  Number starts with a "7". 

 

I thought all CRT licenses began with a '5' and it's also not a Bridgewater license - 5 digits in total. Could it be a boat that was originally up in Scotland perhaps? Maybe Ireland? 

[Laurie Booth]

2 minutes ago, lewisericeric said:

A friend is looking at purchasing a boat - hasn't viewed it yet - but has received info re the license.  Number starts with a "7". 

 

I thought all CRT licenses began with a '5' and it's also not a Bridgewater license - 5 digits in total. Could it be a boat that was originally up in Scotland perhaps? Maybe Ireland? 

My boat number starts with a 4

 

[BEngo]

Our CRT number also begins with a 4.  The previous boat's number began with an 6.  There are a good number of GRP craft where the number begins with 10.

 

I guess CRT have run out of 5 series number plates, so have moved on to the 7 series😊.

 

N

Edited April 23, 2022 by BEngo
Swap 8 for 6

[Higgs]

8 minutes ago, lewisericeric said:

A friend is looking at purchasing a boat - hasn't viewed it yet - but has received info re the license.  Number starts with a "7". 

 

I thought all CRT licenses began with a '5' and it's also not a Bridgewater license - 5 digits in total. Could it be a boat that was originally up in Scotland perhaps? Maybe Ireland? 

 

With only 5 digits,  and only 4 changing, it only gives 10,000 combinations. Sorry, a lot less. 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by Higgs

[lewisericeric]

Sorry, I should have also clarified, that it wasn't the standard CRT licence disc either - just square white paper with the boat name and number on - no CRT logo, barcode etc. Unless CRT have changed their design?

[PeterScott]

  

On 13/01/2007 at 22:23, alan_fincher said:

The Inland Boat Owners Book reckons....

BW introduced registration plates for boats on it's territory in 1981.

It also seems to say that they started at 60011 for metal boats, and only (somewhat curiously) issued the missing 11 numbers 60000 to 60010 in the period 1987 to 1990. (There must be a story there, but gawd knows what it is!).

Also all the following ranges show as used for metal boats in 1981 to 1982 (which would have included mopping up all boats on the system before plating was introduced)

60011 to 70561

77500 to 77599

77700 to 79999

None of the other number groups in the 60000 and 70000 series follow any strict chronological order as to which year they were used for. It all seems quire random

Only when they started using 45001 to 55000 (1988 to part of 1995) and numbers starting with the the six figure 500010 (mid 95), did it start to be that as the number increased, it meant it was a more newly registered boat.

That's the Anorak's answer, anyway ! - If you have that book, you can look at it yourself for all boat types, not just metal...

Question, though ? What about WOODEN boats, as the number series only cover metal and plastic, as listed there....

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by PeterScott
pic

[David Mack]

 

[PD1964]

20 minutes ago, lewisericeric said:

Sorry, I should have also clarified, that it wasn't the standard CRT licence disc either - just square white paper with the boat name and number on - no CRT logo, barcode etc. Unless CRT have changed their design?

Just received mine this week. Still have the logo top left but no barcode and now no more canal mooring location letters/numbers. Just expiry date, boat name & number and type, standard river and canal licence with id number.

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by PD1964

[PeterScott]

 

If you are a swan, your index number is 11992x where the x is the number on the back of your neck. 

 

As You Do

If you're one of the more traditional flappy-wing sort of swan, that rampages about breaking people's arms, legs etc, C&RT  seems to be a bit behind in giving out the index numbers.

 

Or it might be something to do with the Queen driving around in cars without registration numbers.

[Ex Brummie]

3 hours ago, lewisericeric said:

A friend is looking at purchasing a boat - hasn't viewed it yet - but has received info re the license.  Number starts with a "7". 

 

I thought all CRT licenses began with a '5' and it's also not a Bridgewater license - 5 digits in total. Could it be a boat that was originally up in Scotland perhaps? Maybe Ireland? 

I had a cruiser that was reg no 71289. Many older narrowboats started at 6****, progressing to 7****, and then reverted to 4**** followed by 5****. and latterly 5*****. At some stage, newer cruisers, which for some inexplicable reason included some steel narrowboats were allocated a 6 figure number starting 1*****. Rumour has it that some numpty at BW saw a cruiser stern as a cruiser.

(bugger, now I've told you that number I'll have to change my banking PIN)

Edited April 23, 2022 by Ex Brummie

[ditchcrawler]

5 minutes ago, Ex Brummie said:

 

(bugger, now I've told you that number I'll have to change my banking PIN)

I would use my boat reg number but cant remember it, I have to give it every time I buy diesel and still have to look at it

Edited April 23, 2022 by ditchcrawler

[PeterF]

A boat just passed me with the licence number 70***.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

2 hours ago, PeterScott said:

 

If you are a swan, your index number is 11992x where the x is the number on the back of your neck. 

 

As You Do

If you're one of the more traditional flappy-wing sort of swan, that rampages about breaking people's arms, legs etc, C&RT  seems to be a bit behind in giving out the index numbers.

 

Or it might be something to do with the Queen driving around in cars without registration numbers.

 

That is for swans moored on C&RT waters. For swans on the Thames, their EA licenses are checked during Swan Upping.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

 

That is for swans moored on C&RT waters. For swans on the Thames, their EA licenses are checked during Swan Upping.

But are their beaks clipped 

[David Mack]

3 hours ago, PeterF said:

A boat just passed me with the licence number 70***.

I have one of those. The boat has had it since they first issued index numbers.

[frangar]

Mine starts with a 7…mine was first registered in 1983….think someone online had complied a list of numbers and possible age. 

[Opener]

4 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I would use my boat reg number but cant remember it, I have to give it every time I buy diesel and still have to look at it

Do what I did when I first bought diesel - just took the registration plate into the office with me. Seemples!

(Hmm. Maybe not so seemples if the number is painted on the side of the boat 🙄.)

[Momac]

10 hours ago, BEngo said:

  There are a good number of GRP craft where the number begins with 10.

 

Yes 

Mine is 6 digits starting with 10

 

[Momac]

10 hours ago, lewisericeric said:

Sorry, I should have also clarified, that it wasn't the standard CRT licence disc either - just square white paper with the boat name and number on - no CRT logo, barcode etc. Unless CRT have changed their design?

What Barcode ?

Maybe the paper was folded in a  way that it was  not showing the logo?

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

Since reading this I have been looking at numbers today and have seen half a dozen in a couple of hours starting with 7 I only photoed the first three

[Alan de Enfield]

One of our old NBs (from the 80's)

 

 

 

 

 

I picked up this list from somewhere, many, many years ago.

 

 

Reg number: Date first registered with B.W:
60011 to 70561 1980/1*
77500 to 77599 1980/1*
77700 to 79999 1980/1*
76000 to 77499 1982
77600 to 77699 1982
73000 to 73099 1983
75000 to 75399 1983
70562 to 71580 1984
71581 to 72567 1985
72568 to 72599 1986
73100 to 73800 1986
72600 to 72999 1987
73801 to 74856 1987
45501 to 45505 1988
74857 to 74999 1988
75400 to 75999 1988
45506 to 47299 1989
47300 to 49586 1990
49587 to 51320 1991
51321 to 52606 1992
52607 to 53554 1993
53555 to 54394 1994
54395 to 55000 1995
500010 to 500398 1995
500399 to 501364 1996
501365 to 502357 1997
502358 to 503369 1998
503370 to 504424 1999
504425 to 2000
* = System first launched for 1980/1 so boats listed as this will include craft built before this date

[Momac]

At the weekend I noticed cruisers with 6 digit  index numbers starting with 10, 11 and 12 locally.

 

[Opener]

On 23/04/2022 at 15:56, PeterF said:

A boat just passed me with the licence number 70***.

You can now spot Canal World members. They are the ones standing on the towpath with a little notebook and pencil taking down boat registration numbers.

Well, those trains move too bloody fast these days!! 

[StephenA]

On 24/04/2022 at 18:10, Alan de Enfield said:

One of our old NBs (from the 80's)

 

 

 

 

 

I picked up this list from somewhere, many, many years ago.

 

 

Reg number: Date first registered with B.W:
60011 to 70561 1980/1*
77500 to 77599 1980/1*
77700 to 79999 1980/1*
76000 to 77499 1982
77600 to 77699 1982
73000 to 73099 1983
75000 to 75399 1983
70562 to 71580 1984
71581 to 72567 1985
72568 to 72599 1986
73100 to 73800 1986
72600 to 72999 1987
73801 to 74856 1987
45501 to 45505 1988
74857 to 74999 1988
75400 to 75999 1988
45506 to 47299 1989
47300 to 49586 1990
49587 to 51320 1991
51321 to 52606 1992
52607 to 53554 1993
53555 to 54394 1994
54395 to 55000 1995
500010 to 500398 1995
500399 to 501364 1996
501365 to 502357 1997
502358 to 503369 1998
503370 to 504424 1999
504425 to 2000
* = System first launched for 1980/1 so boats listed as this will include craft built before this date

 

I'm pretty sure that that list is guessing some things.  72984 for example was issued in May/June 1986

 

 

[Eeyore]

Several steel narrowboats (including one I owned) received 6 digit plastic plates in the 10**** series. The story that came with the boat suggested that it was unclear if you were asking for a plastic plate or a plate for a plastic boat.

Edited April 26, 2022 by Eeyore