Sail number

Hi, I've just bought a Contessa, and I wonder if anyone can tell me what the sail number means? It's K3228. Is it that it's the 228th boat built and the three means something else? And does the K mean British?

Do you know the original name of your Contessa 32?  If so, I may be able to trace her from our 'black book'.  I think she will have been a 1972 boat, judging by the K number, which, as George explains, is an old RYA sail number.  I could also tell you which CO sail number she would have been given at the time of purchase.  Any early details would help!  It's always nice to track old Contessas for new owners.

Unfortunately that name doesn't appear in the 'black book' of boat purchases.  There was a Contessa 26 by that name owned by a Mr House way back in the late 60s. I checked, and he doesn't seem to have owned a Contessa 32 subsequently.  Any chance you can find the hull number embossed on the transom?  That would help.

Hi James,

If you can't find the hull number on the transom you may find the build number hidden from view on some of the internal woodwork, I occasionally find the first owners name and hull number written on bits of the boat in out of the way places (most recently on the very top of the sliding door when I removed it for varnishing).