Parker serial Number and Year

[vitor costa]

Hi,
I´m from Portugal and recently pick-up a Parker 470, number 1900 and I can't find the serial number anywhere. It has a IYRU #28360. Is there anyway to cross this number to get the serial number and year, or any ideas where I should look. Thanks.

 

[LaLi]

Hi Vitor,
the first clue to the building year is that Parker quit the business sometime in the early 1990s, so your boat is at least 25 years old. I assume you didn't get a measurement certificate with it?

The IYRU number is the "serial" number, and means that yours is the 28360th registered 470 in the world. As these are not sail numbers and therefore not easily visible "general knowledge", it's a little hard to translate those into a building year. The international class association might (well, should) have the information. If not, all one can do is to compare that number with the numbers of other 470s with a known building year.

Is 1900 the builder's number? Then it would be the 1900th 470 that Parker built, but that won't help a whole lot.

Nothing on the sails? If it's the sail number that you want to find out, then you have to contact your national sailing authority, who manages those for nationally-numbered classes such as the 470.

You could nevertheless post a few pictures of the boat which could help determine the approximate vintage. Structural and equipment details would help, as well as shots of the IYRU and builder's plaques.

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[vitor costa]

LaLi...thanks for your help.
My sail number it´s P-1114
Photos:

 

[LaLi]

Alright Did you find out the building year? From the pictures it's clear that it's 1986 or later. (The other end of the timeline is a lot less clear, but I haven't found any evidence that Parker built any dinghies after 1992.)

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[vitor costa]

No, i haven't been able to know the year of construction, but your tip it is already a help, it will be between 1986 and 1992. I will try to find out from the Portuguese sailing federation if they have more information.

 

[vitor costa]

I actually have three 470 ... The others I have no data except what I see in the forums.
The first I think will be a Jean Morin from the 60s and the second a 470 from the 70s. Some photographs of the boats:

 

[LaLi]

Interesting! The Morin is really old (mid to late 1960s), and seems to have been rebuilt at least around the mast gate (that's actually an illegal structure ) Nice to see it sailing!

The other boat is a Dutch-built KD, and is from the very same era as your Parker. It looks like it's been painted on, as there's no sign of their typical deck stripes.

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[vitor costa]

Interesting! The Morin is really old (mid to late 1960s), and seems to have been rebuilt at least around the mast gate (that's actually an illegal structure ) Nice to see it sailing!

I already bought it like this ... I just recovered the painting. Unfortunately, I don't have all the material of the time. Now the hull will go to a children's sailing school, with a mast, boom and smaller sail (from a L´Equipe boat) to serve as a school boat.
A small video:

The other boat is a Dutch-built KD, and is from the very same era as your Parker. It looks like it's been painted on, as there's no sign of their typical deck stripes.

I thought Parker was more recent than this one. Can't find the manufacturer on the internet ... can you help me?
I think this one is more robust than Parker, and with finest classic lines. Parker, although lighter, seems to have a more fragile construction.
what´s your opinion?... between Parker and this one, which would you choose?

 

[LaLi]

Can't find the manufacturer on the internet ... can you help me?

Sure. KD Polyesterbouw is a composite manufacturing business in Medemblik, the Netherlands. They built about 400 470s beginning in the early 1980s, and they were very successful (meaning several Olympic medals) at the time. But much like Parker, the brand kind of faded away in the early '90s, and building the boats was likely discontinued in '93 or so.

... between Parker and this one, which would you choose?

That's a tough one! I've never sailed a KD myself, but have nice memories of racing a white '84 Parker so I'm kind of partial to the English boat I guess you really have to weigh them and see which is closer to 120 kg. Both are likely strong enough to carry proper rig tension, as are practically all post-1986 boats.

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[LaLi]

Happy New Year Any luck with the Parker building year? I found a few pictures of Ziegelmayers' plaques (they include the "Baujahr"), which narrow down things a bit. There's 28920 from '91:



And then there's 27352:



The picture resolution is such that the year isn't visible, but I happen to know this boat and it's an '87 or '88. Interpolating between these, your boat is probably a late '89 or early '90.

It looks like your KD is missing all these plaques and stickers altogether, which means it's technically out of class. If you're going to race, you'd be better off with the Parker anyway, as it looks like it's in better shape.

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[vitor costa]

Happy New Year!
I contacted the Portuguese Sailing Federation and, as they are working from home because of the pandemic restrictions, they did not know how to inform me about the boat. They tell me to send an email to request it and I will have to wait for it.
With the Christmas holidays I ended up not sending that email.
Thanks for your effort to know the year.
In KD I have been looking inside the hull if there would be any hidden numbers, but with no luck. I only found a strange sticker under the fiberglass, but I couldn't figure out what it will be.
I think I'll follow your advice and keep the Parker. In the meantime I’ve been giving him some treats and I’m starting to like it more.

 

[vitor costa]

I've already received an email from the Portuguese sailing federation, and they can't help me, apparently they don't have boat records.
Today, I sent an email to the international federation, we'll see if I'm lucky.

 

[LaLi]

Hi Vitor, I was searching for international numbers to date a Mackay, and while not successful in that, I found among many other interesting boats a pink Parker in Germany... Its sales ad has a picture that includes its measurement form, and there are some rather helpful numbers visible:

• date built: January 1990
• builder's number: 1919
• international number: 28534

Those are close enough to yours that it's pretty safe to say now that your boat was built in 1989.

How has your sailing season '21 been?

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