Not sure in TN but, GA shows it below the rubrail.

 

Mine are below. Not sure I've ever seen any above the rub rail here in Michigan.

 

Ours is below the rubrail.

 

I also have below the rub rail.

 

I was told to put it below the rubrail, because the sun relecting off the upper deck can make the numbers hard to read. But don't put it so far forward on the bow that the angle of the hull makes the numbers hard to read. In the end, you want the TWRA and Coasties to be able to read your numbers from far enough away that they don't stop you just to read the numbers.

Of course, if they do stop you, you will be compliant with plenty of life jackets, fire extinguisher, and so forth....

 

Below but mine are not technically legal due to they are not block letters.

 

For Washington State: They must be visible to the enforcement agency looking at them. Does not matter above or below. Gotta be at least 3" and a full letter space or hyphen between the state letters at the front and the letters at the end.

The registration number and registration decals must be displayed as follows.

• Number must be painted, applied as a decal, or otherwise affixed to both sides of the bow.
• Number must read from left to right on both sides of the bow.
• Number must be in at least three-inch-high, bold, vertical BLOCK characters.
• Number’s color must contrast sharply with its background.
• Letters must be separated from the numbers by a space or hyphen; for example: WN 3717 ZW or WN-3717-ZW.
• No other numbers may be displayed on either side of the bow.
• Decals must be affixed on each side of the vessel toward the stern of the registration number and in line with the number.

So, check with your state... BTW, TN is the same as WA...

 

I will agree with much of the above. . the primary requirement is that they are LEGIBLE.

While First Born's numbers may be "technically" illegal because they are not block letters, I would be SHOCKED if anyone cited him for that. .. .because they are very legible.

My Jetski has similar numbers. I got stopped once, and the numbers were not the issue. The admiral's attitude was more of the issue . . .but that is another story. . . .

 

While First Born's numbers may be "technically" illegal because they are not block letters, I would be SHOCKED if anyone cited him for that. .. .because they are very legible.

Correct and I have been checked twice but I think they were just happy to see polite people drinking Mtn Dew and water enjoying the day on the water.

The admiral's attitude was more of the issue

Exactly, same as being pulled over on the highway. Between the ages of 16 and 19 I had a little bit of a lead foot and got pulled over 13 times. Never once got a ticket, the reason I always made sure I was the first to speak and my quote was always the same, "How are you doing today sir" and then I shut up and about the only thing that came out of my mouth after my opening line was yes sir. A little 16 year old prick driving a 25th anniversary mustang GT convertible but who had respect for others let me go everytime.

 

I'll have to take a pic but my letters are above. It looked better that way.

 

The picture below will answer your question of where mine are.

 

Hmm.. I never get off with a warning. I was pulled over a few years ago rushing from the office (around noon) to the airport and the first words out of the officer's mouth were "Have you been drinking today sir?"... My response was "I've been sucking them down all day." Got a nice ride in the back of Mr. Police Man's car in cuffs... bastard. (I had not been drinking...)

 

Let's see, they carry guns, pepper spray and cuffs... they win... last place I want to be is the back seat of a police car. Just thinking of what trash has been back there gives me the willies...

When I get pulled over, I run down my windows, shut down the car, put the emergency blinkers on and place my wallet on the dash with my hands on top of the wheel. No tickets yet and I am polite.

I almost got nailed for doing 35 in a 25 (I really did not know the center of town was all 25...). He was about to write the ticket when a bank robbery in progress came in over his radio just down the road. He told me to keep it under and took off.:thumbsup:

 

You forgot the "Taser" as well......................

 

Did any of you guys ask the Policeman where he displayed his numbers?
:smt043:smt043

 

Oh. . .in my case the admiral was heading in that direction. She absolutely does NOT deal well with authority. I suspect if she was with Gary when he got stopped for speeding that they would BOTH be in the back of the cop car.

In my case, after a couple of minutes I had to tell the Admiral to be polite. After a touch more lip, Mr. Marine Policeman took his turn and explained to the admiral WHY I was telling her to be polite.

At that point, she quieted down. . .but MAN WAS SHE TICKED.

10 minutes later, the impact of what she did began to sink in, and we joke about it. I now I have ammunition. . .which I have used upon occassion.

 

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Proper display of boat numbers[/FONT]

 

some boats the hull makes the numbers not visable, on those boats it should be above the rail.

In the end, as others have already pointed out, they must be easily read and conform to the requirements for the color and font.
There is NO law that says it must be on the hull so if putting them on the gunwale makes more sense to you then go for it!

 

Mine are below... Sorry that I don't have a pic readily available, but mine are LARGER than normal.... Law here in TX is that they must be a minimum of 3" tall....

Buddy of mine owns a sign shop..... he said he would hook me up with my numbers.... I picked out a font, he put them to scale (3" tall) and the whole reg number came out pretty long!

While it doesn't bother me, I may be changing it for next season.... To something a little more "petite".....

 

Mine is above the rub rail. We have a yellow hull and prefer the look of the reg numbers up top.

We haven't been stopped on the water due to them being on top/bottom, or being too small, or being the wrong font. Only for having our towels hanging over the bow to dry them off.

Like First Born, mine are a more aggressive font, not the usual block type letters.

 

Ours are below the rub rail. (same as chuck's on the Ms Judy).

 

I think Florida requires them above the rail. But I have never heard of anyone gettting stopped for such an infraction.

 

Before

After

I never liked the Previous owners location or generic looking #'s.
I wanted them below the rubrail and more forward.

 

From MD. DNR...Does not appear to state above or below the rub rail. The illustration in the book shows them below. Mine happen to be above.


Display of Numbers and Validation Decals
The vessel number issued to a MD titled vessel must be painted on or otherwise
permanently attached to each side of the forward half of the vessel (the bow). No other
number can be displayed near the vessel number.
Vessel numbers must be displayed as follows:
• Reading from left to right
• Plain vertical block characters 3” high or larger
• Contrasting color to the boat hull or background
• Placed as high above the waterline as practical
• Letters separated from numbers by hyphens or spaces.
The registration decal set (two 3” x 3” decals) and the 3” round dealer-issued temporary
decals must be displayed within 3” of the vessel number. Vessels must display boat
number and current decals, and have the registration card on board and available for
inspection whenever the boat is in use.

 

For what it's worth here is what the Florida FWC site says:

Registration numbers must be displayed on the forward half of the vessel on both sides above the waterline. The numbers must be bold block letters at least 3" high in a color contrasting to the hull.
The vessel registration decal must be renewed annually and is to be displayed within six (6) inches of, either before or after, the registration numbers on the port (left) side.

 

In addition to the 3" block letters, most states require contrasting colors which is difficult with a pewter colored hull.

 

I was just going to go with the basic black.

 

Ours is below the rub rail.

 

Mine are above the rail and very far forward. Too far forward, IMO, but they were like that when I bought it and the authorities haven't said anything about it yet.

 

Ohio gives the type (block) and size (at least 3") of numbers and gives examples of where they go, with the exception of saying above or below. I did not look at this prior to replacing the letters on mine, rookie mistake. I have not been stopped yet, but have only had it out once since making the change. Anyone think I will run into an issue? They are still legible, but wondering if I should think of changing them back to the original block letters.