CITATION BOATS INC HIN Decoder

Hull Identification Numbers beginning with FSJ were assigned by the US Coast Guard to CITATION BOATS INC of COLUMBIA, SC. The company is recorded as out of business since 2003 — common for older hulls, and useful to know when hunting parts or records. Enter the full 12-character HIN below for build date, model year, and serial — free, no account.

MIC

FSJ

Location

COLUMBIA, SC

In business

since 1977

Status

Out of business (2003)

CITATION BOATS INC built hulls across both HIN eras (1977–2003): boats before August 1984 carry legacy straight-year or model-year date codes; later hulls use the current month-letter format. The decoder handles all three.

Free · no account · the HIN is on the transom, upper starboard (right) corner

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CITATION BOATS INC HIN FAQ

What does a CITATION BOATS INC HIN look like?

It starts with the three characters "FSJ" — the Manufacturer Identification Code the US Coast Guard assigned to CITATION BOATS INC — followed by a 5-character hull serial and a 4-character date code, 12 characters total. CITATION BOATS INC built hulls across both HIN eras (1977–2003): boats before August 1984 carry legacy straight-year or model-year date codes; later hulls use the current month-letter format. The decoder handles all three.

Is CITATION BOATS INC still in business?

USCG records list CITATION BOATS INC as out of business since 2003. That's common for older hulls — the HIN still decodes normally, and the out-of-business date helps date the boat and guides parts-hunting toward salvage and owner groups rather than a dealer network.

How do I decode the year on a CITATION BOATS INC HIN?

On current-format HINs the last two characters are the model year and the 9th–10th encode the certification month and year. CITATION BOATS INC built hulls across both HIN eras (1977–2003): boats before August 1984 carry legacy straight-year or model-year date codes; later hulls use the current month-letter format. The decoder handles all three. Enter the full 12-character HIN above and the decoder works it out, including the legacy formats.

Other builders in SC

Sources: USCG Manufacturer Identification Code database (uscgboating.org, refreshed monthly) · HIN format per 33 CFR 181 subpart C. Cite this page: CarWhere, "CITATION BOATS INC HIN Decoder," carwhere.com/hin-decoder/fsj, last verified 2026-06-12.