JOHANNSEN BOAT WORKS HIN Decoder
Hull Identification Numbers beginning with KOW were assigned by the US Coast Guard to JOHANNSEN BOAT WORKS of VERO BEACH, FL. The builder is listed in the USCG MIC database. Enter the full 12-character HIN below for build date, model year, and serial — free, no account.
MIC
KOW
Location
VERO BEACH, FL
In business
since 1982
Status
Listed active in USCG records
JOHANNSEN BOAT WORKS built hulls across both HIN eras (1982–present): 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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JOHANNSEN BOAT WORKS HIN FAQ
What does a JOHANNSEN BOAT WORKS HIN look like?
It starts with the three characters "KOW" — the Manufacturer Identification Code the US Coast Guard assigned to JOHANNSEN BOAT WORKS — followed by a 5-character hull serial and a 4-character date code, 12 characters total. JOHANNSEN BOAT WORKS built hulls across both HIN eras (1982–present): 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 JOHANNSEN BOAT WORKS still in business?
USCG records list JOHANNSEN BOAT WORKS of VERO BEACH, FL in the MIC database (registered 1982).
How do I decode the year on a JOHANNSEN BOAT WORKS HIN?
On current-format HINs the last two characters are the model year and the 9th–10th encode the certification month and year. JOHANNSEN BOAT WORKS built hulls across both HIN eras (1982–present): 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.
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Sources: USCG Manufacturer Identification Code database (uscgboating.org, refreshed monthly) · HIN format per 33 CFR 181 subpart C. Cite this page: CarWhere, "JOHANNSEN BOAT WORKS HIN Decoder," carwhere.com/hin-decoder/kow, last verified 2026-06-12.