It is a question that comes up again and again, often from someone who has found an old hull that had been sitting neglected for some years and wants to give it new life. Or maybe you are planning to buy a used boat and you know the sail number and want some idea how old the boat is.
What year was this built?
If you know the hull/sail number for the boat, you can likely find out the answer by reviewing the following table. (Please note that for several reasons, this table is not definitive or guaranteed to be accurate, but may serve as a reasonable guide for the approximate age of an ILCA dinghy).
| Year | Sail numbers |
|---|---|
| 1977 | 35265 – 42273 |
| 1978 | 42274 – 56277 |
| 1979 | 56278 – 72998 |
| 1980 | 72999 – 86490 |
| 1981 | 86491 – 93254 |
| 1982 | 93255 – 104928 |
| 1983 | 104929 – 112845 |
| 1984 | 112846 – 118022 |
| 1985 | 118023 – 123688 |
| 1986 | 123689 – 128595 |
| 1987 | 128596 – 132231 |
| 1988 | 132232 – 136322 |
| 1989 | 136323 – 139659 |
| 1990 | 139660 – 142789 |
| 1991 | 142790 – 145705 |
| 1992 | 145706 – 148322 |
| 1993 | 148323 – 152360 |
| 1994 | 152361 – 155822 |
| 1995 | 155823 – 158264 |
| 1996 | 158265 – 161382 |
| 1997 | 161383 – 164398 |
| 1998 | 164399 – 166270 |
| 1999 | 166271 – 168874 |
| Year | Sail numbers |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 168875 – 171536 |
| 2001 | 171537 – 173950 |
| 2002 | 173951 – 176694 |
| 2003 | 176695 – 179554 |
| 2004 | 179555 – 182213 |
| 2005 | 182214 – 185370 |
| 2006 | 185371 – 188573 |
| 2007 | 188574 – 192439 |
| 2008 | 192440 – 194846 |
| 2009 | 194847 – 197063 |
| 2010 | 197064 – 200309 |
| 2011 | 200310 – 202431 |
| 2012 | 202432 – 204542 |
| 2013 | 204543 – 206662 |
| 2014 | 206663 – 208458 |
| 2015 | 208459 – 210618 |
| 2016 | 210619 – 212235 |
| 2017 | 212236 – 214962 |
| 2018 | 214963 – 216182 |
| 2019 | 216183 – 217579 |
| 2020 | 217580 – 218359 |
| 2021 | 218360 – 220548 |
| 2022 | 220549 – 222993 |
| Year | Sail numbers |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 222994 – 224934 |
| 2024 | 224935 – 226940 |
| 2025 | 226941 – … |
Being able to date an ILCA dinghy in this way supposes that you know the sail number corresponding to the boat. For many years, this number has been printed on a plaque placed on the aft end of the cockpit. Although the plaque design has changed over time, the function has remained the same: identifying each ILCA dinghy as an IYRU / ISAF / World Sailing recognized class-legal hull and specifying the sail number for that boat.
If there is no plaque to consult, the difficulty becomes a bit greater. A number of years ago, Shevy Gunter published some information about dating older ILCA dinghies on his website. Although that website is no longer active, it can be accessed through the internet archive. His FAQ page answers questions for quite a few different topics, but there are three in particular that relate to the question of identifying early ILCA dinghies (accessible through the drop-down menu of his FAQ page): How do I determine my sail number and boat year? / How do I determine the age of a boat from the sail number? / Who owns the oldest Laser afloat?