Sooo...how important are manufacturers hull ID numbers??
 

So all that has been going on with my green boat I really haven't paid much mind to the details. But today I was messing with it a bit and realized that I no longer have a hull ID on the transom. I know while he was working on it he had taped over it and wrote on the tape "do not sand" But it appears when he gelcoated it filled up and now I can't even tell where it was.

Am I looking at trouble now? When I've been checked by marine police and USCG in the past they always compare it with my registration. How screwed does this make me?

Not very screwed as long as you have your registration. Just get a dremel and carve the reg numbers back into the transom. Upper right side is the location. About a quarter inch high.

Do like Destroyer said!
We have a couple of boats in the yard that have the hull numbers scratched into them the same way and they were from the manufacturer.

It is real simple to explain if there is ever any question.
You had repairs done in that location and the numbers became illegible.
Every boat MUST have hull numbers and you simply complied.

Get a dremel tool and start practicing.
Hopefully your numbers will be neater than ours that were from the factory.

do you have a stamp set? Take an old hose clamp and cut enough off of the band to make a plate, stamp the numbers/letters on it the same as your registration, affix it to the transom with a couple pop rivets. Looks better than factory

I totally agree with Spare that the plate is boss looking. However, check with your state marine police before you go that route. Some states do not allow a removable plate, instead requiring that the HID be actually carved into the fiberglass. If your state isn't one of those states then by all means go the plate route.

here in Mass if you have a older boat with just as few numbers they will tell you they asre no good and assign you a new 16 digit number. then they say the same as stated, just stamp and afix permently on the hull

This is what DNR does if they issue you a new number, the idea that pop rivets are "not" removable, verse screws that are