Epistemics for boats · how the register knows
Forty-year-old boats generate bad data the way they generate teak dust. This register survived its own predecessor's contamination — a phantom hull, invented production tables, copy-pasted biographies — by adopting rules that are worth stating plainly, because they generalise to any research on secondary assets.
Boats change names, flags, ports and owners; they rarely change engines quietly. The register identifies boats across listings and years by engine model AND running hours first — hours only move one direction, at a human pace — supported by build year, dimensions, price trajectory and location. Matching on name alone is forbidden; it produced most of the inherited errors, including the superyacht incident (Case 2). Hours chains do double duty: 3,580 → 3,900 hours proved two listings were one boat (Case 1); 150hp/7,500 hrs against 200hp/2,840 hrs proved one biography belonged to two (Case 3).
V means a verified capture: the page, register record or document was fetched, read and snapshotted — 185 snapshots underlie this site. I means inferred: reasoning from evidence, with the reasoning stated. Identification confidence runs confirmed / probable / possible, and merges happen only at probable-or-better with the fingerprint logic written down. Owner-club hull numbers are owner-reported, not yard-verified — the register says so wherever it uses them.
Every contradiction is logged with both claims, the reasoning, and a verdict — never silently resolved. The ledger currently holds 39 entries and it is the most information-dense table on this site: it is the map of where the data lies.
| Conflict | Verdict | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| agent_j_ELEA_III_hull_27_claim | REJECTED | SYS Yacht Sales URL is /yacht-search/1985/hallberg-rassy-hallberg-rassy-hr-49-elea-iii/9881680/ — it contains NO hull number, only a year and the model. agent_j inferred 'hull 27' from the boat's existence and slotted it into the next free slot. There is no so |
| agent_a_garbled_extraction | REJECTED_FOR_DATA_QUALITY | agent_a's PowerShell scraper captured only first characters of fields. Result was 1-letter 'owners' like 'H' or 'A' and 1-letter 'harbours' like 'P' or 'M' — not usable. Replaced with the live browser session capture done on 2026-08-09 (full owner names from t |
| Caribia_US_duplicated_by_HALCYON | MERGED | Same owner (Dan Alonso), same boat (Caribia edition), same flag, same story. HALCYON is the canonical name (per Scuttlebutt, Sail Magazine, marinevesseltraffic.com). Caribia_US entry removed; HALCYON is now the single record. |
| Antibes_1985_equals_ELEA_III | MERGED | Same year (1985), same location (Antibes / Marina Baie des Anges), same broker network (BDA Europe / SYS Yacht Sales). ELEA III is the canonical name. Antibes_1985 quarantined. |
| BDA_VilleneuveLoubet_1985_equals_ELEA_III | MERGED | Villeneuve-Loubet is 6 km from Antibes Marina Baie des Anges. BDA Europe and SYS Yacht Sales are sister broker operations. Same 1985 build, same spec, same price band. ELEA III is the canonical record. BDA_VilleneuveLoubet_1985 quarantined. |
| Pegasus_US_1984_duplicates_known_hull_17 | MERGED | Same boat as hull 17 PEGASUS, listed via Maine Maritime Academy donor programme. Not a separate record. |
| HR49_1987_Lefkas_other_duplicates_Williams_Smithells_1987 | MERGED | Same boat as Williams_Smithells_1987_Lefkas (Italian flag from new, Lefkas GR, £160k→£149,950). |
| HR49_1990_De_Valk_Preveza_duplicates_known_hull_63 | MERGED | Same boat as hull 63 BEDOUIN (2021/22 refit ~€330k, now Ole Martin Röseth, Preveza). Note: De Valk 90749 is actually hull 25 (1984 ketch) — agent_f conflated the two listings. |
| HR49_1990_House_of_Yachts_Bruinisse_duplicates_known_hull_73 | MERGED | Same boat as hull 73 VAGAMARES (1990 sloop, Building number 73 per House of Yachts listing, currently anchored Culatra Island Algarve). |
| HR49_1988_Bruinisse_duplicates_House_of_Yachts_1988_Bruinisse | MERGED | Same boat as House_of_Yachts_1988_Bruinisse — the bow/stern thrusters detail is a useful equipment note to add to the canonical record. |
| HR49_1988_De_Valk_Italy_duplicates_known_hull_88 | MERGED | Same boat as hull 88 EASY CHAIRS (De Valk 803929, Padberg, Italy, 1988). |
| HR49_1983_De_Valk_809256_duplicates_known_hull_5 | MERGED | Same boat as hull 5 STELLA MARIS (De Valk 809256, current Swiss flag, Jürg Haerri, refit 2018 Adams Boat Care, 124hp). |
| HR49_1984_Hiswa_Sint_Analand_duplicates_SintAnaland_1984_ketch | MERGED | Same boat as SintAnaland_1984_ketch (De Valk 809873, 1984 ketch, single ownership 20+ years). |
| HR49_1985_Band_of_Boats_duplicates_Band_of_Boats_1985_Preveza | MERGED | Same boat as Band_of_Boats_1985_Preveza. |
| HR49_1986_Sofer_Preveza_duplicates_Sofer_Yachts_1986_Preveza | MERGED | Same boat as Sofer_Yachts_1986_Preveza (1986 build, Sofer listing, UK flag). |
| HR49_1989_Sailsquare_duplicates_Big_Blue | MERGED | Same boat as Big_Blue (1989, Big Blue Greece charter company, Syros / Mykonos, 4 cabins). |
| Ngahue_IV_NOT_HR_49 | REJECTED | Ngahue IV is a Hallberg-Rassy 53, not a 49. Confirmed in the current Hallberg-Rassy Links page: 'Dutch Hallberg-Rassy 53 "Ngahue IV"'. Listing removed entirely — it is not an HR 49. |
| Sy_Filia_or_Figlia_QUARANTINED | QUARANTINED | Single unverified Facebook mention. No source URL. Cannot be added to named set without more data. |
| HR49_1990_YachtWorld_9771000_QUARANTINED | QUARANTINED | Distinct from 1990_DeValk_Hindeloopen and Altor (1990) — but no further distinguishing data (no name, no owner, no country). Treated as a possible additional 1990 boat but excluded from named count to avoid double-counting. |
| HR49_1987_Instagram_Classic_QUARANTINED | QUARANTINED | Single social media mention with no name, no hull, no owner, no specific Instagram URL. Insufficient evidence. |
| Pegasus_1984_Annapolis_duplicates_known_hull_17 | MERGED | Same boat as hull 17 PEGASUS. David Walters listing mentioned in existing record. |
| HR49_1990_De_Valk_Preveza_De_Valk_90749_collision | CORRECTED | De Valk 90749 is actually Hull 25 (1984 ketch) — separate boat. De Valk 808555 was a 1988 Bedouin (hull 63) listing. agent_f conflated two different De Valk brochures. The Hull 25 record already correctly points to 90749; the Bedouin 63 record already correctl |
| hull_22_build_year_conflict_1985_vs_1986 | RESOLVED | HR-Club page does not show build year for Hull 22. agent_g registered as 1985, agent_c as 1984 (loose estimate), globalyachtexchange.com 56172 says '1986 HR49 Preveza'. Triangulation: Thalassa pre-veza reference is 1986, but HR-Club-style sources usually align |
| hull_5_MMSI_NL_vs_CH | RESOLVED | MMSI 269108590 MID 269 = Switzerland (current owner Haerri Jürg, Swiss). MarineTraffic NL Sailing Vessel hit is a historic record under the first owner (1984-2015, Netherlands). Both are valid entries for the same boat at different times. Keep the CH MMSI as t |
| hull_88_phantom_removed_2026_08_09 | REMOVED | Live capture of 803929 (2026-08-09): broker comment is only '**SOLD**'; no hull number, no 'Easy Chairs' layout claim, no Padberg, no EUR 330k refit. Fingerprint (1988, TAMD41PA 200hp installed 1996, 9/8kn, el. bow+stern thrusters, Monnickendam, 3,580 hrs vs ~ |
| BEAR_flag_history_unverified_2026_08_09 | REMOVED_AS_UNVERIFIED | Identical text exists verbatim on the live W&S Lefkas listing (9720471): 'Current British Flag since 2020 (Prior to that always on the Italian Flag from new)', 'Approx Investment GBP 75,000'. BEAR (8599330) has different engine (TAMD41 200hp vs TMD41A 150hp or |
| HR49_1990_YachtWorld_9771000_resolved_to_Altor | RESOLVED_AS_ALTOR | Live 2026-08-09: 9771000 = De Valk Hindeloopen, 1990, USD 287,769 with USD 30k reduction — exactly Altor's EUR 249,000 (reduced from 275,000, De Valk 809602). Same broker, year, price trajectory. |
| Band_of_Boats_1985_equals_Queen_Anne | MERGED_PROBABLE | Price fingerprint EUR 139,500 vs USD 146,475 (FX ~1.05), both 1985 HR 49 ketch, 3 cabins, Preveza. No engine hours available on either listing, so 'probable' not 'confirmed'. |
| Todobarco_1983_equals_hull_5 | MERGED_PROBABLE | EUR 299,000 asking equals hull 5's De Valk 809256 asking; 124hp Volvo Penta matches hull 5's TMD40A 124hp (unusual spec); 1983 matches hull 5's 1983/84. Spanish aggregator syndicating the same listing. No engine hours; 'probable'. |
| dropped_boats_added_2026_08_09 | ADDED | 9 listing-only candidate boats added with dedup-suspect notes; yacht4web EUR123k pair quarantined. Keys: ['DeValk_21915_1989_four_cabin', 'DeValk_250015_31813_1990', 'DeValk_251580_1987', 'DeValk_76252_1987', 'MYS_1988_Adriatic_ketch', 'Mediaship_1990_Italy', |
| HALCYON_MMSI_319431000_misattribution | REJECTED | VesselFinder details for IMO 8991889: HALCYON, 41.10m LOA, 8.00m beam, 339 GT, built 1988, flag Cayman Islands (MID 319 = Cayman), callsign ZCRA, ex-JUNELUCK (2014), ex-ODYSSEY (2009), moored Aegean Sea Aug 2026. A 41m 339GT yacht cannot be the 14.96m HR 49. T |
| hull_86_year_1993_vs_1992 | CORRECTED_TO_1992 | The 1993 figure has no traceable source in the archive. HR-Club public boat page (owner Jan Ake Bergstrom) states Year of construction 1992. Owner statement wins absent contrary evidence. |
| White_Whale_1992_equals_hull_85 | RESOLVED_AS_HULL_85 | Live listing text explicitly states hull #085 (1992). Suspicion of identity with hull 87 REFUTED. HR-Club hull 85 Xora year of construction 1992 concurs. |
| hull_63_price_275k_asking_vs_370k_sale | BOTH_RECORDED | Asking prices and notarised sale amounts are different observables; the EUR 330k+ refit makes a EUR 370k transaction plausible. The 275k asking figure is an agent capture of unknown date and may be stale or wrong; the register amount is statutory. No silent re |
| Mondial_PortoErcole_equals_WS_Lefkas | MERGED_PROBABLE | Same rare engine description wording, same flag, same coast, 3rd-owner status, and the archived Tuscany listing with Italian papers expiring 2020 (= the Lefkas boat's purchase year). No engine hours on the Mondial PDF, hence probable not confirmed. |
| Klenkes_ARC_1995_vs_2000 | CORRECTED_TO_ARC_1995 | Article text: 'Im Jubilaeumsjahr, der zehnten ARC' — the 10th ARC is 1995 (first ARC 1986). Its 15-day crossing is incompatible with the archived ARC 2000 elapsed time for Klenkes (16d 16:35:38, entry 108). Two separate participations recorded. |
| DeValk_21915_equals_Big_Blue | MERGED_PROBABLE | Rare 4-cabin layout + 1989 + 143hp all match Big Blue's charter specs (Sailica). No engine-hours crosscheck available on the charter side, hence probable. |
| deal_file_no_sold_price_superseded | SUPERSEDED_BY_REGISTER | This register holds notarised Skipssok bills of sale: hull 10 (NOK chain 1996-2010), hull 41 (NOK 1.8M/1.845M 2011/2019), hull 63 (EUR 370,000, 2023-05-30, post-EUR-330k-refit). The deal file's 7-9 Aug sweep predated the register's Norwegian-register discovery |
| buc_year_effect_vs_market | BOTH_RECORDED | Imported from user deal file: OneDrive/4_Research/49_Hallberg Rassy 17_BUC_VALUATION §6, which itself refused to average them: BUC's curve is plausibly mechanical depreciation of list price; the ask market prices refit history and ignores year. Register positi |
Name-collision. Every good boat name has been used a dozen times. Five size-plausible BIG BLUEs transmit on AIS today. Without a fingerprint, a name match is noise.
Copy-paste biography. Brokers and databases recycle text between similar boats; a compelling life story should be traceable to documents or discarded (Case 3).
Aggregator mirage. One listing syndicates to five portals with mangled metadata — the same €123k boat appeared as a 1985 boat in Menton and a 1986 boat in Brittany. Aggregator counts overstate fleets; only broker-of-record listings count.
The confident year. Broker build years are model years, delivery years, or guesses. Statutory registers and brochure text beat them; the register's chronology curve is the arbiter.
Invented precision. The inherited files contained a per-year production table that summed to 83 boats of 89. Nobody outside the yard has those numbers. If a figure has no source, it is fiction wearing a spreadsheet.
Survivorship gloss. The observable fleet is the best-documented tail — boats that raced, sold, or joined clubs. Concluding anything about the 64 dark hulls from the visible ones is unlicensed optimism.
The stale ask. An asking price is a hope with a date on it. In the whole recorded history of this fleet, exactly 8 prices are notarised transactions; every analysis here says which kind it is using.
Swedish and Finnish registers are closed to anonymous search; Equasis needs a personal account; MarineTraffic paywalls build years; the Dutch Kadaster (which could trace hull 86's LADY OF SCORE chapter) is a paid lookup; BEAR's delisted listing was never archived. Each is logged with its workaround status — a register that can't say what it doesn't know can't be trusted about what it does.
