Early NH Boat Plates

[Pineedles]

Finally decided to document some of the NH boat license plates I have and shot a picture of some of the earliest, including one that I have a question on. Does anyone know why the 1980 plate (upper right corner of photo) was so different from the more traditional style? Also, let's have a little fun. Please post a picture of your earliest NH boat plate on this thread. I'm starting with the first entry of a 1934 plate.

[Happy Gourmand]

Smaller numbers because there are 5 rather than 3 or 4?

[RLW]

Originally Posted by The Phantom Gourmand

Smaller numbers because there are 5 rather than 3 or 4?

Yep and also because there was a lot less boats in the 40's-60s making for the use of less numbers. LOL

[Pineedles]

Originally Posted by The Phantom Gourmand

Smaller numbers because there are 5 rather than 3 or 4?

No, the plate's color and shape. Yellowish orange and closer to a square than a long rectangle.

[Happy Gourmand]

Originally Posted by Pineedles

No, the plate's color and shape. Yellowish orange and closer to a square than a long rectangle.

Ummm...they picked a different color....the shape looks the same to me...we're talking about the yellow one, right?

[Pineedles]

Originally Posted by The Phantom Gourmand

Ummm...they picked a different color....the shape looks the same to me...we're talking about the yellow one, right?

The shape is divergent from all the others, doesn't show up well unless compared next to each other. But the color was not traditional at all. They did do a red lettering on white background once. Don't know the year, because there was no year on it. But traditional is a green background.

[Happy Gourmand]

Originally Posted by Pineedles

The shape is divergent from all the others, doesn't show up well unless compared next to each other. But the color was not traditional at all. They did do a red lettering on white background once. Don't know the year, because there was no year on it. But traditional is a green background.

Only 4 oblong holes too, all the others have 6 round holes.
I can remember that car plates used to alternate every year from a green background with white lettering to a white background with green lettering. I don't know if boat plates followed that format.

[Pineedles]

I'm thinking that NH switched from convict manufactured plates to private mfg., or visa-versa.

[Senter Cove Guy]

Originally Posted by The Phantom Gourmand

...I can remember that car plates used to alternate every year from a green background with white lettering to a white background with green lettering. I don't know if boat plates followed that format.

Yes they did. You can see that in the first post.

[Happy Gourmand]

New plates were issued every year. How many stickers do you have on your current plates? I think we had 8 some time back when I peeled them off to put a new one on.

[sluggo]

I hope this picture posts... this is from a boat house on the lake. I cant show all the pictures because I don't want anyone to know the location but this one will get you the idea. The plates start at 1916 when the first NH boat plates were made and continue without missing a year till 1979. only 800 were made that year. They are all porcelain and tin depending on the year. A couple are made from leather. The state never issued leather ones but people used to make there own in the day. The earlier ones before 1916 are actually for motorcycles and are confused with the boat plates. Hope this was helpful ....

[Pineedles]

That's fantastic sluggo! Thanks for sharing.

[The Watcher]

The plates were always smaller that auto plates. Their size was unique. In 1980, boat plates changed to the same size that had been used for snowmobiles (prior to the stickers) and was still being used for snowmobile and ATV dealer plates. This smaller size continued until the switch to bow numbers. As to the "New York" color of the 1980 plate...who knows?

[tis]

Was 1980 the last year for the plates?

[Senter Cove Guy]

Originally Posted by tis

Was 1980 the last year for the plates?

1988 was the last year for plates.

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by Senter Cove Guy

1988 was the last year for plates.

We have 1957 through 1988 plates so yes '88 looks like the end. 1977 through 1988 plates were on the current Slickcraft SS 235.

[tis]

I remember those plates but just barely. I should remember them better. I know we had them for my father's boats and I guess we had them for ours too. It seems like so long ago.

[Senter Cove Guy]

I think I had my first boat in about 1955. It was a 12-14 foot wooden boat with a 7.5 hp Evinrude on it. My dad had a 16 foot wooden boat with a 15 hp Evinrude on it. Both motors were bought from Ed Downing in Alton Bay.

My first "big boy" boat was a 1975 (?) 16 foot Glastron I/O bought From Sonny Stulz (Silver Sands Marina) in 1981. I saved that plate and a few more, including my last plate in 1988.

[tis]

Who would have thought to save their plates?? See, just goes to show you should never throw away anything!!!

[BroadHopper]

I have 1988 plate on my 1988 Formula. It was the last year for plates.

My family had a rows of plates since the 1910's in the boat house. We sold the property to someone who says he absolutely love the Victorian cottage and was not planning on changing it. This was the big reason we sold it to the guy. A year later he tore the place down and built a huge McMansion. When we heard of the demolition we ask to save the plates and few other memories we left behind. We even ask if we can saved some of the turned woodwork from the interior and stained Tiffany glass. By the time we got there it was all debris and hauled off to the landfill.
It made me sick to my stomach to see such destruction of Victorian woodwork and stained glasses. I was told it is happening to a lot of old fine lakefront homes.

[Senter Cove Guy]

You have to zoom in on this picture to see the 1954 plate. I don't actually have the plate but I do have the memory. Left to right, that's my dad, me, 2 of my 3 younger brothers. My youngest brother was born in Wolfeboro about a month later. We were getting ready to participate in the then annual, July 4th boat parade at the Melvin Village town dock. My father was dressed up as a NH F&G officer (which he was not) because our boat was stressing "conservation". We won "honorable mention" in the parade.

[SIKSUKR]

Love that photo SCG.

[Water Camper]

Here is a picture of our initial boat plate from 1988. The letters are a combination of our names.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by tis

Who would have thought to save their plates?? See, just goes to show you should never throw away anything!!!

It's because I don't throw anything away, I can't take the effort to clear it all to show the rest of my collection!