Is there a hull Identification stamped into the wood of the transom, inside the boat?
Typically these ID stamps are located on the starboard side (right as you face forward). Sometimes they are stamped upside down. On boats made by Thompson at Peshtigo, WI, these codes often times begin and end with a letter. Note that there was no federal, state, or local law that required a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on boats until November1972. At that time a universal VIN system was established. Each boat builder received a three letter code that was the prefix to the VIN. In the case of Thompson Boat it was “TMS.” Cruisers at Oconto was and still is “CRS.” Prior to that date it was not necessary to have a VIN on boats made in the USA. Each and every boat builder could have their own ID system or have none at all. Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Co. did not have any hull ID system until after World War II. Therefore on boats built by them prior to circa 1946, they will NOT have a hull ID or serial number. Boat made by Cruisers, Inc. and T & T Boats, Inc. also had a hull ID stamped
