Anyone else have a prototype boat?

[Sunsetter]

My dad owns a 1986 Malibu Sunsetter. He’s had it for 24 years.

Many years ago, him and his friends found markings on the wood under the seats, and they realized that they were put there during designing of the boat. This led them to believe it was a prototype.

Several years ago, their suspicions were confirmed when a customer service worker at Malibu took 3 hours to identify the Serial Number, and it was the first Malibu Sunsetter ever built.

The question is whether anyone else has a prototype, or if being a prototype would affect the value of the boat at all.

[CDK]

Markings do not necessarily indicate it is a prototype.
My Draco 2500 Twincab is just one of many from a Norwegian boat builder, yet there are markings on nearly all wooden items. I think carpenters do that to keep their prefabricated parts together.

Typical for a prototype are items that do not fit well and lots of unused mounting holes. In general, the prototype is never the best product from that model series, but it may have special collector's value.

[Wynand N]

Originally Posted by Sunsetter

Several years ago, their suspicions were confirmed when a customer service worker at Malibu took 3 hours to identify the Serial Number, and it was the first Malibu Sunsetter ever built.

Seems to me you have the first hull of the production run, hence the serial number.

With boats prototypes are usually an idea that is then penned as a drawing. From this plugs are produced and molds taken off that. Most of the time the plugs are discarded afterward.

Very seldom a boat would be built as a prototype from drawings directly and intended for production run, and molds taken from that prototype. On a scale of economics is does not make sense in the boating universe.

My 2 cents worth...