Are you sure its not the CE number to show that its built to CE regs. With lloyds you usually get a certificate with inspection dates and details on it.
There's a small plaque that reads "lloyds Register HCC BRS 123456" in the saloon. I've tried to hunt down 'lloyds register' on the net but with no real success.
Err, I work for Lloyd's register... Just to clarify, we have nothing to do with the insurance group (Lloyd's of London), the bank, or the chemist!! check out our website: www.lr.org.
We are an independent "classification society"; we approve palns of ships before they are built to ensure they will be strong and safe, we inspect them during construction to ensure they are being built in accordance with the plans, and we carry out annual surveys to ensure the ship is being maintained properly. There are about 9 major classification societies worldwide, of which we are one of the largest. If you look at the middle of any sea-going ship, you will see a circle with a horizontal line through it; this is the tonnage mark or "plimpsol line"; on this lie will be two letters, oen either side of the circle. These indicate which calssification society the ship is registered with, and "LR" signifies us.
However, LR is unique, since we are the only society to maintain a list of all sea-going registered vessels worldwide, called the "Register of ships". every ship has a unique number that stays with it throughout it's life, called the IMO number (7 digits). This number is listed in the register of ships, and since thatr is published by LR, it is often referred to as an LR number. However, since many things are nut valuabel enough to invest in a surveyor beinjg employed thoughout the design and construction phases, we can carry out type approval, which is the inspection of one item from a production line, and then the periodic inspection of the factory to ensure standards are maintained. This is often used for mass produced yachts such as Hanse and Bavaria.
If you could send me details of your yacht, plus a photo of the plate if possible, I will be happy to look into it for you.
Further to my previous post, I have done some digging and have some more info. HCC = Hull Construction Certificate. This means the yacht was built in accordance to our yacht rules (which are no longer supported since this has all been superceded by RCD), with a surveyor in attendance. BRS and 6 digits indicates that it was a surveyor from our Bristol office , probably in the 70's orn 80's. (BRS = Bristol, and the 6 digits is the "control number", or job number). If you provide me with the number, I will se what I can find out about her.