Boat overloaded? no way

[Fishingnut2009]

I just traded my 18 ft Champion bass boat in for a 24 ftx8ft wide alum fishing deck boat with a 115 Johnson
I was surprised when I looked at the boat load capacity on the deck boat. It stated a load max of 8 people or 1150lbs.
My older bass boat had a capacity of 7 people and was much smaller.
I believe you could easily put 10 or more people and children (5Adults, 5 kids) on this boat with no problems and still have plenty of room left.
I live in Missouri and have been told that they do have laws against running a boat over the capacity limit.
My question here is?. Has any body ever heard of somebody being pulled over and given a ticket for having too many people on a boat?
I would suspect maybe a warning given?
IF you looked at this boat with 10 people on it, I don?t believe that you?d ever guess it was rated for only 8 people because its so bit.
Any replies would be greatly appreciated.

 

[this forum wont let me]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

Well, in my opinion, if you are gong to put more people on the boat then the tag says to you are crazy. But, if you do...well, you better make dam sure to have at least enough life jackets for everyone on board. I think they tell you how many people and the weight limit cause they might have a better idea then you, or I, but I play by the simple rules of boating. I could never ask everyone else to do the same. Sorry if I come across as a jerk, but I am just trying to help keep you and me safe on the water. To add, I am sure some great moderator on here will tell me to watch out what I say or I will be in so much trouble.

 

[JB]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

Yes, I have seen overloaded 'toons and deckboats stopped, ticketed and towed away after the overload was corrected. Those were on Lake Minnetonka, MN in the late 70s.

I have also seen one and read about many that capsized when an overload of people all rushed to one side for some reason. The DEATH COUNT was usually danged scary. I pulled one former passenger of a deckboat out of Lake Minnetonka. No PFD, too drunk to remember his name. I gave him to the Lake Fuzz.

I don't think a PFD or no booze rule would have prevented the event, but they might have kept two alive that didn't survive.

 

[HappierWet]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

YEAH, The fish cops here in pa. cite people for overloading all the time.

 

[Les Robb]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

Well ( This forum won't let me ) I guess your wrong. Looks like the nasty ole moderator agreed with you. Believe me the mfg of the boat is sure going to try and get the capacity rating as high as they can so anything over is going to be foolhardy to say the least. If more people just used common sense we wouldn't be reading about all the tragedies and for me personally I can't stand to read about any young child that died as a result of a grown person's negilence.

Just be safe ya'll

 

[AZSenza]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

There are a lot of factors that play into the rating, horse power being one of them. Literature for my boat says 13 but the Sticker says 12, I only let 12 on...

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

Yep -- capacity ratings are there for a reason. However, I go by weight as the most critical measurement. That is, the Scout is rated for 6 people but last week I had 4 adults on board with another 4 little kiddies tucked up front and was well under the max weight. There was a seat for every bum and enough PFDs to go around and then some.

That said, I'm not sure what the marine unit would say if you are over on bodies but under on weight. I'm going to make a point of asking next time I see them at the ramp.

 

[LIQUID PROZAC]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

i'm sure the mfg factors in the weight of the boat and weight of the max. allowed engine--so with that being said--pay attention to detail before someone gets hurt

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

You are missing the point of the capacity plate. The number of people you can physically FIT into a boat is irrelevent. The number of people and their weight is of importance. People capacity is based on the average weight of each person being 150#. In the case of your boat it is calculates to exactly 143.75#. Putting 10 adults in the boat @ 143# each = 1430 pounds which puts you 300# over the load capacity. Even if you had 5 adults and 5 kids you might be ticketed for being overloaded. Too many people on any given boat creates a management problem in the event of an emergency. The capacity plates are there for a reason -- it's called safety. Observe it.

 

[bad_boy]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

Who buys a boat without looking at the capacity plate?

 

[RickJ6956]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

It's either 8 people or 1150 pounds. That's the legal limit.

If you have 9 people you are overloaded, regardless of weight.

If you have more than 1150 pounds including gear, gas, people and maybe a dog, you are overloaded.

The reason the stickers seem out of whack is because fiberglass boats generally have higher capacities than aluminum.

 

[Fishingnut2009]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

OK?. I was fibbing a little ( please forgive) when I posted this question.
I?m fully aware of the purpose in putting capacity limits on a boat.
It?s my sisters husband that thinks he can get away with breaking the rules. I personally have nothing against him, just don?t want my sister to have to pay for more of his mistakes.
It?s kind?a like writing to dear abby, He may not take me seriously but , when I print off you?alls comments, he may come to his senses.
I knew you?all would come through for me on this.
I appreciate all of the replies.
And yes, he did trade for the boat with out even looking at the capacity sticker.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

Rating plates don't always seem logical. I have a 17' skiff rated for 4 and a 19' skiff rated for 10. But I can't fit the extra 6 people in the extra two feet! In that case I think it has a lot to do with freeboard (which would be affected weight) as well as the 17' having a pointed bow (modified V) and the 19' being a square tub--stability.
It does seem odd that a roomy boat like a deck boat would be so limited, but I think the point is well taken that if you had more than allowed and they were unevenly distributed you would have a problem. A smaller boat has a lower center of gravity and as a practical matter you can't get everyone over to one side of the keel (midline) on a bowrider like you can on party barge. And rating plates don't say "capacity in calm water on a pretty day." They have to cover weather conditions.
If all you did was have two children instead of one adult I would like to think the officer would be kind. But don't count on it.
War story: a coach on a committee boat at a sailing regatta was ferrying too many children across calm water a few yards to a dock. Big boat; not at all affected by the weight. All were wearing PFDs, were experienced sailors, and about to take small boats out in big water alone. He got pulled. I personally think the officer was out of line but he was legally correct.

 

[Triton II]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

War story: a coach on a committee boat at a sailing regatta was ferrying too many children across calm water a few yards to a dock. Big boat; not at all affected by the weight. All were wearing PFDs, were experienced sailors, and about to take small boats out in big water alone. He got pulled. I personally think the officer was out of line but he was legally correct.

Another war story: I got pulled a few years ago for towing (very slowly) no less than six Sabot sailing prams without an observer. The Sabot is only just over 8ft long and is sailed by kids. It was during a national sailing championship on Botany Bay near Sydney and I was out on the water on a three seater jet ski delivering lunches and soft drinks to the various judges boats around the course. Without much warning, a huge squall came through, reducing visibility to virtually nothing and knocking over heaps of Sabots in some cases busting the rigging. Needless to say, there were far more casualties than rescue boats so we all chipped in. Once rescued (Jet skis are actually really good for rescuing kids out of the water) we were stringing the boats together to tow them to the beach after putting all the kids onto the start boat. In the end, I wasn't cited and got away with a bl00dy good listening to from the constabulary (I joked I needed six tenders for my 'ski) but thought the water police could've made themselves more useful in helping us rescue kids instead of trying to book the rescuers. All-in-all we rescued over 40 kids that day - the championship fleet was more than 200 boats.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

this thread is from 7 months ago

 

[Triton II]

Re: Boat overloaded? no way

this thread is from 7 months ago

Didn't ya like my war story... it was from December 2000