Re: Hull horsepower rating?
and that ladies and gentlemen is the real issue, if you were to get into an accident, it could give your insurance company a way of out covering the claim, plan on having deep pockets if that happens because we unfortunately live in a lawsuit happy society.
There are plenty of insurance companies that will write you a policy that will still give you coverage on a boat that the motor exceeds the maximum hp rating designated on the plate. You may or may not be required to pay a higher premium depending on the levels of overpower but as long as it is written in your policy you will have coverage for an accident up to the limits of your policy.
Now if you just overpower your boat and sort of fail to notify your insurance company of the higher hp situation then possibly you would be setting yourself up to have coverage denied.
Like I have said earlier there is definately a dividing line where many just flat oppose such as exceeding the recommended rating but like anything else I think that a little common sense used does carry a long way. I could see where hanging a 250 on the back of a boat rated for a 90 would garner a definate no way but hanging a 115 on that same boat would surely not make the boat unsafe to operate taking into consideration that the motors were within the same weight class ect.
I say that as long as you use some common sense, stay within the laws where you boat and make sure you have ample insurance that covers whatever hull and hp you are running written and stated in the policy itself that what is more important than what the plate states is that you operate your boat in a safe non reckless manner and save the alcoholic beverages for the dock after you come off the water.
Personally in all my years around boating I have never seen where a boating accident was the result of someone operating a boat that had a larger than stated outboard on it being the cause of the mishap. Most were people that were either just stupid or being reckless in a perfectly legal boat.
One of the worse accidents I have ever been aware of was on a local lake a guy DRUNK in a Donzi with twin 454's at dusk on an inland lake and ran clean over the back of a husband and wife in a cabin cruiser killing both on board.
As you can tell my passion is more about the people and how they operate their boats or whether they choose to get intoxicated and increase the dangers on the water for innocent people than what motor you choose to hang on the back. My way of thinking the drunk guy in the legal Donzi is a much worse threat to other boaters safety than the guy running a few extra ponies safely and soberly.
