MFG Carefree Transom?!

[Chrisravosa36]

Its quite obvious you have never taken a boating safety course. You sound very inexperienced besides.

I have taken a safe boating coarse, and Im not going to judge what somebody on the internet thinks about my expertise lol! You've read one of my posts, sounds like your a bit too judgemental. Somebody close this thread, I get the point I shouldn't do it, and nobody really answered my question of any "ADVICE" if I were to try it.

MOD EDIT

Deleted the pic of your cards. Not the best thing to put up for all the connected world to see.

 

[jbcurt00]

Chris,
You're 15? Going on 16?

Want to be 17?

Although you got the card, getting it by attending the course and understanding all the responsibilities associated w operating a boat (including NOT overpowering) are 2 different matters.

Clearly by your repeated request for permission to overpower your boat and wanting to modify it to improve 'performance' and handling BEFORE you've even put it in the water, indicates you didnt learn all that should have been taught in the safety course.

If it wasnt taught, thats a different matter. The Massachusetts boating laws and regs pamphlet I posted a link to clearly indicates that they consider overpowering an illegal act.

Good luck

 

[Chrisravosa36]

***GOING TO PUT THE 9.9HP ON IT UNTILL I FIND A 30HP******* Realized that its not such a great idea after watching some videos, thanks for all your help!

 

[JimS123]

Your replies continue to reinforce my comments. If being judgemental can save a life, then that's what is needed.

We all were young once. And for sure I did some crap in my day. But my Dad and Grandpa were expert boaters and quite vigilant. They would have tanned my hide if I did anythin really unsafe.

After 60 years of boating I have seen it all.....boats sunk, cracked in half then sunk, motors falling off the transom, boats falling off the trailer when the too short trailer cracked in half and a collision at 50 mph. The worst was when a boat hit a bridge and the poor old drunk lady's head came off. They found the body, but the head never turned up. My friend had to attend to the accident.

Be safe...

 

[GA_Boater]

As far as closing the thread - Don't think so.. You started it and use this as a learning experience. You seem to be a reasonable young fella, listen to us and you have a chance to be old like us.

 

[Chrisravosa36]

As far as closing the thread - Don't think so.. You started it and use this as a learning experience. You seem to be a reasonable young fella, listen to us and you have a chance to be old like us.

haha, I hope il get that chance! Take my grandkids boating someday....

 

[Chrisravosa36]

Going to finish the 50hp, get her running good an sell her for a 25,30 or 35hp.

 

[GA_Boater]

Good plan, Chris. You may find a boat the 50 works well on. In the mean time, good luck getting the 50 in good shape.

 

[jbcurt00]

Working on 1 boat, or a motor or 2, seems to attract additional boats and motors as space allows, possibly more then space allows

 

[flyingscott]

I will say this to the people who think the state laws matter. USCG is federal -federal trumps state. And Civil Court is a whole different animal altogether. Always remember your passengers and people in the other boats that could get hurt, they didn't ask you to put a bigger motor on your boat. In this day and age you have to ask yourself is it worth it to take the chance. There is always somebody out there willing to sue.

 

[ondarvr]

I will say this to the people who think the state laws matter. USCG is federal -federal trumps state. e.

There is no federal law to enforce when it comes overpowering, the CG has no authority to enforce something that doesn't exist.

 

[Sea Rider]

There's a huge weight difference between a 30 and a 50 horse, worst if being 4 strokes. A 13.6 footer is bit small for a 50. You can always restrict the max throttle range on almost all OB to a lower HP range. But if you have law issues, it's a different story.

Happy Boating

 

[flyingscott]

There is no federal law to enforce when it comes overpowering, the CG has no authority to enforce something that doesn't exist.

Tell them that when they pull your overpowered boat over.

 

[ondarvr]

They even say in their info that they have no authority to enforce it, it's not against the rules to overpower a boat at their level. Any rules pertaining to overpowering are local, and enforced at that level.

People frequently claim insurance won't pay, and the CG will get you, both are fallacies.

 

[ondarvr]

Copy and paste from the CG website.

CG MAXIMUM HORSEPOWER – The maximum horsepower information listed on the capacity label is a guide for selecting an engine for a boat. It’s not a violation of Federal Regulation to install or use a larger engine. Boaters should check state regulations for restrictions. They should also take a look at their insurance policy regarding horsepower.


If you have questions about insurance covering it, just ask them. I heard so much about insurance not paying on this site and others I asked my insurance company about it, plus other companies. Some didn't care, you were covered either way, others asked what the HP was before quoting, none said no. I didn't ask every company and I didn't read every policy out there, so I'm sure some will exclude overpowering.

In prior threads on this site we've had insurance agents chime in with what they see, they said they hadn't seen a claim denied for being overpowered. The comment from one was "if we didn't pay out for stupid and/or illegal actions we wouldn't issue many checks".

 

[flyingscott]

Really all they have to do is cite you for unsafe operation which is what it is. And people who tell you it's okay and your insurance will pay will be nowhere to be found when the rubber hits the Rd. Take all the advice you want but at the end of the day it's you who gets affected nobody else will be paying your bills. The CG/sheriff or whoever patrols your water isn't gonna care if it's a guideline or not. They are not going to sit out there with you and have philosophical argument about it, they are just going to say well overpowered=unsafe, especially if someone gets hurt. Doesn't seem worth it unless you want to be the guy who wants to find out how far the law really goes. It's nice to have this discussion with 2 different opinions personally I wouldn't risk it.

 

[ondarvr]

This is more of the same misunderstanding of the rules and making them up as you go.

If the local authority says it's illegal then it is, if they don't, then it's not, check your local rules.

The CG and locals cannot cite you for just having a larger motor on your boat if it's legal in that region, they can cite you for unsafe practices if you are doing something unsafe, just having the larger motor doesn't put you in that catagory.

Again, ask your insurance company, see what they say about your individual policy, I did this.

People that don't research it always come up with your argument.

 

[jbcurt00]

Thank you for explaining it, thoroughly IMO, ondarvr, I appreciate it.

Some states specifically put overpowering under the unsafe operation umbrella in the boating regulations. WV does.

As often is the case, finding the specifics for your state and where you boat is important.

 

[flyingscott]

I am sorry I just live in the real world where the tag means something. Because the boat is designed for speed and power of a certain HP when you exceed that the boat becomes unsafe not designed for it. The manufacturer isn't going to tell you it's okay because they don't want the liability for the same reasons. I wonder if something would happen to you/family or your boat by somebody who over powered there boat if you would be understanding. Common sense has to come in here somewhere. What do you say to somebody who had an accident with there boat off of advice that you gave them. Personally I don't think saying call your insurance comp or the coast guard doesn't care absolves you of the responsibility of what you said. Hiding behind those reasons is kinda sad. At the end of the day I will never have to say I wish i wouldn't have given that advice. I am not going to post on this anymore because I will never change my way of thinking about this or how I interpret the laws. I also know this If i ever get in an accident and the other person overpowered his boat I will find out how far his insurance coverage goes. Your ins co. means nothing as far as what happens on the lake. I also don't know if I would take boating advice from my ins agent.

 

[ondarvr]

This was not about how you feel about it, this was about the actual law. How you feel about overpowering is totally up to you and I have no opinion about it. In some cases overpowering may not be a big deal, in others it could be a huge safety issue. This discussion was about whether the CG can cite you for it, or if insurance will pay. That part has been investigated and I reported my findings.