Weight limit/passenger limit for Carver Montego 525?

[LakeCityTN]

I was on the boat last Saturday and had six people including myself on the boat along with three coolers. I could tell it was probably too much weight when trying to get on and stay on plane. Anyone know the max weight load or have a suggestion on number of people and gear not to exceed?

 

[bekosh]

Re: Weight limit/passenger limit for Carver Montego 525?

That size it's probably Yacht rated and doesn't have one. I know mine doesn't.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Weight limit/passenger limit for Carver Montego 525?

I have a 2155 Montego with a 5.7 and an alpha 1. Smaller than yours and it would struggle to get on plane with 6 people before I regeared it to 1:65 in the upper unit. I use my boat at high altitude so the gear change helped a lot. (6500 ft) I typically have a couple three coolers on board, two of which I keep forward in the galley to help with planing. Yes it's yacht class and doesn't have a load plate, Carver won't give you one either. You can carry as many peeps as you can safely put up with. The boat will take an enormous amount of load given it's freeboard and construction, and should cruise effortlessly at about 22mph. Your issue is prop, gears, weight distribution and properly functioning tabs. What prop and gears are you running now? I'm thinking a step down in your prop size will make you much happier at least. You've got more horsepower of course with the 7.4, I think you should demo a couple of smaller sizes from your local marine shop and see what happens. You should be able to run WOT at about 4600 rpm.

 

[LakeCityTN]

Re: Weight limit/passenger limit for Carver Montego 525?

Great feedback! I don't know what gears I have or prop size. I do know the prop probably needs to be replaced due to wear and I'd like to try a 4 blade to hopefully get better fuel economy. The tabs are working properly and WOT is around 4600. It was planing out it just seemed to take a bit more effort due to the weight and I was wondering if I was over loading the engine. This is my first boat and I'm still figuring out a lot about it. Not a stranger to boats, just this one. I've owned it since February and love it.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Weight limit/passenger limit for Carver Montego 525?

It was planing out it just seemed to take a bit more effort due to the weight and I was wondering if I was over loading the engine.

You're okay if the boat planed out and you were running within your normal cruising RPM range.

Every boat has an upper limit and you might have found yours. My boat is new to me this season, too. It's almost always just my wife and I aboard, or maybe us and another couple... and the boat is a good perfomer. On Father's Day we had a full load of fuel and water, 7 passengers and all our stuff for the first time. It definitely made a difference. Slow to plane and tough to modulate the boat's speed without 'falling off' plane. I wasn't concerned about the motors, but I learned that it isn't a comfortable load for my boat with the V-6's.

 

[LakeCityTN]

Re: Weight limit/passenger limit for Carver Montego 525?

JoLin, that was the exact same experience I had and same thoughts. Thanks for your help folks!

 

[bekosh]

Re: Weight limit/passenger limit for Carver Montego 525?

Sounds like we all got new boats this year.
I haven't really loaded mine up yet this year. It's just been the wife and I and 1 or 2 others. But I do notice a little difference between 1/2 tank of fuel (60 gallons) and a full tank (120). But with twin 350's and dual props, it's just a matter of putting the tabs down a little.

LakeCityTN, if you really feel that it's a problem and want to spend some money, you could swap out the Bravo II lower for a Bravo III dual prop.

 

[LakeCityTN]

Re: Weight limit/passenger limit for Carver Montego 525?

I don't know if it's as much a problem as it was a concern. With 4-5 total people and a packed cool it runs fine. It was six people and three coolers that made me really notice a difference. It still planed out at WOT and I was able to back off to about 3800 and keep it on plane. I didn't like having that many people on board while driving anyway so I told the wife to keep the invites down to two extra if possible. Makes for more comfortable cruising.

 

[bekosh]

Re: Weight limit/passenger limit for Carver Montego 525?

I didn't like having that many people on board while driving anyway so I told the wife to keep the invites down to two extra if possible. Makes for more comfortable cruising.

That sounds like a good plan to me. A truism is that boats shrink once you get them in the water. So big and roomy on land, so tiny and cramped on the lake.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Weight limit/passenger limit for Carver Montego 525?

But with twin 350's and dual props, it's just a matter of putting the tabs down a little.

If I assume you have a comfortable seating capacity of say, 8 people, you may never experience an issue. With twin V-8's (and larger props), you aren't as limited. I'm running a little closer to the edge. It's perfect for our normal use and I save fuel as result... but it's a little easier to hit that brick wall.

For comparison purposes, my last boat was a 24' Chris*Craft express cruiser with a Volvo F.I 5.7 and duo-prop drive. It had comfortable seating for 6 and I never had an issue at all with that load of passengers and gear. Just didn't matter. I was always impressed with the performance of that boat- it had the perfect drivetrain for the load it was intended to carry.