Maxium Capacities

[fixin]

We have a small 14'Bayliner.That says 4 persons or 600lbs.<br />1000 lbs persons,motor,gear.<br />We have three boys(12,8,7)and the wife and I (makes 5).We are at a little over 500 lbs.<br />Are we breaking the law?

 

[Terry H]

Re: Maxium Capacities

I don't know if you are breaking the law, but you are overloading a 14' boat. 5 people in a 14' boat don't leave much room to move around either. Just a thought...Chief

 

[AMD Rules]

Re: Maxium Capacities

Is that a bow rider?

 

[fixin]

Re: Maxium Capacities

Originally posted by AMD Rules:<br /> Is that a bow rider?

Yes.

 

[fixin]

Re: Maxium Capacities

Chief,<br />Yep,it doesn't leave much room,but we are usually just going to a sandbar to spend the day.Normally it's just the two boys,the wife and I.We have the oldest every-other weekend.

 

[fixin]

Re: Maxium Capacities

^^BUMP^^^anybody know???

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Maxium Capacities

I would contact the state of Missouri DNR, or Game and Fish or what ever it's called there to find out for sure. It's different for every state. Some states it's law, others, it's a guideline.

 

[PAkev]

Re: Maxium Capacities

Your kids will only get bigger and you will soon find there is little room for compromises. The more people, the more stuff that also comes along..ie food, drinks, gear, etc. which tends to complicate matters. The max capacities are determined by the boats inherent engineering and many other formulas that are probably not understood by you, me and most other boat owners. One important matter to understand is that conditions for what the boat has been rated for may change in an instant as a 30 footer cruising by may cause just enough wake to capsize.<br /><br />Unless loading and unloading at the public launches where enforcement officers tend to position themselve's most, I've seen capacity restrictions often overlooked. I see boats on our lake every day that are grossly overloaded with passengers and if stopped the enforcement officers are mostly concerned there is a life jacket for each occupant. Issuing a citation for overloading usually means boarding your boat to examine it's capacity plate if it even has one and having everyone stand on a bathroom scale. From my observations, I get the idea most enforcement officers don't want to go there as it may be construed as harrasement.<br /><br />If only breaking the law is your concern, I think you will get by for a while until some anal attentive rookie goes over your entire boat with his checklist. However, your responsibility as an adult is to insure the safety of your children. The most important question you need to ask is to yourself...God forbid something should ever happen could you look in the mirror each morning and say "I did everything possible" when you knew indeed the boat was overloaded?

 

[fixin]

Re: Maxium Capacities

Pakev...<br />Is the boat overloaded???It says 4 persons "or" 600 lbs.<br />I know you can't have 4 250lbs guys in it or even 3.

 

[PAkev]

Re: Maxium Capacities

Under ideal conditions your boat may be very controllable with 5 people. This may be recognized as you exercise special attention to distributing the weight most evenly. You can interpret the capacity plate to fit your needs but it does mean no more than 4 people of which the total weight of those 4 people can not exceed 600 lbs. According to the capacity parameters you indicated, 3 250 lb passengers would classify you as overloaded. The 600 lbs. only gives you an average weight of 150 lbs per person. Add the gear you bring along and this number is significantly diminished.

 

[CntrySngr]

Re: Maxium Capacities

Originally posted by PAkev:<br /> The 600 lbs. only gives you an average weight of 150 lbs per person. Add the gear you bring along and this number is significantly diminished.

The 600 lbs is for the people, the 1000lbs is for the people, motor, and gear.<br /><br />Fixin, I think that you are okay in your boat as you are well below weight. But as the kids get older and weigh more, you will definitely want a new boat with a bigger capacity. I worry about mine all the time. I have a 6 person, 750 lb weight limit. My roomate and I together are 425, so that leaves 325 lbs...not much left!<br /><br />Time to hit the treadmill I guess.