Has anyone ever seated over capacity? I am not talking like loading 20 people on to a 6 person rated boat. But like 7 people on a 6 person rated?

What are the rules/laws that go with it?

I have a non-bolstered rear bench, so I could squeeze 5 people (uncomfortably, but still sitting) and 2 in the stand ups.

But the plate on my boat is only rated to 6.

Just looking for some input.

Thanks!

Yes, but only to pick up people that were stranded. I really would try to avoid going over the max capacity like I would avoid the plague. Not only because it can be dangerous but because of the liability. Another factor that is really important is weight. Remember that max capacity plate states that x amount of people of x weight can safely be loaded onto the boat. If 3 people are 150 and 3 people are 200, you can easily exceed the "safe" capacity of the boat even though it is rated for 6 people (don't forget about the weight of your gear on the boat either).

I totally understand. Where I was going with this, is my buddy has 2 kids.

One kid is a year old, the other is 5. So their weight together is well under a normal adult. You wouldn't be able to put the 1 year old in a seat by itself, no seat belts, and not in a car seat... You would be holding on to him. So I was wondering if that would be considered to be over capacity, or if there is any grey area there. Because that would give room for the 2+4 seating, +1 in the hands of someone in the back seat.

Thanks

Hummm, well yea I will admit to it, piled 12 on a 27 Fountain back in the day, over half were HOT 18-22yr girls, I had to stuff guys in the cabin to plane off, I was scared as hell about getting pulled over. I wouldn't do it again. Now in my defense the boat had no "posted" capacity, but I know I was way over. I was wearing my lanyard though.

as for children and such obey the law the, cops will be more strict on you if children are involved.

There is no leeway. Number of persons is number of persons-period; no matter how much a few of them weigh.

That said outboard boats normally have capacity plates, and are not often found on all I/O and Inboard boats. That said, you can easily get a ticket for "unsafe operation" if a law enforcement official sees that you are operation in a grossly unsafe manner, including overloading with no capacity plate. The most important thing is PFDs for everyone, and proper sized/spec'd for each person. You can't have 8 adult large PFDs on board, and be legal (or safe) with 4 adults and 4 toddlers on the boat. You need PFDs that are designated for each person's particulars.

Capacity plate should read x number of adults or X lbs. I usually consider toddlers as 1/2 a person.

Thats what I was wondering. If you are still under the weight limit, but over on people count, is that a violation? Is it whichever comes first or the latter?

I'm surprised your 272 even has a capacity plate. My 1993 24 Outlaw didn't have one and neither did my 28 Pantera or 32 AT. I thought only boats that were less than 25 LOA were required to have them.

O kay are you ready for the real answer?

Capacity plates are manufactuer requirements and only for mono hulls less than 20ft. NMMA and ABYC have do have additional requirements but these are not regulatory

Overloaded condition must be articulated. You cannot be cited for carrying more persons onboard your boat than any placard states. However it is not uncommon for water cops to attempt to write you up for it as they rarely know what they are talking about.

A general rule of thumb calculation is L X W/15. 38 top gun X 8 ft beam=305/15 20 people onboard my boat. Just use common sense and make sure everyone has a life jacket.

Excellent info Brad. I greatly appreciate the answer. Safety is always a number 1 priority with me. I am not looking to shove 30 people on a 27ft boat, but sometimes maybe 7 or 8.

I am glad to know this info, especially the legal standpoint.

I look forward to attending one of your school classes soon. Maybe even this year if I can come up with the money.