How many is too many

[rockborn]

had the family out this weekend , 14 of them. I had enough pfd's for everyone, but I'm wondering what the legal limit is for a 15 ton 46' sailboat. thanks.

[Teknav]

How many people can comfortably sleep on your boat? (It won't be 14, otherwise you might as well open a hotel on the water.) Add two extra PFD's to that number! Voila!

Mauritz
Knows all and sees all...waiting for my daily revelation...

[rockborn]

she has enough berths for 9. I'm talking daysails around the harbor. the coast guard chased us out of a cruise ship way [ with their 50 cal] and they didn't seem to care about the boatload of people. just wondering if there is a legal limit.

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by rockborn

had the family out this weekend , 14 of them. I had enough pfd's for everyone, but I'm wondering what the legal limit is for a 15 ton 46' sailboat. thanks.

The manufacturer stated the limits on the vessel capacity plate. Normally for 4 usage classes, A, B, C, & D. It should be in a visible place.

[sailorboy1]

My boat has a number of people and total weight it is rated for. But I don't believe this is any "legal" limit.

[Garrettw]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

My boat has a number of people and total weight it is rated for. But I don't believe this is any "legal" limit.

In the USA the laws on this vary by state.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

My boat has a number of people and total weight it is rated for. But I don't believe this is any "legal" limit.

Is that on a plaque on the boat or in the manufacturer's spec sheet? I have a 42' sloop and, while I don't plan on taking out 14 people on a regular basis it might be interesting to know what a boat that size is rated for.

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by Garrettw

In the USA the laws on this vary by state.

I believe the USCG will issue tickets if you are over the manufacturers rated loading, hence the vessel capacity plate is normally within view.

I would not want to be a answering that question during an accident investigation.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by DotDun

I believe the USCG will issue tickets if you are over the manufacturers rated loading, hence the vessel capacity plate is normally within view.

I would not want to be a answering that question during an accident investigation.

I didn't realise there was federal law in relation to weight or people limits on us yachts

Dave

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by DotDun

The manufacturer stated the limits on the vessel capacity plate. Normally for 4 usage classes, A, B, C, & D. It should be in a visible place.

Is this the typical CE builders plate. If so, it is not a legal limit. It merely relates to the stability of the craft for specific limits.

Dave

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I didn't realise there was federal law in relation to weight or people limits on us yachts

Dave

Yeah, I think you are correct. I was thinking about inspected vessels.

I still would not want to answer during an accident inquiry why I had more people on board my boat than the manufacturer recommended.

[boatman61]

Legal limits only apply to Commercial Craft... with leisure craft it only applies when you become top heavy.. capsize and drown some poor Buga... use your common sense FFS...

[cal40john]

I've never seen capacity plates on anything other than small powerboats. And the sources I've seen so far say capacity plates are for boats 25 (or 20) feet and under.

Example:
Safe Boating License

Interesting in the above link is the boat capacity formula. I've read in other places that the formula is only for small boats that don't have capacity plates because they were built before they were required.

Example:
Calculating Capacity and the Capacity Plate Pennsylvania Boating License Study Guide for Online Boating Safety Course

The Harbor Police here have used the formula for a sailboat. My friend motored over to the lake for fireworks on the 4th of July. He was anchored close enough to the shore to get into a verbal exchange with a drunk woman on a dock. She called the cops, they applied the formula to his 34 foot sailboat and found that the 20 people he had on board was less than the 22 people allowed by the formula. They made sure he had enough life jackets and then left.

[Sailormantx]

The USCG issues COI's to boats your size for 25 to 49 passengers for day trips. As long as you carry the appropriate number of life jackets it is mostly stability and comfort concerns. I have not seen passenger and weight capacity specified on larger craft, only on dinghy sized boats.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Is that on a plaque on the boat or in the manufacturer's spec sheet? I have a 42' sloop and, while I don't plan on taking out 14 people on a regular basis it might be interesting to know what a boat that size is rated for.

No plate or anything. It is listed on the manufacturers spec page for the CE rating.