Boat capacities

[swatski]

This is a grey zone, in part. The bottom line is - it is entirely in the eyes of the law enforcement officer. He/she can cite you (and more) as long as they have jurisdiction (you can assume they do if they board your boat).
Doesn't matter what the plate says, they may look at it or they may not, and use their own judgment/assessment of passengers' safety.

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[Bluewater272]

What swatski said: Regardless of the capacity plate, you could be cited for reckless/careless if they feel you are operating unsafely.

 

[Stischendorf]

Wow lots of good info here. You can see why this is all confusing. Thanks for the input and I'm guessing there will be more input.

 

[WetWillie]

For some reason when this topic comes up this is all I can think about...

Honestly I just go by number of people on capacity plates as my boat has been at max people several times and doesn’t ride low on water line and haven’t experienced any handling issues... I believe the weight restrictions are on the extremely cautious side and simply ignore it...

 

[Beachbummer]

The opposite problem presents itself with kids...you may be one or two over, but at half the allowed weight of the boat... Which is safer? Which brings on more liability? It's easier for the cop to cite my circumstance as counting people is easier than weighing them, but I feel more people fewer weight is a more reasonable excess. Enjoy and beware.