my dad and i have been debating this for quite sometime now. the placard on the boat that says the max weigh limit. does that include the factory ballast or does it exclude it? <BR> <BR>say a boat says 2,000 lbs max weight and it has 1000 lbs in factory ballast, does that mean when the tanks are full you can only have 1000 lbs of gear and people? <BR> <BR>i think that the 2000 pounds is a seperate thing

the 2000 pounds includes ballast, people, gear, ect. <BR> <BR>so if the ballast is full (1000) pounds, you have 1000 pounds free for people and gear.

You have an I/O with Factory ballast???

You have an I/O with Factory ballast??? <BR> <BR>---- <BR> <BR>no we where just curious

okay.. so epic boats have 4000 pounds factory ballast. what does the placard say?

oh ok. <BR> <BR> <BR>yeah the ballast is included in the weight limit card. which most people exceed, if your boat is rated to 2000 pounds you could put up to 3000-3500 pounds and it would be ok, not totally safe but you could do it and still board.

yeah I was curious how the epic boats could have 4000 lbs factory ballast as well. I didn't even think that would be legal.

i believe i heard from a dealer that the posted person capacity and weight limit is on top of the ballast. So if it was posted 2000lbs this would be people and gear only?

Yeah but still you are talking a capacity of 6,000 lbs! That's got to be way more than what the boat weighs. How can that be safe?

Yeah but still you are talking a capacity of 6,000 lbs! That's got to be way more than what the boat weighs. How can that be safe? <BR> <BR>------ <BR> <BR> <BR>idk. ive always loved the look of epics boats, and when i saw 4 k in ballast my eyes went huge. i thouht the plac would be just people and gear excluding ballast. i figured that would be he best way to not get sued. but i dont havea v drive so im not sure

i emailed epic asking. and this is what they said <BR> <BR>"Hi David, <BR> <BR>My name is Heather and I’m the Sales Assistant for Epic Boats. I received your email regarding maximum weight capacity. The Maximum Capacity placard in a 23V states “14 persons or 2400 pounds”. The weight placard excludes the ballast. You may fill the entire 4K lbs. ballast plus 14 people or 2400 pounds in people and gear. I hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>Thanks, "

we are rollin like 8 or 9k lbs total with boat weight people, ballast gear........etc.. the boat can hold its own weight for sure. tige 22v 4000 lbs 3000 in ballast. 5 people another.. anothe 1000.. gear and fuel gotta be another 300 to 500 lbs .. hasnt seen the bottom of the lake yet so i will say shs good to go.. lol <BR> <BR>ps.. i think my liitle thing says 11 people or 1400 lbs or something stupid.

Dang, that's nuts. That's a lot of weight

Water ballast is never included in the rating because it is considered neutrally buoyant weight. It's a nice little glitch in the specifications. Too much may sink your boat, but it won't be responsible for putting it on the bottom. Lead ballast is another story.

we are rollin like 8 or 9k lbs total with boat weight people, ballast gear........etc.. the boat can hold its own weight for sure. tige 22v 4000 lbs 3000 in ballast. 5 people another.. anothe 1000.. gear and fuel gotta be another 300 to 500 lbs .. hasnt seen the bottom of the lake yet so i will say shs good to go.. lol <BR> <BR>ps.. i think my liitle thing says 11 people or 1400 lbs or something stupid. <BR> <BR>---- <BR> <BR>i think that is really stupid <BR> <BR>8 or 9 k?? <BR> <BR>thats terrible on your hull

u need to read the post again... thats total including the weight of a 4300 pound boat.. only 3000 pounds in ballast..plus people and gear, fuel. etc.. im sure many people run over 3k in ballast on here

oh ya.. tige also has life time hull replacement.. the boat runs fine. the water level isnt bad. just feel i little tike a tank with that much weight.. how much ballast do you run. never mind just saw you have a i/o .. but if you do i bet your total weight is alot more than you think. add it up.

wow....please read. <BR> <BR>The coast guard number has to have a huge factor of safety on it.... it takes a LOT to sink a boat....

read what ?

If any boat has a capacity rating that rated capacity is the total weight added to the dry weight of the boat. <BR>Water ballast is always weight. <BR>The tower is weight. The fuel is weight. <BR>The empty ballast bag and the ignition key are weight. <BR>A rated capacity is a calculated number. There are several ways to calculate that number. The person capacity is also a calculated number and is not directly related to the total weight capacity. <BR> <BR>For a boat over 20' there is no requirement to have a capacity plate. <BR> <BR>What I do no know is if a 23' boat that has a capacity plate is bound by that capacity plate like a 19' boat is, or if the same rules apply as if there were no plate on the boat. I will be astounded if the statement that Heather made to David Christman is not an error, based on the methods of calculating capacity, but it is possible to build a light 23' boat that could hold 6400#.

Nick, the safety factor is about 7:1

pros ride with well over 4000 lbs of weight added to the weight of a boat . plus camera crews. lots of gear..

how the hell do you count the boat itself as ballast? thats funny. <BR> <BR>Only with a tige!!

i didnt i was try to show that you can put more than your boat weighs your boat.. if you can read .... or maybe not.. i said 3000 in ballast.. never said anything about the boat being callsified as ballast. just statingthat you can put way more in a boat than they say its rated for. and the total weight on the water including every thing is alot more than people think..

It is also my understanding that factory ballast ,if water is the ballast, can be classified as neutral(as Tuneman stated above). Now the only way the ballast within the boat would be neutral is if the boat were to become flooded. The boat will not sink to the bottom and can therefore be recovered and towed to the ramp/shore.