is it a guidline or a rule?

Im new to boating and i was wondering about the plate that tells capacity and weight. i have a closed bow inboard and mine says 6 people or a 1000lbs do i have to abide by that? in other words will i get a ticket if i break this rule? ps i live in nc if that makes a difference.

That's how much weight you can have after ballast

Yeah there is no need to worry as long as you know the boat can handle the weight and get to plain safetly it is more of a guidline.

It is more of a guideline than anything. But you do need to take it into consideration & know what your limitations are.

I don't think it's a guideline guys. A coast gaurd can give you a ticket for overloading a boat. I do not think they would weigh the contents but number of people is pretty easy to figure out. I was on a boat were the CG took two of the passengers on board to shore. And it was the nearest shore. We had to drop two other people back at the dock and then go pick them up to get everybody home. Luckily the driver did not get a ticket.

It definitely isn't just a rule. Coast guard, or whatever your local patrol is can definitely ticket you if your boat is over its rated capacity.

That being said, I've only heard of a few instances where patrols actually pulled wakeboard (or other) boats over and calculated the weight they were carrying. I think the bottom line is as long as you don't go out with 20 people on your boat or carry so much ballast you're barely afloat they probably won't bother you.

Just be safe and have fun!

That's a bunch of bull, You can add all the weight you want, just ask this guy about it.

From what I've read that guys boat took on water after a very sudden storm, nothing to do with over loading.

The capacity is what the manufacturer has specified is safe for that boat. You may well find that you can exceed it and still be safe though. My 22ft maxum has a stated capacity of 9 adults. My friends 18ft maxum states 8 adults. Well seeing as my boat is nearly 2 feet wider and 4 feet longer I know sure as hell I can have more than 9 people and still be safe.

Its all comon sense.

That's a crack up. 'Uhhh...I dunno, they can definately ticket you, but when it happened to us they didn't'. There's nothing like people giving advice when they really don't have a clue.

Check your locality, but there is no federal law requiring compliance with the capacity sticker.

From "ABC's of the California Boating Law"...

BOAT CAPACITY
Single-hull motorboats less than 20 feet in length which are manufactured
after 1972 must display capacity and safe horsepower information. The
maximum weight in persons, gear and motors is offered as a guide to boaters,
and should not be exceeded. It is not a violation of federal or California state
law to exceed recommended maximums. However, other states may cite an
operator who exceeds capacity and horsepower limitations. Some insurance
companies will not insure craft exceeding horsepower maximums and some
boat manufacturers will void any applicable warranties for the same reasons.

http://www.dbw.ca.gov/pubs/ABC/ABCFull.pdf

There you go.

What is a rule is that you need to have a lifejacket for everyone on board and a place for everyone to sit INSIDE the rails/gunnels of the boat. Around the 4th of July on the California Delta the sheriff gets really anal about little things and a favorite reason to pull someone over is when someone is sitting on the engine cover while the boat is underway (even at idle).

Every few years there is a big uproar in the San Francisco Bay when an over zealous Coast Guard decides they are going to enforce the literal interpretation of the law and stop/cite the sail boat racers who have the crew sitting along the gunnel with their legs overboard but body behind the rail ("rail meat") to help counter balance the boat. It always creates a giant backlash wiht all the yacht clubs and a few days later the Coast Guard apologizes and backs down.

I wouldn't count on wakeboarders being able to gather enough political clout to do that so I suggest you keep your body inside the boat.

The law also has the option of using their descretion to decide if a boat is being operated unsafely and intervene. Not that it is possible that a wakeboarder would ever consider overloading a boat, but it could happen....

Nate nailed it for the boats under 20' which is rarely a wakeboat. Most wakeboats have plates that are merely guidlines. My boat says something rediculous like 6 persons or 1450 lbs. When the ballast is full that only allows 850lbs on board. We've safely had double that amount if not more.

I would imagine that if you got the wrong Sherrif or pissed them off they'd be more likely to try to cite you. I know there have been times when my boat was grossly overweighted. I couldn't have even argued if they stopped me, yet I've never had a problem.

We have been at the dock and had a Sheriff walk up and ask if we had vests for everyone. He didn't even check to see that they were CGA vests, but he wanted a count none the less. We always carry at least 8 CGA vests on my boat for instinces like that.

IMO the sitting on the rear of the back seat is a joke. I could see being cited for sitting on the gunnel, but I've been amazed by citations for a person sitting on top of the back seat. At that point you are still 4 feet from the back of the boat. Oh well, a law is a law.

Ive seen that picture too many times now.

At least the dudes boat was able to be recovered.

thanks for the feedback ive looked on the net and havent been able to find nothing yet but ill keep looking because i have a lot of friends.

I love that pic... I'm sure the boat owner didnt though...That totally sucks.

Much of the boat capacity evaluation has to do with the boats ability to remain floating after it has swamped, as in that picture. That is also why you should predominantly use water ballast as opposed to solid ballast.

My understanding of the capacity law:
If your boat is under 20' you MUST have the capacity label.
If your boat is over 20' and you have a label, you must comply with that label.
If your boat is over 20' and you don't have a label, then it is up to the interpretation of the driver and the officer.

We "lost" the label on my boat. Once when we were pulled over there wasn't a label; that was the end of the discussion about overloading.