To large for the boat?

Z

Zeppi

New Member
Jul 3, 2008
86
Fayettevville, NC
Boat Info
2008 185 Sport
Engines
4.3 180HP Alpha 1
Have you ever had to address this issue? How do you do it tactfully? Our poor 185 can only hold 1100lbs or 7 people. Well, by the time we load a cooler, some gear and a tank of gas, we can only invite our thiner family/friends. The problem is some of them are married to or with heavy people. Normally this doesn't bother me but when you put a 300# person on one side of the boat or they decide to move to the other side without asking or telling you. Well, it throws everything off balance.
 
Yep - too large, or too many. Make a couple of trips to a beach, or have others bring some jet skis or something.
 
I don't take anyone with me at all. It is just me the wife and dog and that is it. I can't stand being on one elses time schedule period. People just do not respect your boat or what it costs to go boating so I have found friends who have boats and I hang out with them.
 
Weigh all the guests and assign seats. The wife and I took a Grand Canyon tour in a small plane and that's how they balanced the load.

It's your choice about listing that data on their name tags.

Take less people to maintain a safety margin.

Don't forget gear. I carry so many tools and spare parts, which all adds up.

Use the trim tabs to level the boat when the distribution isn't optimum.
 
I don't think fuel is included in the load capacity rating as it is on aircraft where every pound is counted, including the oil in the sumps. On the other hand, it has been years since I had a boat with a capacity label, so I forget. You should double check that. Otherwise, run with half a tank of fuel, fewer people, less stuff in the cooler, or get a bigger boat.

Best regards,
Frank
 
Tell everyone to remain seated while underway. Captains orders, for safety reasons, at least it’s a diplomatic way out.:thumbsup:
 
For those nautically challenged, you should explain what weight distribution means.

On the other hand, I can tell when a 150# person switches sides when I am on plane. On a bigger boat (I am about 7,000#'s) it is just a tap on the trim tabs.

I too have been put on a scale prior to loading onto a small plane. We actually used a bit more runway than the pilot (and passengers!) liked on takeoff from one of our intermediate fuel stops. . .
 
comsnark said:
I too have been put on a scale prior to loading onto a small plane. We actually used a bit more runway than the pilot (and passengers!) liked on takeoff from one of our intermediate fuel stops. . .
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Maybe you need a bigger boat too .....:smt043...sorry:smt089
 
Thanks for the replies.

A bigger boat is out of the ?? because we just bought this one. Last year we had a 16ft Stingray. It was our learner boat. The good thing about it was we could only have 4 people on it total, so there was never an issue with bringing everyone at once and my wife new we couldn't bring the larger folks along. The funny thing is, when we were looking for a new boat, we thought a 19ft could handle everyone. So, we took everone out on the 4th to see some fireworks. The poor boat never had a chance, I think we were over by 200#. Although we fit right in with the tooners that were over loaded.

The good thing is my wife agrees that we just can't take everyone on it at once. The lake where it is kept has an average depth of 4', so this is why there is big issue. We've stirred up mud on several occasions.
 
Zeppi said:
The lake where it is kept has an average depth of 4', so this is why there is big issue. We've stirred up mud on several occasions.
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I think this is called a pond, all joking aside "NO DIVING" (I used to be a lifegaurd in college). Sorry had to do it. At least least you have a place to go. I would be extra careful though. Now I most definitely see the concern. Have fun.
 
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Zeppi said:
The lake where it is kept has an average depth of 4', so this is why there is big issue. We've stirred up mud on several occasions.
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I thought there was no way but after looking this is a very shollow lake. http://indianlake.com/locatormap.htm

My suggestion tell friends / family the boat is really only made to have 4 people in it and maybe a couple of kids unless the kids are on the heavy side as well. We usually only like to have 4 Grown-ups and 2 kids with us; anymore than that and it gets crowded and that is even if the people are on the lighter side. Whatever you do I would suggest not allowing more than 1100 lbs of individuals in the boat, would not include gas, coolers, etc.

Also come up with a introduction speech where you go over location of life jackets, fire extingisher, how to operate the boat, etc. During the speech mention to everyone that the lake is very shallow and for this reason while the boat is moving everyone is to stay seated and not move around or have arms/legs outside of the boat etc. Once you stop the boat or get anchored then people are free to move around the boat and get drinks / food etc.

Good luck

Wesley
 
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Indian Lake's average depth is 4 ft? I was thinking of some different lakes to take the boat to next summer and that was one of the lakes I was going to research. Don't know if I want to go there now. Not to hijack the thead but what is the bottom like? Do you have a lot of boats with prop damage?
 
uraldyx said:
Indian Lake's average depth is 4 ft? I was thinking of some different lakes to take the boat to next summer and that was one of the lakes I was going to research. Don't know if I want to go there now. Not to hijack the thead but what is the bottom like? Do you have a lot of boats with prop damage?
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Yeh, there is a saying at our lake, " if your boat starts to sink, don't panic, just stand up". Don't get me wrong it is a decent lake, just shallow, especially during a drought. THere are some decent sized boats 30ish ft that cruise the lake on occasion. They don't go fast.

The lake in general is muddy. There is alot of algie and plant growth. Yes i've churned up mud on many occasions (with just the two of us on board). To top it off, there are 1/2 submerged logs floating around in it. I've hit a few of them also.

Yeh, you can chop up a prop or go with a stainless and buy a new lower end.

Honestly, I would hate to be a fish in this lake. Can you imagine swimming in the open zone with boats comming at you from every direction and at any speed? They can't dive down.

In June we took the boat to Nolin Lake in KY (by Mammoth Cave). we thought is was neat to see the 6ft thru the lake and the water was nice and warm in June. Our lake is always stirred up so it's hard for the sun to penetrate it, thus it stays cool, and swimming in it is more like walking around in a quagmire in knee deep water.
 
Makes me like Brookville where we go now a lot better. Most of the non idle zone is 25' to 110' feet. Maybe I will head south to Laurel Lake in KY next summer. I would say get a bigger boat, but don't think I would want to do that on that shallow of a lake.
 
Funny you should mention Brookville lake. We were there scoping it out this weekend. The one thing we didn't like about it was the charge for launching.

Yeh, a bigger boat would draft more.

Check out Nolin Lake. There are a couple of nice campgrounds on the lake also. Have you been to Rocky fork or east fork?
 
We had a couple with us about 6 years ago in our 20' bowrider. This guy was right at 350lbs, and wanted to tube. After I pulled him around a while he fell off and didn't have the strength to get back on the tube as well as the boat!:smt100 We had to tie a rope on him, an addtional life jacket, and another person in the water to get him back on the boat. Needless to say, we went straight back to the boat ramp and let them off.
 
You would be surprised how little a bigger boat drafts sure it's more then you do now but not much more, however at 4' of water I'm definitly not going to be on plain as where I boat if I'm in 4' of water there is 3, 2, 1 and 0 feet of water very close by.
 
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