"How Many People Can Fit in a Boat?"


How many people can fit in a boat? - BoatSafe Kids!

That's a very good question because overloading a small boat is a very dangerous thing to do. Luckily, there are some federal regulations helping to protect you.

Boat builders must comply with Federal law by putting a Capacity Plate in sight of the helm (steering area) on motorized boats less than 20 feet in length. This plate displays three important items: the maximum weight of persons on board in pounds, the maximum carrying weight of the vessel in pounds and the maximum horsepower recommended for the boat.

If you own a boat that was built prior to the Federal law mandating capacity plates, or have a homemade boat, the following formulas can be used to determine safe loading capacity.

Formulas for Safe Loading
Horsepower Capacity
for small, flat-bottom boats:
Multiply boat length (ft) times transom width (ft)		 Person Capacity:
Average weight per person is 150 lbs.

If answer is:
35 or less
36-39
40-42
43-45
46-52

Maximum HP is:
3
5
7.5
10
15

(Boat length
X
Boat width)
15

=
Number of
people
Note: for flat bottom, hard chine boats, with an answer of 52 or less, reduce one increment (e.g. 5 to 3) Boat length and width are measured in feet. Round fractions down to next lower number.

 
Remember that you need to keep everything in the boat balanced - this includes people, pets, coolers, etc.. Even if your boat has the capacilty to carry a few people and a few coolers filled with soda, you don't want everyone sitting together on one side. You should also secure your gear, so it doesn't all slide to one side if a boat passing you creates a wake or you become unbalanced for some reason.
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