Capacity Placard

[Champguy]

Thanks,

That's what we had in mind. Nice weather, smaller inland lakes, with everything down.

Ps. My kid weight math is significantly less....4 kids about a 150lbs.

Have a great holiday,

Aaron

[RobertB]

We have had the two oldest Grandsons sitting with legs through the bow rails and waving at Harbor Police and USCG .. They just waved back.

My son did that in a coastal Maryland bay and the police pulled us over and discussed the error of our ways.

[robbarnes1965]

Sounds like 4 adults + 3 kids won't be a problem but make sure the ballast is in as per the recommendations of the previous posts. I've felt VERY scared at least one when it became obvious that the six of us were way over the weight the boat could safely handle in the conditions we were in - but we were legal...

When going over the limit, whether you will get a ticket or not is never really the question. The real one to consider whenever going over capacity is do you want to be responsible for and accident. Every case of a death with a Macgregor I have heard of was due to over crowding. Alcohol seems to have helped in at least one case but overcrowding AND no ballast did the work in that instance. The drowned victims were all wearing PFD's in the lake champlain case if I remember correctly so don't think that will help you feel like you're being responsible.

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-20048411.html

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/vt-supreme-c ... 80797.html

[jbousquin]

The real one to consider whenever going over capacity is do you want to be responsible for and accident.

Rob, I couldn't agree more. Just seems to me that placards, limits and what is/isn't allowed is irrelevant when faced with the consequences of a serious accident away from shore, and it is just not worth the risk to me.

For my boat, I try to limit to four adults total for both safety and comfort, but will take five when winds are less than 10 kts.

Also, while I don't prohibit my guests from drinking alcohol while underway, I've made it my personal choice not to drink away from the dock. Of course, as anyone who owns a boat knows, there are some people who equate being on a boat=drinking lots, and that can be hard to deal with.

I've noticed that if I'm not drinking while underway, it sets the tone for my passengers, who then tend to be more moderate, too.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July...

Cheers, Joe

[jbousquin]

Another tragic reminder about overcrowding...

http://gma.yahoo.com/boat-capsizes-off- ... ories.html

27 people on a 34 foot boat. Just terrible.