Fishing Forum

When on the hull placard it states a boat will handle say 4 people or 800 lbs which is it.

If I take my kids (50 and 11) out my wife and one of my kids's friends would I get a ticket as I am over the 4 people but under the 800 lbs?

What is the actual guideline here?

Thanks
Matt
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I believe that, officially, you can't exceed EITHER of those numbers. However, with the way those are written there is probably room to argue.
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I tend to stick to the number of people. A ranger can easily count how many folks are on a boat, but getting into a discussion about how much they may or may not weigh is not something I or most others would want to get into.(especially when the wife may be involved in that guessing game [:/]) Plus the max weight listed on a hull plate includes passengers, cargo, and motor if an outboard. Depending on how much "stuff" you carry on your boat, you could possibly hit your max weight with only 2 or 3 persons on board.
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