Post your passenger limits

[JVB]

Let's put the common sense of this forum to use. Post 1) YOUR boat make, model, overall length, beam, displacement, etc. 2) YOUR personal Do Not Exceed capacities and the conditions when YOUR limits apply. 3) What size body of water do you sail on. Maybe some of us will discover that our limits are out of line with common sense, either too high or unduly conservative. 1) My boat is a Catalina 250 Wing Keel, 25 feet LOA, 8 ft beam, empty weight 4200 pound, 10 hp outboard motor. 2) Winds Under 12 mph I never exceed 9 people on board. Winds Over 12 mph I never exceed 6 people on board. A person over 200 pounds counts as 1.5 people because the weight is concentrated. Kids count the same as average adults. 3) I sail on a 78 square mile inland lake with a maximum fetch of about 12 miles. So I have never seen waves over 2 feet. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetch_(geography) for a definition of "fetch".

 

[Sail123]

I assume this thread is a spinoff of the three children posts on every forum.

Sad, so sad.

So many factors come into play figuring prudent capacity of a small watercraft.

Skill level of the crew

Condition of the boat

Conditions of the sea

And a thousand other things............

For me, I look at seating, berths. If a boat has six berths, and about that for daytime seating, why in heavens sake would I stuff more people on my boat?

My 32 center cockpit ketch sleeps 6. The length multiplied by the beam devided by 15 math trick says I can haul around 17 people. Nothing doing. No fricking way. I have a galvanized concrete dock, very well built, and I would not want 17 people standing on that! Lol

If your car seats 5, would you cruse around with 15 people in it?

At any time, you could be called upon to help out another boat in distress. If your boat is stuffed like sardines in a can, how are you going to help someone?

We always sail with a minimum of people on board.

 

[Ross]

My boat ,30 feet about 9500 pounds, drinks 6 , feeds 4, and sleeps two or three. If I want more people around than that I have a four bedroom two bath home that can accomodate 24 for drinks and snacks , 12 for sit down meal and 8 to 10 for overnight. By choice we generally keep it below six.

 

[McZube]

Hunter 31, 11' beam, 9,900 lbs. displacement, 4,000 lbs. ballast. I'd be comfortable with my family of four and a second family of four on board.

 

[Rick]

My boat ,30 feet about 9500 pounds, drinks 6 , feeds 4, and sleeps two or three. If I want more people around than that I have a four bedroom two bath home that can accomodate 24 for drinks and snacks , 12 for sit down meal and 8 to 10 for overnight. By choice we generally keep it below six.

Ross that was outstanding!

Most I have had on my Hunter 336, is twelve. No sails, just a cocktail cruise. I think I am legal for 16 which I have life jackets for. However, that is way too many people regardless of legalities.

Sailing... its 6 or 7 max. Maybe a small dog.

edit: oh I almost forgot. When we got back to the dock (party of 12), of course the head was clogged. How fun!

 

[arknoah]

1. I have a MacGregor 25 foot sailboat, with a beam of 7’ 11” and empty weight of 2100 lbs.

2. I’ve only had 5 total people in my boat at one time, in about 10-12 mph winds, and I could really feel the difference between that and sailing solo or with one other person as crew. My limit regardless of wind speed would be 6 people of the appropriate size. In certain conditions, such as more than about 17 mph winds -- as a relative newbie -- I won’t be going out at all so the issue of how many to carry in that situation is moot.

[FONT=&quot]3. Sailing area is the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Bay near Drum Point.[/FONT]

 

[Indysailor]

O'Day 23
3500lbs
Beam 8ft

I don't like more than four adults total on my boat. Another one or two is not ideal, but if they know how to sail it makes a big difference. The main problem is bumping into one another.
We've had four adults and four kids under 11 on the boat for a sail in light winds, then a swim. It was crowded, but the boat responded well the entire time. If it weren't for my kids, directing the other kids ("Sit there", "Don't hang on that", "That's going to leave a mark on my dad's boat"), it would have been a no go. And that's the thing about capacity, if you ask me. Obviously, there are total physical and "common sense" limits, but sometimes it comes down to whether or not the people on board are alert and experienced.
When I was a kid, I used to take my dad's powerboat out on the Ohio River. Eventually, my list of friends who could come with me shrunk because babysitting became so tiresome. A few friends took it seriously and were a great help, but some just wore me out. And I was a chuckleheaded 17 year old, with about half the sense I have now and a lot more energy.

 

[SEMIJim]

Well, lessee... Abracadabra... 30 ft. boat with 9.5' beam, 8320 lbs displacement. Boat sleeps six--or so the brochure claims . (Two couples would have to be very friendly and the other two individuals would have to be short--one of 'em very short.) And six is about the most with which I'd feel comfortable on the boat. Oh, I'm sure she could handle more, but it would be too crowded, IMO.

Years ago, when I crewed on a friend and colleague's P28, we regularly had... oh... (thinking...) probably up to eight people on that boat. I used to go sit up on the bow pulpit, when not performing my crewly duties, for the peace and quiet.

Both my friend's P28 and our P30 were/are tiller boats. Not a lot of room, when the boat's under way, in the cockpit, for non-crew.

Our little bow-rider is a 1994 Mariah 182 Barchetta. 18.83 ft, beam of 7.6 ft. Displacement 2350 lbs. dry. I just went and checked her capacity plate: 8 passengers or a maximum of 1095 lbs. in passengers and gear. I'll tell you right now: While that boat may be rated for eight people (that means an average weight of... 137 lbs??? with no gear), I wouldn't try it. Thinking... Five in the main area and two in the bow is the most I'd want--and still a couple of them would have to be children or slight-of-build to make the weight limit. I've done that with her and she felt fine. Then again: She's a very well-built boat, anything but top-heavy, mildly over-powered (205HP V6) and has been exceedingly well-behaved, for a boat her size, in the 2-3' waves I've had her out in so far.

Waters are Lake St. Clair, which is a big puddle between Great Lakes Huron and Erie. LSC can get real nasty, real quick. Not a place to be in an overloaded, top-heavy boat if mother nature decides to kick up her heels.

Jim

 

[Zaphro]

34' Catalina, beam 11'. Comfortably holds me, the Admiral, two deck hands, and a Yorkshire terrier. Anymore than that feels like a crowd.

 

[RichH]

37 ft. Tayana Cutter, displ 24000 incl. stores, fuel, etc., ....
Capacity - 19 Gross Tons, 17 Net Tons (not 'deck cargo')

(17NRT - 12T) X 2200 = 11000 lb. max. burden (volume)

11000 / 170 lb. (average human body weight) = 65 human bodies (stacked like cordwood and securely tied down inside the boat ... and not as 'deck cargo') ;-)))))))

 

[FourPoints]

27 ft Hunter
5000lb displacement empty
sleeps up to 5 adults and one kid (without space for personal stuff, up to 4 adults with space).

cockpit seating for 6
carry life jackets for 6

I prefer to sail with 2-4 people, but will go out with up to 6 if many of the people know what they are doing. More than 4 starts to get rather crowded.

I have done harbor cruises with up to 8 people on board (with extra life jackets of course), but won't put sails up with more than 6 onboard.

 

[UPSGUY]

Catalina 22. I'm not sure of what it displaces. Its getting cramped with 2 adults and 4 kids. It is really built for 2-3 adults. I will no longer take on extra passengers as one parked themselves on top of the jib sheet and was in the way when things got squirrelly.

 

[WayneH]

My boat ,30 feet about 9500 pounds, drinks 6 , feeds 4, and sleeps two or three.

I love it, Ross. My 37 foot Tartan has the same restrictions. 6, 4, 2. Even with the door closed to the forward v-berth, you can hear anything going on in the rest of the boat through the louvered panels in the door. I have berths for seven onboard but three of those have "stuff" in them and the other two are seating for the table during the daytime. So only sleeps 2.

 

[seadaddler]

o7-H-36

Suppose to sleep 7 but have never had more than 4 guys on a long cruise from NY to Florida and than 4 guys again Punta Gorda to Key West/Dry Tortugas,normally just me and wife cruise on long trips of 2 to 4 weeks.
But have had 8 people for a day sailing in local harbor where our home dock is located and no more than 1 hour back to our dock, our boat 35.6 by 12 beam and everyone was seated and boat was very stable and no real heeling which my wife would be very unhappy if more than 15% heel.
Nick

 

[s sauer]

Captain's decison

We all may have different standards, but for our 28.5 with 7,000 lbs displacement, and wheel steering with no roller furling sails. I would not sail with more than six people. Further more , if two were children and needed parents to look after them, I might not want to raise any headsail and have to have everyone moving around every time you need to tack.
I always ask the swimming ability of guests & provide vests for non swimmers ; we carry three reasonably comfortable childrens sized vests as well as three adult vests ,and four standard PFD's four throwable cushions and one horseshoe.
With no sails raised and all adults on a 4th of July fire works in-harbor cruise, maybe eight people; four seated on deck and four in the cockpit & limit the drinking.

 

[Sandy Stone]

crew limit

Hmm... My PHRF crew limit is 10, and that sounds like about the most people I would want aboard, sailing. A harbor cruise under power, maybe a couple more. The most people we have actually had on the boat so far is, I think, 6. (We've only had it about a year and a half) Around 16,000 disp, 37' LOA, 12-1/2' beam.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

is 3 on a laser ok if we all wear pvd's?

 

[Cool Beans]

Ranger 33

33' long, 9.7' beam. . .10500# displacement. . .

I'm comfortable with a maximum of 4 guests. I really don't like more than 3. . .

I have a 4 pack of orange vests, a fitted vest for my little brother, and an inflatable for me as well as a harness. I want to get another throwable (for a total of 2) and replace my worn life ring. As big as my boat sounds there is little usable deck for lounging or sitting, so everyone ends up in the cockpit which has a pedestal in the middle of it. It gets crowded quick, and that isn't enjoyable for many reasons

One day if I manage to go out regularly for a season, I hope to graduate from "passengers" to "crew". . .because I worry that any of my "passengers" wouldn't be able to rescue me if I went overboard

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Starwind 27, displacement is 5,700 lbs ...

Our cockpit is small and 4 pairs of legs don't fit. When we sail with 3, it's not comfortable, unless everybody knows exactly what to do. If anybody is just a passenger and can't contribute, they are in the way. It helps when one person stays on the rail. One factor is that tacks and jibes are VERY frequent on our small lake so it just makes it more difficult to deal with a crowd.

I've often thought that for an overnight passage on an open body of water, 4 could work well because you would then have 2 "crews" and sailing maneuvers would be far less frequent. Space in the cabin is not an issue for 2 or 3 at a time. On my boat, I think the practical application of how to deal with up to 4 people is far more limiting than the stability. For our annual fireworks cruise, we go with no more than 6 adults.

The 16' runabout I had as a kid had a capacity plate for 6. My inboard ski boat (350 ci Chevy 8-cylinder block) is a fraction over 20' and with a 7' beam the calculation says that 9 is applicable. The weight of the boat is 2,900 lbs. It's not required to have a capacity plate. I doubt I've ever had more than 6 or 7 for a casual cruise. The open bow would seat 3 but ships water when catching a wake at the wrong time, so 2 would be max. Personally, I don't like anybody in the bow and performance of the boat disintegrates at about 4 adults, even for wake boarding. I never water ski with more than 3 ... driver, observer, skier. I'm contemplating a rejuvination of the boat and I am going to close the bow. I've learned that bowriders ruin the handling of the boat.

I also think that the boat should be required to have a capacity plate. It's not required by law and doesn't have one.

 

[catsailor]

What 34's got enough holding tank for 27?

It's bad enough, the boats that run without lights on the 4th. I always sit still with EVERYTHING ON until the crowd clears.

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I carry enough PFDs for 8; after that, it's an excuse to say "no." I also find myself thinking that the that last 17 people to get on were thick.