CAPACITY PLATES ON BOATS

Looking at a 1998 18' bowrider. could not find a capacity plate on it for the number of persons/weight/max HP etc. I know in the WISCONSIN boat regulations it states some boats are not required to have one, but that's for PWC's and sailboats. I sent an email to the DNR and they didn't give me a straight answer. SO, are they required on boats ? Getting answers all across the board no/yes/no.. I want to purchase this boat, but feel it is the law to have one. Don't wanted to get popped for a fine. The seller isn't fishy (no pun intended) or anything and I trust them. They apparently said they never had one on there from the dealer. Thanks! The Confused p.s. if anyone had to get one how much did it cost?

My capacity plate is 8 people or 1225 pounds. I know it is whichever comes first, but I've had 8 folks in my boat before, and I don't think any of them went less than 150. Passed the Winnebago County Sheriff, and he just waved. I've never noticed a scale in the Sheriff's or Warden's boat - not sure how close they enforce the weight - I know they'll enforce too many people though...

Bull Gill, I always chuckled when a capacity Plat might say something like 7 peoplemail or 750 lbs, really.

not that I have much know how on figuring cap or any think but if memory serves me correctly the avg weight of a person was 150 + or - a few pounds when that formula was adopted or is that a updated one for fat americans I count as two almost these days.....

I understand everyone's point of view - there is not a right or a wrong answer. My belief is that if your tag is missing, faded, or otherwise illegible - you won't get a ticket from a Warden for being over capacity, or over the max hp if the math works out with his tape measure. Sometimes tags can't be read or are missing - and the Coast Guard, Sheriff, or Warden all know how to work a calculator.

I've been stopped and have been asked about the plate. Granted, it wasn't the first thing the warden asked about but on a couple of occasions it came up. Mine is right under the console and I usually have a marine box sitting next to it covering it up. It usually comes up after I've been asked to present life jackets, fishing license, the typical "have you been drinking" question. Then after some idle chit chat I've been asked; "Where's the coast guard plate on this thing?" My guess is that if it is out in the open and they can see that there is a plate on there regardless of what it says you won't get questioned. If it's covered up by something making it difficult to see with a quick visual scan you'll increase the odds of being asked about it.

Right, a 1998 boat should have a capacity plate which also would have the HP rating for the boat. I have never even on the great lakes been stopped and had them ask to see my capacity plate. But then again, I have never been at or near my rated capacity either, so maybe it is obvious. However my understanding is that if you get in an accident, and your boat is over rated with HP, or to many passengers, your insurance company may not pay. I would contact the manufacturer, and request a new rating plate, they can and will send them to you.

I get what you are saying, I guess if its truly the best deal you saw in years then go for it. But I know when I was looking for boats I found one I liked almost every other week. If there are a lot for sale, I would not deal with it. If its very unique, then maybe. Realistically I think I was only stopped once where that was checked and it was a coast guard on Lake Michigan. On inland waters they just asked for a license many times, once in a while about life jackets. Granted I never had 10 people in the boat either LOL.

Bzerker- The formula for the maximum number of people is: Boat total length multiplied by width divided by 15. For my boat, 17.5 length multiplied by 7.2 width = 126. 126 / 15 = 8.4. For reference, my boat's max capacity per the capacity plate is 8, so this formula should work for whatever boat your looking at.

LS, Here is an interesting story... My buddy works for a print shop - they can print labels for most anything. His company made the custom vinyl for the numbers on my Fish and Ski - they do that sort of thing quite a bit. At any rate, he has had a number of people come in over the years with the request of making a custom boat nameplate that they could increase the number of passengers or cargo by a person or two, or a couple hundred pounds. I think that is one of a number of reasons that there are formulas out there. Some folks don't mind pushing the limits and installing a bigger motor than the max hp rating on their boat. A Warden can sniff out an overpowered boat without too much trouble. Guess my point is, of course you'd rather have a nameplate on your boat, but if the boat is in good shape and you like it - it doesn't necessarily have to be a deal breaker if it is missing...

I would not want to leave it up to a warden to interpret personally. I get it on an old boat, but on a 98 its pretty weird. Even if its there and faded, at least its still there. With it gone it looks like it was intentionally removed, which a warden may not take kindly to.

Thanks for the formula for the HP. The next thing would be how many people/weight is allowed.

Just tried the formula on both of my boats and it comes very close. Basically take your transom width and multiply it by the boat length. If the total is between 0 and 35 the max hp is 3, 36 - 39 max hp is 5, 40 - 42 max hp is 7, 43 - 45 max hp is 10, 46 - 52 max hp is 15. For my Jon boat the numbers are a length of 13.8 x a transom width of 3.6 = 49.68 / which equals a max hp of 15, and that is exactly what the name plate is. If your multiplier is greater than 52 take the boat length X the transom width x 2 - 90 . I have glass Fish and Ski (actual length when measured is 17'-5", and the transom width is 7'-2". So in this case (17.5 x 7.2 x 2) - 90 = 162 max hp. The max on the name plate is 150 HP. This makes sense as most manufacturer's offerings in that range are 135 hp, 150 hp, 175 hp, and then 200 hp. The boat manufacturer then has to match the hp to the closest hp size without going over the max - so the 150 makes sense.