Does full ballast weight count in weight rating?

[Age Fighter]

Had a good question from a non inboarder the other day. He wanted to know if the allowable weight on these boats, as listed on the MC website, includes the water in the ballasts.

I had never thought about it. What is the answer?

[coz]

Had a good question from a non inboarder the other day. He wanted to know if the allowable weight on these boats, as listed on the MC website, includes the water in the ballasts.

I had never thought about it. What is the answer?

I wondered the same thing.....if not that leaves alot of people open to overloading tickets :confused:

I know my boat says 10 people or 1300lbs.....but when I fill the bags I'm over that no question.

[TMCNo1]

I wondered the same thing.....if not that leaves alot of people open to overloading tickets :confused:

I know my boat says 10 people or 1300lbs.....but when I fill the bags I'm over that no question.


The weights posted represent basic dry weight, no people, no ballast, minimal fuel, no gear, nominal options. More or less, what the boat weighs on the trailer when it leaves the production line for shipment to the dealer/customer.

[Ole Miss Rebels]

The weights posted represent basic dry weight, no people, no ballast, minimal fuel, no gear, nominal options. More or less, what the boat weighs on the trailer when it leaves the production line for shipment to the dealer/customer.

that doesn't make sense to me. i have seen it written here and always thought that the weight rating is what yo can legally carry ABOVE the weight of the boat with all factory options fully loaded. full ballast, gas and all options. when i think about it that is the only way it could possibly be. otherwise a boat with ballast and gas and options would be illegal right off the trailer.

[Big Dogg]

Im very inquisitive to this question as well... I have an I/O with a rating of roughly 1600 pounds. My maximum ballast bag set up is 700lbs of water and 800lbs of people (5 ppl). Now with the fuel tank full, that puts me well over the limit of the boat, granted my usual set up is about is about 1200 lbs of people and water. The interesting thing is that I get enough flex in the boat when I run the near 1500lbs that my mid glass peice on my windshield has roughly a 1/8-1/4inch overlap and will not close. I am very interested to hear if the weight ratings on these boats include ballast. I would assume in my boat that since ballast is not an option and that I have added bags that I am pushing the limits. How does MC set their ratings and does that rating include fully loaded ballast.

[bigmac]

The NMMA's weight capacity requirements for inboard boats do follow the USCG, and those regulations are based on the weight of the boat vs its maximum displacement. During the certification process, the mfgr must demonstrate the displacement that occurs at the point where water begins to enter the cockpit. Their definition of boat weight (which is subtracted in the formula) is the combination of hull weight, deck and superstructure, weight of "permanent appurtenances", fuel tanks and "machinery" (engine, drive unit, batteries). The weight capacity thus imposed by the NMMA includes the ballast tanks and pumps, but doesn't include actual ballast. Short answer - the capacity plate on your boat doesn't include any water in the ballast tanks.

Bear in mind that, relative to capacities, the USCG regulations only apply to boats 20 feet long or less. The fact that we have capacity plates on our boats that are longer is because MasterCraft has elected to have their boats certified by the NMMA. The NMMA regs are based on the USCG, but generally more stringent. Their certification process includes boats up to 26 feet in length. Whether or not going over the capacity listed on the plate represents a legal problem for the boat operator depends on individual states. AFAIK, some or most states' "safe operation" laws are based on USCG regulations and enforcement agents generally ignore capacity plates if the boat is longer than 20 feet. The exception is the general requirement that, regardless of total weight, every person on board have a place to sit. However, many of us have seen that our local enforcement agents aren't always totally familiar with the law. Here in Minnesota, if I ever got a ticket for being over-capacity (as opposed to having too many people on board), I'd certainly take that to court.

Note that the legal requirements may be different than what is smart relative to safe boat handling in various water conditions. You might not get a ticket, but being over-ballasted or over-capacity might swamp you in some conditions, and while you might not get a capacity violation, you could still get a ticket for "unsafe boating" if you are, for example, wake surfing with 10 people on board and 1200 lbs of ballast and don't have enough safe free-board.

All this represents, I suppose, an argument for wedges and surf tabs.