DaySailer.org Forum

most of the boats I have owned or seen have a weight limit /personnel equipment placard somewhere on the boat. do sailboats not have this placard?...and if not whats the maximum load / number of people allowed on board?..thanks in advance

gerald
dsII 10169

It's called a capacity plate, and it came into law several years ago. In most cases our DS II's do not have capacity plates. Here in Canada I had to apply for mine, submitting pictures and dimensions of my boat. It's capacity was 4 people as indicated on the plate. I cannot remember the weight restriction, but it is on the plate that they sent me and I have since attached to the boat.

General rule of thumb for estimating capacity of a boat:

Length times width divided by 15 = max number of persons (round down)

DSII: 17 x 5 / 15 = 5.7 or 5 people. You could probably take six, but that's not counting gear, and I personally think more than four is too crowded anyway.

my .02, YMMV

That capacity would probably be ok in a boat the same size, without the cuddy cabin. Or if one of your passengers would be ok riding in there.