So what happens when you overload a pontoon?

[guy48065]

What "initiates" the submarine? Several passengers run forward? Hit a wave that starts a domino effect? Too-quick deceleration? Big cow brother-in-law kicks the anchor in?
--Or just being ignorant and plowing ahead with the deck taking on water?

[BoatCop]

Excess weight on the boat will be transmitted toward the bow on deceleration, causing the nose dive, as seen in the picture.

Remember that the person capacity that's listed on your Capacity plate is based on an average weight of 150 lbs. If you can have "10" person capacity, but those 10 people weight 200# plus, you may be in compliance with "Person" capacity, but overloaded in total weight capacity. That's why a separate pound figure is listed, which includes the weight of persons, fuel, engine (if an outboard), equipment, supplies and anything except the boat itself.

Most boating fatalities are from drowning, which is most often caused by capsizing due to overloaded boats. The Coast Guard doesn't just pull those capacity figures out of thin air. They are a result of engineering studies, testing and careful consideration of the boat's buoyancy, center of gravity, seaworthiness and stability. There MAY be some wiggle-room built in, but adherence to the figures for your boat will protect you from criminal and civil liability in case of an accident.

Nobody expects to become a statistic. But 700+ boaters a year end up becoming one. (Dead, that is. Many thousand more suffer serious injuries)

And no. That's not me. I figured that since the OP was from Michigan, I'd throw up a Michigan Boat Cop.

[badmoonrising]

This is from Canal Days 2006, we were all waiting to see the "tipping point" of this old Party Cruiser as more and more people went on it. It never flipped

[curtiscapk]

[badmoonrising]

This one did though:

Finally found his Facebook page where he had pics of it upside down. They just cleaned it up and are out every weekend.

[JohnO]

Here's a double decker that got capsized. The first pic shows the crowd that was out. The capsized boat is the orange one with the slide towards the right of the picture.

After the other boats had to leave the orange boat was able to stay longer so many of the kids stayed behind with it. Most of them ended up on the second deck and of course it tipped.

The justice is that it also had a rack of stereo equipment that was playing non stop vulgar (c)rap music very loudly all day. Stereo on the bottom now!!!

[badmoonrising]

My Party Cruiser's warning label said 4 persons max, or 800 lbs. on the upper deck....

[yellowk9]

Seriously. I'm wondering how many of the incidents didn't result in deck collapses (and deaths) rather than rollovers???? That last pic has 20+ people partying on the upper deck with an equal number underneath

[JohnO]

It also shows just how bouyant these things are. The tubes on that overcrowded boat are almost totally under water yet she still floats!

[ARROW383]

when you play stupid games you win stupid prizes

[margaritaman]

when you play stupid games you win stupid prizes

For some reason when BMR plays with those stupid games he ends up with a boat full of nekid women.

[hyper]

[youtube][/youtube]

I have done that, scared the chit out of me. Also dont forget when you do this there will be a hugh 2 foot wave that comes down the isle and hits the back seat when the nose pops up. funny afterwards but scary as hell whne it is happening. We had 13 adults, large county fed ones on board.