5 men in a boat?

[quigley595]

Went out on the open water yesterday with 5 adults in a quinnie 4.8 mtr Bayhunter with a 70 horse yammy..... All up maybe 400 kilos or more with gear, fuel and the bodies.

I have never had this much weight on the boat before, and it nomally handles just beautifully, gets on the plane easily and just glides over the water..

However....... this time...... it handled rasonably well, but struggled big time getting up on the plane. Then when it did, as I adjusted the throttle as you do normally do to keep things smoothe... it would drop into the water again... Was plowing through the water at about 15kph, doing between 3500 and 4000 RPM. No safety problem I think, fairly calm seas, only a slight swell, but it really was struggling.

What do you folks think... is this normal with such a load in this boat and motor???

It shouldnt really bother me that much, because this was an unusually big load for me, and I probably wont have as many ppl again. Normally it is 3-4 people only.

Would be really interested in your opinions!

regards
Mike

[janek]

Honestly, 5 adults in a 4.8 is a little too much... in my 5.3 safari, she handles well with 3 people, but i will not go past 4, i just have this thing about it.... humands tend to weigh a fair bit :P

[toymod]

Look to be honest I dont see a problem, look at the bowriders, 1 driver seat 1 pasenger seat 2 seats at the rear and 2 seats at the front.


I have had 4 BIG blokes in my old 4.7 with no issues. As long as you have the saftey gear for everyone I think it would be sweet.

PS I know some people will start whinging, and quote the max rating of people but hey.

[butcher]

Must all be little fellas or very light on fuel

[charleville]

It may not be relevant but if you look into the maximum legal capacity of your boat being 5 people in smooth waters, the weight of each person is assumed to be 75kg and evenly distributed across the boat.

There are a lot of blokes who would double that weight and certainly a lot over 100kg. #So without my knowing how big your passengers were, I wonder if you were carrying a lot more than you think?? #

Of course if three big blokes were sitting down the back, it will take a while to get on the plane.

[seatime]

400 kg is within the limit for a boat 4.5 to 4.99m (450kg), so is 5 POB, as per the capacity labels.

it sounds like you weren't completely comfortable with the boat's performance, and as the owner you are in the best position to make that assessment.

for that boat you might have been near the borderline :-/

I have seating for 13 (including bunks in cab) but it's only registered for 7 in partially smooth and 6 in open waters 15nm from land.
like yours it's longer out of the hole and needs a bit extra to stay on the plane when max loaded with 7. I wouldn't like anymore weight on board.
I guess that's why there's max loadings.

[DaMaGe]

What does the capacity label say about the amount of people in the boat, laws have recently changed with this and some people need to apply a sticker to alert everyone of how many people/weight you are allowed on board. I had to personally go into QLD transport to pick up this sticker and apply it just to avoid the new fines we get now about this issue.

More info here :- http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/qt/msq.nsf/index/capacity_labels

5 people would defiently pushing the boat to it's limits, did you re-arrange the weight for any different outcome? I wouldn't stress to much about it, that kinda weight for the poor ole 70 is about right, especially if you add wind/current to the affect.

[quigley595]

Folks,
Thanks for all your replies.
They pretty much agree with my own thoughts.
The mfg capacity for the boat is 5 (probably means in smooth waters). I am confident in my ability to handle the boat, and my own limit is for 3, max 4 adults, only because of the weight.

This weekend, I was sort of forced into taking the 5 ppl.... NOT that I would have done it if I thought it was unsafe!!!! It just exceeded my own limit of 3-4 for a comfortable ride.

Even though the trip was a safe one, (and was always going to be), it has confirmed in my own mind that I would NOT again take 5 adults, unless it was up the river, where getting on the plane would not be an issue.

Thanks again folks...... I can rest easy tonight!!!!! Its great to have folks like the AusFishers to bounce ideas off...

regards
Mike