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Ballast and exceeding the maximum weight capacity of the boat?


bm11

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Hello,

Just wanted to see what most people find the maximum safe amount of exceeded weight capacity on their boat is. I ask because it seems like everyone has enough PnP ballast to exceed their weight limit before adding a bunch of passengers, which they do.

I'm in a spot now where with my newly received 1000 pound bow bag I'm at 2500 pounds of additional ballast (beyond the hard tanks) and my boat is rated for 2100 and change.

Thanks,

Bob

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I have a much smaller boat than you and I run with 800 lbs stock, 1000 on bow, 1500 in rear and ~600 under bow, so nearly 4k.  You'll be fine.  Watch your swim platform.  Its common to put it well underwater.  Malibu's typically like bow weight, and its not uncommon to get a little water over the bow.  Also, you really don't need massive weight until you are well beyond comfortable with wakeboarding.  Lots of surfers like to start with big waves though.  

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It depends on where you ride, what kind of presence the sheriff/Coast Guard has in your area, and how much things are enforced where your located. On the smaller lakes in our area, we can get away with running lots of ballast, only because the cops don't patrol there. But the bigger lakes & rivers are patrolled heavily & they stop boats regularly for being overweight. Especially on hot, holiday weekends.

I just heard about a VLX that sank last week in our area. The dealership had just added some more bags to their PNP. I guess he didn't have the common sense to drain the sacks when the weather kicked up.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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On one of my rear lockers there's a warning label that states not to exceed 75lbs, as the location is not intended for ballast.  I treat it as a recommendation because obviously someone screwed up at the factory and forgot to add the zero at the end. :biggrin:

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Bm11, 

What motor are you running, the 410 or 450? I ride a 2017 at Falls Lake in NC with #750s PNP and stock hard tanks in the rear lockers, plus stock ballast in the bow, and center. On top of that, we occasionally fill a #1000 sac to the center of the boat for surfing. Unless law enforcement is really strict, your boat will perform fine with the added weight. With the 410 motor I would change the throttle settings to the more "aggressive" throttle response. The 23 LSV does struggle a bit with all the weight and the wedge, but can easily be compensated for with the more aggressive throttle setting. Do not forget to change the throttle back the less aggressive when docking. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On ‎9‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 4:07 PM, AndySC said:

Bm11, 

What motor are you running, the 410 or 450? I ride a 2017 at Falls Lake in NC with #750s PNP and stock hard tanks in the rear lockers, plus stock ballast in the bow, and center. On top of that, we occasionally fill a #1000 sac to the center of the boat for surfing. Unless law enforcement is really strict, your boat will perform fine with the added weight. With the 410 motor I would change the throttle settings to the more "aggressive" throttle response. The 23 LSV does struggle a bit with all the weight and the wedge, but can easily be compensated for with the more aggressive throttle setting. Do not forget to change the throttle back the less aggressive when docking. 

Sorry for the slow reply! I didn't realize I had any in quite some time. My motor is a 410 with the "high altitude" package, whatever that changes (I'm like 120 feet over sea level.)

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On 9/1/2017 at 0:06 PM, Bill_AirJunky said:

It depends on where you ride, what kind of presence the sheriff/Coast Guard has in your area, and how much things are enforced where your located. On the smaller lakes in our area, we can get away with running lots of ballast, only because the cops don't patrol there. But the bigger lakes & rivers are patrolled heavily & they stop boats regularly for being overweight. Especially on hot, holiday weekends.

I just heard about a VLX that sank last week in our area. The dealership had just added some more bags to their PNP. I guess he didn't have the common sense to drain the sacks when the weather kicked up.

Bill, do you know of the law that talks about weight? I know my '03 has the capacity/weight placard, but my dad's '96 doesn't. And I've heard that the only reason the placard is there is because Malibu is Coast Guard Certified, but they don't have to be because they are under 26'0". I could have been told misinformation, but if that's the case, is the only thing the Sheriff/Coast Guard pull you over for is something they consider unsafe.

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9 hours ago, saskicker32 said:

Bill, do you know of the law that talks about weight? I know my '03 has the capacity/weight placard, but my dad's '96 doesn't. And I've heard that the only reason the placard is there is because Malibu is Coast Guard Certified, but they don't have to be because they are under 26'0". I could have been told misinformation, but if that's the case, is the only thing the Sheriff/Coast Guard pull you over for is something they consider unsafe.

Yea, I just know that we have been stopped & boarded in several states for what the cop thinks "looks" like it's over weight..... WA, ID, CA, & FL off the top of my head. They look at that tag, Then add up all the people & ballast. They never know about all the ballast though.....they just guess. Usually have to drain some so they will go away without writing us up. And these are boats that are not weighted nearly as much as I see in pics.

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On 9/29/2017 at 0:16 PM, saskicker32 said:

Bill, do you know of the law that talks about weight? I know my '03 has the capacity/weight placard, but my dad's '96 doesn't. And I've heard that the only reason the placard is there is because Malibu is Coast Guard Certified, but they don't have to be because they are under 26'0". I could have been told misinformation, but if that's the case, is the only thing the Sheriff/Coast Guard pull you over for is something they consider unsafe.

I posted this elsewhere but my understanding is it's a Coast Guard rule of thumb...YMMV.  Per the Sheriff in the boater education class in Idaho, if you don't have a capacity plate they use the rule of thumb for loading:

Calculating Your Boat's Capacity - On boats less than 20 feet in length with no capacity plate, use the following rule of thumb to calculate the number of persons (weighing 150 lbs. each, on average) the boat can carry safely in good weather conditions.

Number of people = (boat length (ft.) × boat width (ft.) / 15

For example, for a boat 18 feet long by 6 feet wide, the number of persons is 18 times 6 (or 108) divided by 15, which equals seven 150-lb. persons (or a total person weight of 7 × 150, or 1050 lbs.).

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1 hour ago, DarkSide said:

The other piece here is FACTORY included ballast does not count against your capacity.   So hard tanks do not count, but PNP DOES count against your capacity. 

Who says?

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12 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

Who says?

My Malibu dealer.  This was the justification for denying warranty, overweighting the boat, "abuse" clause!

Edited by DarkSide
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56 minutes ago, DarkSide said:

My Malibu dealer.  This was the justification for denying warranty, overweighting the boat, "abuse" clause!

Abusing with factory available plug-n-play?  hmmm.  I'm not sure how plug-n-play isn't factory?

Dealers "say stuff."  Doing a little internetting, it looks like NMMA uses a capacity standard developed by ABYC (standard H-5).  ABYC is very proud of its standards and doesn't publish them.  I'm not willing to spend $75 to see them, but I very much doubt that they treat ballast of different types differently.  

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2 hours ago, NAW said:

What warranty item was denied, Joe?

Prop burn on bottom of boat.  Standard 15x15.75 prop, refused to even turn it in to Malibu.  "Caused by cavitation, due to overweighting the boat" was the justification.  I was also earned that future claims on running gear if they reoccur would also likely be denied for the same reason.

It was at the same time rudder cracked, steering tube and various other things were in for repair.

Not trying to dig up past, or start crap...just saying sticker is not nessasarily a Mandate... but a guide.

Edited by DarkSide
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19 hours ago, shawndoggy said:

I'm not sure how plug-n-play isn't factory?

If the ballast storage container is fitted in the boat as a factory option, I think it would be considered factory or OEM. If its just hoses and the ballast storage container is supplied by dealer or buyer, it would certainly not be factory. 

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On 10/8/2017 at 7:57 AM, Dan Lee said:

It is for reasons like the comments you make in this thread I have pics & screen shots personally saved of how much weight you bragged about running in that boat & how it would pull up to the dealership with your trailer on 22's with rubber band tires still carrying however many hundreds of pounds of lead.

There's always someone somewhere with a big nose who knows who trips you up and laughs when you fall.

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On 10/8/2017 at 10:57 AM, Dan Lee said:

It is for reasons like the comments you make in this thread I have pics & screen shots personally saved of how much weight you bragged about running in that boat & how it would pull up to the dealership with your trailer on 22's with rubber band tires still carrying however many hundreds of pounds of lead.

POIDH!!!!!!

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