How many passengers can most 25 to 35 foot yachts carry?

Question

Everywhere I look for passenger and weight capacities for boats they are listed simply as "Yacht Certified." Is there a rule of thumb for determining how many passengers a boat can carry? I need to know in order to figure out how large a boat I need to buy.

Answer 1

None

Yachts have crew members they don't carry passengers.

Say 4 crew at the lower end to 6 at the top end.

That assumes adequate safety equipment  lfor those numbers.

Answer 2

You could really have opened up a can of worms here...

As the USCG does not require manufactures of vessels over 21 feet to display passenger capacity plates - thus, your problem.

    However, the USCG can cause you a heap of trouble if your vessel appears over loaded.  They know one when they see one - and so do most experienced boaters.

    To answer your question as to the "capacity" one must know the total displacement weight of the vessel, and subtract from that: the actual weight of the vessel including the weight of motors, accessories, equipment, fixtures, furniture, fuel, water, batteries, etc. - - - the difference or balance = the capacity in pounds of your vessel.  I know, this does not help you - but this is the law the way it is today - though many boaters are trying to change it.

As with most cases, the rule of thumb here is good common sense.

The better way to ask your question would have been to ask what size vessel would someone recommend to carry a given number of passengers.  And, include how you plan to use the boat... on what kind of water... and what kind of vessel, (ie: sail or power) ...  With very few exceptions, one can "comfortably" accomodate more people on a power boat then on a sail boat of the same length... and one's comfort level aboard also generally affects one's safety.

I for one have owned 26 footer and a 36 footer... and I can tell you that you won't be getting very many people on either... For me, the 26' Cabin Cruiser w/ Fly-bridge was perfect for me and my wife, when our three kids were very small... sometimes we had "Grandma" with us... and often another (childless) couple.  With 5 adults and 2 small kids (who mostly stayed in the V-berth playing) this 26' x 13' beam with a large open rear cockpit was just OK... one more person, one more kid in fact would have been one more too many... Not so as to cause the boat to sink or become unstable - but simply because of room and comfort to move around and sit without sitting on someone.

As far as the 36' it too was a Cabin Cruiser w/Fly-bridge... same design as above only 10' longer and about 6" wider... On the 36' we (my wife and I) could take three other couples out boating with us - and we could all have a great day and end it with dinner sitting around a table in the center of the cockpit.

It was comfortable... but one more couple would have been one couple too many.

So there you have it... I'm not talking "sink the boat" capacity here... we were far from that... I am simply talking personal and safety space as well as comfort...

    

8 adults on the 36 footer

5 adults (say 6 with no kids) on a 26 footer

# of "berths has nothing whatsoever to do with capacity or intended amount of passengers or crew - and certainly has nothing to do with comfort level... as both my 26' and 36' proclaimed to "sleep" 6.  But I will tell you from experience, neither vessel would do this comfortably...

Happy and Safe Boating!

Answer 3

I figure about 2.5 feet per person as you go up in length it drops to 2.  so maybe 10  to 18.  Most newer vessels have a capacity rating.  You can also check on berthing spaces to get an idea.