Fed requirement for USCG max capacity plate

[CaptSeaCraft]

Ok...I have it all figured out now.I am having machineplatesonline.com make me two uscg max capacity plates.He said that it'll be identicle to the original and total cost will be $40.00.I still want to get a foil sticker if there are enough SF 18 to puchase some. I will post the replacement plate for all to see as soon as i get it.

Thanks for all the great Help...I am sure I would have been the next SeaCraft Capt. to have gotten a ticket as the CG has been checking boats in these parts lately!

[Fr. Frank]

They're in! I'll be ending them out by Monday.

[mitchman]

Frank, I got my sticker, thanks! Now where do I put it Does the coast guard require it be in a certain spot? My current one is located on the inside part of the splashwell, however, it is illegible and the plate is composed of two small plates riveted together so I don't think I can simple slap it on over it.

[Fr. Frank]

It needs to be either near the powerplant, i.e., in the splashwell, or clearly visible from the helm station.

[FishStretcher]

Originally Posted by Fr. Frank

I got stopped yesterday about 22 miles offshore by an inflatable off of a USCG cutter. After a quick search of my boat, they then gave me a ticket for not having a USCG Maximum Capacity plate. According to the PO, ALL vessels under 20'0" hull length must have and display a USCG Max Capacities plate while navigating federal waters (which is anything over 12 miles offshore), regardless of date or place of manufacture. This includes vessels like mine, which are titled as homemade because they predate the federal HIN system. The PO said I can get the $75 fine waived if I show proof of compliance within 30 days.

Here's what annoys me: I still have the original manufacturer's identification sticker under the helm. It shows the hull serial number: #2489, the max HP: 240, and the max load, persons, motor and gear: 1?35 lbs. (I put the question mark in there for the second number because the decal is torn there. The third number could also be an 8 or a 5) He said the manufacturer's plate was partially illegible or destroyed, didn't specify a max capacity in number of persons, with max weight indecipherable, and therefore didn't meet the requirements.

I called SeaCraft Boats, and they will provide a capacity plate for any hull they made since Tracker took over in '87, but not for earlier hulls.

So next I contacted a local decal manufacturer, and he would not make a run of less than 100 decals, at a price of $1,250, or $12.50 each.

Next I contacted LetterRite, and they will make a minimum run of 10 decals for $190, or 25 for $200.

USCG calculation for max hp is (vessel LOA in ft X BEAM in ft X 2)-90 [rounded up to next higher 5hp increment = MAX HP. The the Length is vessel LOA, NOT hull LOA, and may include the length of any permanently-mounted propulsion machinery. Length and Beam are also rounded up to next higher full integer. So the 20' SeaCraft models would be either
(20x8x2)-90=230 MAX HP
OR
(22x8x2)-90=265 MAX HP (if the motor is through-bolted to the transom. (This is how the 19' bowrider and Seafari had legal optional 260 hp sterndrives.)

So the image below uses the 230hp USCG MAX HP calculations,(although I am open to using the 265hp calculation) and the weight limits from the 20' Seafari, which has the lowest weight limits of the various 20' SeaCraft models.

I'm considering order 25 of these decals. Would anyone like one at my cost plus postage? That would be about $13 or $14 dollars, I think. There won't be an option on some plates of 230 and some of 265 hp. They would all have to be the same.

they would look like this:

So the reference I found notes that you use transom width. Not beam. Presuming that the stated beam is the widest part of the hull, and judging by the outline drawings, the transom is narrower.

The reference is here: http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/educati...atbuilders.pdf

I don't have a tape handy or a boat, for that matter.

I seem to recall 175hp being the limit- perhaps because of the transom stern being narrower than the beam.

I can only retrieve the seafari spec page, but it lists 175hp max. Perhaps this is why?

[Fr. Frank]

For most boats under 20', the transom rub rail is the widest part of the boat. But since you round everything UP to the next higher full foot integer, it often makes little difference. A hull with a 7'4" transom gets the same calculable width as one with a 7'11" beam.

Also remember, the USCG max HP figures for boats longer than 20"0" are just recommendations, not regulations. The USCG nax capacity calculations for length are figured as LOA (length over all) and INCLUDE propulsion machinery, aka outdrives, outboards, transom-mounted rudders, et cetera. Permanently affixed additions are also included. Got an anchor pulpit? It gets calculated in. Got a swim platform? Add that. Got a bracket and outboard? Add them in, too. Add in anything permanently affixed to the hull.

My last Seafari was 19'8" hull, plus 11" anchor pulpit, plus 29" to tip of lower unit trimmed to neutral, for a total allowable calculable length of 23'1", which then gets rounded up to 24' for max capacity calculations.

As for max HP, there were at least a couple of Seafari 20's built with 260 hp sterndrives. I think the 20" transom also played a factor in SeaCraft's max OB hp recommendations.

Originally Posted by FishStretcher

So the reference I found notes that you use transom width. Not beam. Presuming that the stated beam is the widest part of the hull, and judging by the outline drawings, the transom is narrower.

The reference is here: http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/educati...atbuilders.pdf

I don't have a tape handy or a boat, for that matter.

I seem to recall 175hp being the limit- perhaps because of the transom stern being narrower than the beam.

I can only retrieve the seafari spec page, but it lists 175hp max. Perhaps this is why?

[FishStretcher]

The way I read that document, you round after you multiply. (Assuming I read it correctly, and that document is correct) Which, combined with a narrower transom than beam, would account for the ~50hp difference between the two calculations.

19.66 * 7.5 =147.45 or 147.0 rounded. Which then gets a 205 hp rating, because 147*2-90= 204 and rounds to 205hp.

Rounding both gets 20 * 8 =160.0 Which gets a 230hp rating

Rounding after, and using a 6.75 foot transom width gets:

19.66 * 6.75 = 132.705, rounds to 133.0. 133*2-90 gets 176hp, rounded to 180hp. My guess is that this is close to how it was calculated for the original capacity plates.

[Fr. Frank]

Some thoughts, but no conclusions:

My original decal on my last Seafari (1972 O/B model) clearly said Max HP = 240. Not 175. And it was built at a time when the most powerful outboards you could buy were the V4 125 hp Johnnyrude or I6 115 hp Mercury.

The transom cutout on my 1st Seafari, a 1973 model, was clearly made for twin outboards, as well.

I rigged a new 1984 factory custom-built 20 SF which was factory placarded for 250 hp back in '84, and we rigged a Bridgeport Mercury on it, rated at 240 hp.

[FishStretcher]

I have nothing to go by- I can't read my sticker- all I have are the PDFs available here. So I could very well be wrong.