Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

How much weight/people can I have on my boat? 78' Lowe 24' pontoon. 35 horse (hp restricted to 40).

Anyone with an idea of how much weight is ok for the boat? I'm a total newbie to boating. Thanks guys.

there is usually a sticker on the boat which states it. all boats vary...mine is a 24' sun tracker and it is 15 people 2150 lbs

Thanks for the reply. Wonder if mine can hold that many people? We have 9 people planned for this weekend so far. I guess we'll find out.

My boat has no weight limit sticker. This thing is a dinosaur. Ha

i dont really judge it on how many people...i look at the weight...remember the weight rating is gear, coolers, and people

This question was asked before, and I'll post the same reply.

Start putting people on the boat, one at a time after all of your gear is on the boat. Make sure you are on the water. Once the boat starts to sink, simply tell two people to stay back, and there you have it, you know how many people your boat can hold.

Seriously though, I would measure the tube diameter, then the lenght, and see if there are similar boats that have weight stickers. Or you could call the manufacturer to see what they rated it for. As a last resort, the local wildlife and parks office may be able to give you a good idea. I would say that you should be fine with 9-12 people on the boat, if the weather is nice, and it's not too windy. With a 40hp. motor, you aren't going to go anywhere very fast at all with that kind of load, but you can still troll around the lake. If it's windy, then you may not be able to even go against the wind.

The recommended safe weight capacity is when the pontoons are one half submerged. Measure both the "Diameter and Length" of your pontoons and compare with the chart posted below, and you should have a pretty good idea of your boats capacity.

If there is someplace for the others to stay (campsite etc) just take half the people. Nine or 10 folks on an older toon it a good load, especially with a 35 pushing it.
doc

Make sure you have enough life jackets for all.

toondog wrote:Make sure you have enough life jackets for all.

Will do. Thanks for the info fellas. I'll post a report after the weekend.

KConJacomo wrote:

toondog wrote:Make sure you have enough life jackets for all.

Will do. Thanks for the info fellas. I'll post a report after the weekend.

Don't forget the camera..........doc

[quote=
Don't forget the camera..........doc[/quote]

LOL Thanks for reminding me. I've been regretting the lack of pics from my first time taking the boat out.

Boat did pretty good with 7 people and a ton of gear. Didn't move across the water very fast but we got around Longview Lake. I took pics but they didn't turn out very well. Think my camera is dying. Thanks for the advice fellas!