Capacity plate

The plate by the helm stating maximum people, weight and horsepower. Both numbers are limits.

The capacity plate is the manufacturer's arithmetic for fair weather: so many persons or so many pounds, whichever you hit first, and a maximum rated engine. Ten light adults do not outvote an eight-person plate, and calm water does not suspend it.

Exceeding it is overloading: the freeboard shrinks, the handling dulls, and in South Carolina it hands an officer negligent-operation grounds when the day goes wrong. The plate is also the number rental operators quote when they cap your headcount; they are reading, not inventing.

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Put the words to work

Vocabulary is easier at the helm.

The free South Carolina boater safety course teaches all of this in twelve chapters with a sixty question practice exam, and when you are ready for the water itself, one form gets you rental quotes from local operators.

Take the Free Safety Course Check Pontoon Availability