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Boat operators struggle with new weight rules

Posted on 09 May 2012
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Since December, companies that operate passenger boats have had to comply with a new Coast Guard rule that raises the assumed average weight of a passenger to 185 pounds, up a whopping 45 pounds from the 140-pound average used since 1960.

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As a result, some operators say a reduction in passengers to meet weight capacity limits is taking a toll on revenue. Others have hired marine architects to determine how stability can be increased by adding ballast to boats or filling compartments with flotation foam.

Mark Schiller, vice president of operations for Pittsburgh Water Limo, told The Wall Street Journal he agrees that people are generally heavier today, but the rule doesn’t make sense for all passengers.

"We have Sweet Sixteen parties and you've got a bunch of 16-year-old girls. You're lucky if their average is 100 pounds," he says.

Click here for the full report.

Comments
3 Wednesday, 09 May 2012 18:41
By enginecom
For too long operators have ignored the girth of their passengers. The boat that caused this was a launch on a NY lake which hit a wake and flipped. It was a poorly designed boat with insufficient ballast, its passengers in non fixed seats. That hull was notorious for instability in certain applications. It was a factory 40' hull that was modified by the launch company to an extent that made it unstable in that situation. It became their undoing when people got killed. Weighing passengers would work if they didn't shift in a sea or all gather at the rail. Operators should be buying boats that exceed stability for their operating environment. A derate has been long overdue.
2 Wednesday, 09 May 2012 15:23
By SightCRboats
Everyone in the commercial pasenger vessel business has been aware of these changes coming for years. The new rulings not only made passengers heavier they made them taller, so to speak.
The old regs assumed the passengers were seated so the COG (center of gravity) was at 30" off the deck. Now they have raised the COG to 39" off a deck assuming they are standing. They have also introduced rail crowding criteria which also is new and can cause reduced passenger loads.
Every boat has a max gross passenger weight it can carry. The operator has the choice & option to weight his passengers so as not to exceed his max gross pasenger weight. So the operator here needs to concider havinmg therm step on a scale....Yea it's not an easy thing to get woman to do that in public.....
Also this number is not in the CFR's but is derived from the CDC annually published number. When it moves 10 LBS that will then be applied to all passenger vessels. This years CDC average weight of an American is 190 - only 5 LBs to go....
I do concure this number seems high when you average every man, woman, & children from infants on up.....
1 Wednesday, 09 May 2012 15:22
By vissionquest
I can imagine the launch operator trying to weigh teenage girls at the dock will be a great success.

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