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1990 Carver 3607 max capacity

Posted: July 9th, 2018, 1:19 pm
by RobGunn
OK, I have what may be a very stupid question but I have to ask. I have my new to me 1990 Carver 3607 aft cabin that I've owned for one year. My daughter wants to have a bachelorette part on the boat. Question is, what's the legal capacity of my boat? All other (smaller) boats that I have owned had a Max capacity label affixed somewhere on the boat that would give max weight or max number of people.

Re: 1990 Carver 3607 max capacity

Posted: July 9th, 2018, 3:05 pm
by Midnightsun
Capacity plates are only required by law for boats 20' or less. Ours are typically not designated with a capacity even though some boats over 20' have plates. Bottom line is there is no maximum persons spec. Fill her up. :-D

Re: 1990 Carver 3607 max capacity

Posted: July 9th, 2018, 3:06 pm
by km1125
I had the same exact question when I bought my 3607 about 25 years ago.

The answer really is: "It's up to the captain's discretion"!

I actually called the USCG and the local Sheriff. Once the boat is over 20', they don't have to placard them nor do they calculate a number of persons. They (USCG) will give you a formula (lengthxbeamx150/"x", but I forgot was "X" was). When I did this, I came up with something like 28 for my boat. I would never put that many folks on there.

Also consider where the weight will be. It will be likely easier to have a bunch of women rather than the same number of ~200lb guys, but also consider limiting how many are on the bridge at any one time, or on the aft deck. I would have no problem with 10 or 12 on the boat and could go as high as 16 in protected waters, but that will also be pretty "cozy".

Re: 1990 Carver 3607 max capacity

Posted: July 9th, 2018, 3:12 pm
by km1125
Also, when thinking about loading a boat and having a party, it would be a sobering thing to read about the "Long Island fireworks tragedy" that happened a year or two ago. I think it was a 34 Silverton they put 27 people on. Several on board were kids and three didn't make it. They had several of full-grown males up on the bridge and that likely contributed to the tragedy.


[edit: fixed length of boat and number of passengers and casualties]

Re: 1990 Carver 3607 max capacity

Posted: July 9th, 2018, 3:17 pm
by Midnightsun
km1125 wrote:Source of the post Also, when thinking about loading a boat and having a party, it would be a sobering thing to read about the "Long Island fireworks tragedy" that happened a year or two ago. I think it was a 31 Silverton they put 28 people on. Several on board were kids and two didn't make it. They had several of full-grown males up on the bridge and that likely contributed to the tragedy.


Agreed, several people on the upper deck of a narrow beamed flybridge all on the same side is a disaster waiting to happen.