I bought a boat (custom built aluminum) with a motor and clear title on both out of Louisana. After getting the boat home there is no coast guard rating plate.

What does this mean for me??? I live in Texas....

Any help or suggestions appreciated....

Thanks,

John

You should contact the manufacturer or the USCG if they are not in business or of no help. Some states require capacity information and others do not. The USCG applies differently for commercial and home built applications. We are not able to make an opinion on the differences, though you can visit the USCG web site. It is very informative and a bit hard to understand in some areas. The answer may be there for you.

Call texas parks and wildlife and schedule a home made boat inspection by the game warden. They will not put a uscg rating on the boat, but you should not have any problems. You may not even have an issue if you have the clear titles.

I would not worry about it in Tx. I have never had a GW even look at it. If the boat looked like it was overloaded then you might have one look for it. OK used to a law where you could not exceed the HP rating and I heard at one time they looked at cap plates.

We would worry about capacity in any state. It is a requirement.

I have a question about this as well. My dad and I went fishing with a guide up in Minnesota one time. He had a Ranger about 19' long with a 75 HP Mercury tiller on it. I noticed the plate and the boat was rated for up to a 85 HP motor. Would it hurt to put a 90 HP on it and why do tillers take less HP than something with a console?

There is no Federal regulation against this, though some states prohibit that practice in their laws.

Normally the CG will check the plates. All I am saying is I have never had a GW check one. Now maybe it becomes an issue if it is not readily noticeable. Mine if bright yellow and kind of hard to miss unless you are in a boat on the port side. The only lake that I know of that has CG is Texoma.

The plate is just an advisory for you to know and for the company not to be liable if you exceed the horsepower or people aboard and some kind of accident happens. There is no state law against exceeding either hp or people.

If the boat was built by somebody in the business of building boats for sale (as opposed to a DIY'er building it for his own use), after the rating plates came into play, USCG regs require the builder to attach a plate. They don't require a buyer or subsequent owner to attach a plate, though.

All states incorporate USCG boating safety regs into their state boating laws, and most add additional regs on top of those.

But, the USCG regs do NOT make compliance with the rating plate mandatory -- they are recommendations only.

Some states (California among others), specify that non-compliance with the rating plate is a violation of state law; Texas is NOT one of those states.




The rating plates are more about the stability of the hull in high-speed turns than anything else. The USCG has a formula, 3 formulas actually, but the one for remote steering and 20" transom is length times width times 2 minus 90, rounded up to the next multiple of 5 -- a builder can put a lower rating if he wants, but to put a higher rating they have to demonstrate the ability of the boat/motor combo to complete a USCG designed course.

Tillers have a lower rating because they can have a much shorter turning radius, and can be turned suddenly (even lock to lock in the blink of an eye). Makes 'em way more dangerous.

You're fine in TX, there is no state regulation on HP rating...

HOWEVER the game warden WILL check for person capacity...

Pat is correct

The GW's have a formula that they can use to determine the boat capacity.

While standing on the walkway at A. H. I saw about a 22ft Malibu ski boat with people hanging all over it. Had to be 12-14 people on board. Then about that same time a G.W. was walking by and I asked him what about that boat and his reply was: as long as they have PFD`s for every one, their was no problem unless it was determined to be an unsafe condition. I asked what about the CG plate and he said it was a recommendation only in Texas.