Pontoon boats are great recreational activities like fishing, sailing, and puttering on the water. In many ways, they are a big floating living room.
But how much weight can a pontoon boat hold? You want to know if the boat you want to buy is the right size for your needs!
In this article, we’ll look at pontoon weight capacity, and explain how you can know how much weight your toon can reasonably hold.
Contents
How Much Weight Can a Pontoon Boat Hold?
Generally a pontoon boat will hold between 1500-3200 lbs, all-in. This will vary by size, of course, with larger boats and tritoons capable of handling more weight.
Always follow your manufacturer’s weight recommendations. This is a general guide for informational use.
Keep in mind that your overall weight calculation should include:
- The combined weight of all passengers
- The weight of all furniture, fishing gear, and pontoon accessories
- The weight of all gear, watersports tools, life vests, etc.
- Fuel weight (figure 6 lbs per gallon of fuel capacity)
- The weight of any boat accessories like bimini tops, swim ladders and platforms, jack plates, etc
Always follow your manufacturer’s weight recommendations. This is a general guide for informational use.
Dangers Of Overloading Your Boat
Let’s review the dangers of overloading your pontoon boat.
1. It May Capsize
Pontoon boats are highly stable and rarely flip over, but they may capsize if overloaded and operated inappropriately. Despite the resiliency of their designs, there is only so much weight they can take!
If it is overloaded, this risk will multiply.
2. Toons Are Vulnerable In Rough Weather
Pontoon boats are designed for calm waters, not rough ones. However, the weather may change at short notice leading to turbulence. In rough water, pontoons are at the mercy of the waves. If they are overloaded, they become even more vulnerable and may sink.
Pontoon boats that are overloaded are harder to steer. Toons are naturally a bit unwieldy to drive, but excess weight will make this even worse.
Making wide turns with an empty pontoon boat is hard, but doing so with an overloaded boat is harder.
Moreover, with such weight, you will not be able to quickly react to obstacles!
4. Accidents
An overloaded boat may lead to accidents, particularly in rough seas. An overloaded boat will be lower in the water and you may have passengers falling over in nasty water if you’re overloaded.
Reasons Why You Should Take Weight Seriously When Buying/Using A Pontoon Boat
It is important to know how much your pontoon boats weigh and their overall weight limit capacity. This is because your safety and the safety of everyone depend on this information.
If you have an accurate pontoon boat weight capacity, you will avoid the risk of overloading. You’ll also avoid the consequences of doing so!
Besides that, the weight matters because you want to safeguard your tow vehicle and other passengers on the road as well.
A truck or car may be able to pull a 4000-pound boat-trailer combo. But you want to make sure you can handle it, and that your truck will be able to pull it out of the boat launch!
Lastly, the total weight limit of man and cargo on board will impact the speed of the vessel. A lighter pontoon boat can carry less weight and move faster than overloaded ones.
If you want to ski, keep the weight down!
Calculating Pontoon Boat Total Weight
Figuring how much weight limit a pontoon boat can handle is not difficult. You just have to do a quick calculation to find out the total weight of the boat first.
Here is how to do it.
Assume that every foot of the boat weighs 100 pounds. So if you have an 8ft boat, that will translate to 800 pounds in weight.
Then add the weight of fuel. Each gallon of gas weighs about 6 lbs, so multiply your fuel tank capacity by weight.
Include the fire extinguisher onboard, lighting, structures, anchors, and any other accessories you may have. Calculate all the weight and add it to the boat’s weight limit capacity to know the overall pontoon boat weight.
To help you out, here are general boat weight classification:
- Total Pontoon boat weight. The combined weight of the boat, crew, fuel, engine, fittings and accessories, passengers, engine, outboard motor, and fuel.
- Dry Hull Weight. Weight of fuel, a boat without the engine, and non-essential accessories on board.
- Tow/Combined weight: The pontoon boat weight of the trailer and the total weight.
Conclusion
Check your manufacturer recommendations, but a pontoon boat will hold between 1500-3000 lbs. Keep your total weight under that and you’ll have a great time out on the water!
