BOAT TYPES AND CAPACITY

(July 2024)

This article provides some basic information about a variety of types of boats that are commonly used for personal and recreational use.

Related Article: Glossary of Basic Nautical Terms

Boat Type	Description/Use	Min. – Max. Length	Tow by Trailer?	Engine Type(s)	*Passenger Capacity:
All-Purpose Fishing Boats	Designed for freshwater and salt-water fishing and used for capturing many species, including bass. Their design is different than bass boats as they are often used to navigate rougher waters.	15 – 20 feet	Yes	Outboard Engine	Up to 6
Aluminum Fishing Boats	Lightweight, durable boats with simple design (riveted or welded hulls, bench seating). Typically used for freshwater fishing. Navigable in tough to reach places such as shallow waters, coves, and small inlets.	8 – 24 feet	Yes	Outboard Engine	Up to 8
Bass Boats	Built for fishing bass. Their design is made for operating in areas where bass proliferate. Their profile is low and sleek, capable of high-speed operation.	6 - 26 feet	Yes	Outboard or Jet Engine	Up to 5 People
Bowriders	Used for family recreation with extra seats and forward access to the bow. Used for relaxation, sunning.	16 – 28 feet	Yes	Outboard, Stern Drive or Jet Engine	Up to 9 People
Catamarans	Multi-hulled vessels with spacious main cabins and large sunning decks. Well-suited for long-range cruising.	6 – 30 feet	Yes	Outboard or Stern Drive Engine	Up to 8 People
Center Console	Generally equipped with rod holders and outriggers, these are open fishing boats designed for ocean-fishing in rough waters.	18 – 28 feet	Yes	Outboard Engine	Up to 7 People
Closed Bow Runabouts	These are perfect for sports activities as they are minimally crewed, sleek, and very fast. Built for towing skiers, gliders, etc.	16 – 28 feet	Yes	Outboard or Stern Drive Engine	Up to 8 People
Cuddy Cabins	Designed for a variety of uses, particularly well-suited for day and night cruises, even overnight use. Often used with waterskiing, tubing, and wakeboarding.	18 – 28 feet	Yes	Outboard or Stern Drive Engine	Up to 8 People
Deck Boats	Craft with wide decks and powerful engines, capable of carrying a lot of passengers. They are also suited for waterskiing, tubing, and wakeboarding.	18 – 28 feet	Yes	Stern Drive of Jet Engine	Up to 14 People
Dinghies	Very small crafts that are easily transported atop a vehicle or on another boat. Suited for use off beaches or harbors.	5 - 12 feet	Yes	Manual (rowing) or Outboard Engine	Up to 5 People
Electric Boats	Electric boats are popularly used boats designed for light cruising on smaller lakes, small fishing, and pontoon boats.	8 – 24 feet	Yes	Electric Motor	Up to 10 People
Fish and Ski	Designed to handle popular activities of fishing and water skiing. Powerful for towing, yet small enough to navigate to fishing spots.	15 – 22 feet	Yes	Outboard or Jet Engine	Up to 5 People
Flat Boats	Well suited for operating along coasts for fishing sea trout and redfish. Capable of operating in less than two feet of water. Low passenger capacity.	17 – 25 feet	Yes	Outboard Engine	Up to 3 People
Heavy Welded Boats	Due to high durability, such boats are used as substitutes for light cruisers, fishing boats, runabouts These lighter boats are fuel-savers as they can be operated with smaller engines.	16 – 24 feet	Yes	All types	Up to 10 People
Houseboats	Designed to provide floating residences, with large living areas to allow for entertaining, dining and sleeping.	25 – 100 feet	No	Outboard, Inboard or Stern Drive Engine	Depends upon size and design
Inboard Cruisers	Longer boats that are easy to operate. Suitable for saltwater operation. They have desirable sleeping, cooking, and plumbing facilities.	26 – 75 feet	No	Inboard Engine	Depends upon size and design
Inboard Ski Boats	Designed for high acceleration for lifting skiers into position and for rapid turns (skier recovery). Popular for other watersports, including racing.	16 – 28 feet	Yes	Inboard Engine	Up to 8 People
Inboard Wakeboard Boats	These are powerful boat with deep wide hulls designed to create “wakes” for use by wakeboarders. They are like bowriders with open, comfortable seating design.	16 – 28 feet	Yes	Inboard Engine	Up to 12 People
Inflatable Boats	Inflatable boats may appear as dinghies or as long, high performance boats. Used in fishing (fresh or saltwater) as well as for watersports.	8 – 30 feet	Yes	Outboard, Stern Drive or Jet Engine	Up to 6 People
Jet Boats	Like runabouts, but with totally enclosed engines. They have large decks and comfortable seating and are fast. Useful for sunning and watersport activities.	14 – 25 feet	Yes	Jet Engine	Up to 10 People
Jon Boats	A versatile, smaller boat designed for camping, freshwater fishing, and hunting. They are often customized by rigging with driver consoles and trolling motors.	8 – 20 feet	Yes	Manually or via Outboard Engine	Up to 5 People
Motor yachts	Large vessels, designed for navigating ocean waters, large rivers, or lakes. They are popularly used for dockside entertaining too. Often equipped with two engines and a separate generator to provide electricity for living accommodations.	26 – 100 feet	No	Inboard or Stern Drive Engine	Depends upon size and design
Multi-Hull Cruisers	See above - catamarans
Multi-Hull Power Boats	These boats are typically used by anglers for serious fishing, but they are also used recreationally and for cruising. They are often used as substitutes for center console boats.	16 – 30 feet	Yes	Outboard or Stern Drive Engine	Up to 8 People
Performance Boats	Refers to very sleek, very fast, precise-handling vessels. May be operated on either inland or ocean waters.	19 – 50 feet	Yes	Outboard, Inboard, Stern Drive or Jet Engine	Up to 8 People
Pontoon Boats	These are very popular with boaters consisting of young families as they have wide deck areas that are like child playpens, including side rails and gates.	16 – 30 feet	Yes	Outboard or Stern Drive Engine	Up to 15 People
Sailboats	Sailboats are their own classification of boats that have a wide variety of sizes, hulls, sail configurations and designs. Common classifications are sloops, catboats, ketches, and schooners. The only thing they have in common is that they all move via wind power. They are used for many activities, including casual cruising, sunning, onboard entertaining and fishing.	7 – 70 feet	Yes	Wind	Up to 14 People
Sedan Bridge	A yacht sized vessel, with generous deck space and swim platforms. Desired for their living accommodations. They contain electrical generators and luxury amenities such as complete plumbing and air-conditioning.	26 – 70 feet	No	Inboard or Stern Drive Engine	Up to 8 People
Sportfishing Boats	Well-suited for large-specie fishing trips. They are self-sufficient with galleys (kitchens), plumbing and sleeping areas.	26 – 100 feet	No	Outboard, Inboard or Stern Drive Engine	Depends upon size and design
Stern Drive Cruisers	Fully equipped with amenities for cooking and sleeping. They also have a complete plumbing system. Well-suited for cruising, freshwater fishing, watersports, and other recreation.	20 – 40 feet	Yes	Stern Drive Engine	Up to 10 People
Trawlers	Designed for travel and use on large bodies of water (lakes, rivers oceans) except not capable of navigating rough waters. Include plumbing, galleys, and sleep areas.	26 – 50 feet	No	Inboard Engine	Depends upon size and design
Walkaround	Well-suited for family fishing (particularly salmon and ocean species). Typically used in coastal waters. They usually are equipped with live wells, rod holders and stairs to allow easy movement around the boat.	18 – 28 feet	Yes	Outboard Engine	Up to 10 People

* Boat/Passenger Capacity

Boat capacity is a critical issue. Traditionally capacity ratings were based on the assumption of the average person weighing 150 pounds. In 2011 the USCG changed to 185 pounds because Americans have become significantly heavier. Injuries and fatalities from boating are a serious risk because of swamping (water enters a boat) and capsizing (when a boat is turned upside-down). Therefore, it is important to pay attention to being sure that your craft can safely handle a load, so serious considerations must be made for all the following:

· Passenger numbers and weight

· Cargo brought onto the craft

· Amount of onboard equipment

· Outboard motor weight

· Load distribution

An excellent source for determining capacity is found on most boats: the manufacturer’s rating plate. It provides critical information, including maximum load capacity. Often the information is broken down into a maximum number of passengers and cargo. The owner’s manual also provides details on capacity.

We mentioned a formula that could be used for determining capacity:

1. Multiply the craft’s length by its width

2. Divide the result from step 1 by 18

3. The result of step 2 is the maximum passengers

However, as mentioned, the formula is based on an outdated average weight per person. It would be safer to use the formula to determine total weight capacity.

4. Multiply the maximum number of passengers by 185.

5. The result of step 4 is the total weight capacity.

Of course, the further you remain under any calculated or listed capacity, the safer.