Thread: Glad they are safe, but guys with 14 ft boats NEED TO BE CAREFUL!

It sounds like an over-loaded boat was as much at fault. They were lucky they were on the Blood River arm where there is cell signal. Lots of areas, even some on the west side, are without much, if any cell signal. I'm glad there was a happy ending. Many times in the winter on KY and Barkley Lakes, the ending is not happy.

Very lucky folks, glad it came out good. Thanks for the post.

Glad that everyone is safe.

Originally Posted by M R Dux

It sounds like an over-loaded boat was as much at fault.

Definitely, and for a 14 ft boat it doesn't take much at all to overload it - two guys with the engine, trolling motor, and a battery are pretty close to maxing out the weight capacity alone


Weight capacity examples:

Waco Jon 1432 Series 14 Foot: weighs 104 pounds with 430 pounds of carrying capacity


Lowe L1436: weighs 185 pounds with 675 pounds of carrying capacity


Tracker Topper 1436: weighs 162 pounds with 580 pounds of carrying capacity


Smoker Craft 1436: weighs 182 pounds with 720 pounds of carrying capacity


G3 Boats 14 Foot (average of 14 foot models): weighs 190 pounds with 685 pounds of carrying capacity


Lost Creek 14 Foot: weighs 145 pounds with 552 pounds of carrying capacity

Yep, had a bad experience on Weiss Lake one spring with my son, 12 years old in a 12ft V-bottom, 9.9HP engine. We saw some clouds building about 3 miles from our ramp. Headed back, saw a funnel cloud coming down the lake as we were about 1 mile from landing. I drove the small boat up on the nearest bank(completely out of the water full throttle), the home owner on the lot rushed to me and said to come to his house cellar, a tornado warning was out. Long story short, we did ok. Waited out the storm with the home owner, and was able to get back to our ramp later in our small boat. ON this day, I decided to get a Bigger boat. But, ON that day in the middle of the storm, 3 top of the line Bass boats in my area(you know which ones) got swamped and the passengers had to be rescued because they tried to tackle 5 ft waves in shallow water to beat the storm. So the size of the boat doesn't fix stupid during a major storm in my mind(get off the lake ASAP). I saw one 'Stuck' in a shallow area on my way back full of water with no one in it. I did check, the guys were at my camp and got back safely, don't know what they did with their $30000 boat stuck in the lake full of water.

Originally Posted by perchjerker108

Yep, had a bad experience on Weiss Lake one spring with my son, 12 years old in a 12ft V-bottom, 9.9HP engine. We saw some clouds building about 3 miles from our ramp. Headed back, saw a funnel cloud coming down the lake as we were about 1 mile from landing. I drove the small boat up on the nearest bank(completely out of the water full throttle), the home owner on the lot rushed to me and said to come to his house cellar, a tornado warning was out. Long story short, we did ok. Waited out the storm with the home owner, and was able to get back to our ramp later in our small boat. ON this day, I decided to get a Bigger boat. But, ON that day in the middle of the storm, 3 top of the line Bass boats in my area(you know which ones) got swamped and the passengers had to be rescued because they tried to tackle 5 ft waves in shallow water to beat the storm. So the size of the boat doesn't fix stupid during a major storm in my mind(get off the lake ASAP). I saw one 'Stuck' in a shallow area on my way back full of water with no one in it. I did check, the guys were at my camp and got back safely, don't know what they did with their $30000 boat stuck in the lake full of water.

I totally get what you are saying, but that's a bit of a different conversation, I'm talking about overloading here. That 12 ft V-bottom was probably only rated for about 500 lbs of motor, persons, and gear. I know on a lot of V-bottoms, guys add wood and decking to make a flat floor....that's weight that needs to be accounted for in the allowed 500 lbs.

An overloaded boat is a hazard regardless of weather; weather greatly amplifies/elevates the risk even more. We had 4 teenagers and a dog in a 14 ft boat in the middle of winter duck hunting a few years ago, it capsized in the middle of the lake after taking a small wave over the side and only 1 survived. It's critical to always be mindful of your load. Those weight limit plaques are required on each and every boat for a good reason.

Art, again, you are correct. My little 12ft had a 500lb limit, two people limit. It did have floatation under the two benches which may have helped it not sink if capsized. I agree, Everyone needs to do the calculations before they head out in a small boat AND everyone should have a life jacket.