[ApS]

A better argument (than passengers + skipper) could be made based on the Coast Guard's fairly recent change in the rating of capacity:

The U.S. Coast Guard feels the U.S. people have gotten fatter over time,” said Capt. Ed Sparrow, owner of a Miami-based charter yacht called Holiday of Magic. Its legal capacity has shrunk from 49 to 35 passengers.

On Dec. 1 of this year, an amended federal rule took effect that recalibrated the average weight of a passenger at 185, a 25-pound jump.

TWIN TRAGEDIES

The revamped weight standard applies to all passengers, regardless of gender, and was based on a 2004 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found the average male, 20-75 years of age, weighs in at 191 pounds, up from 166 pounds in 1960. For women, the tally went from 140 to 164.

The call for change stemmed from two boating tragedies. In March 2004, a pontoon water taxi called Lady D overturned in Baltimore Harbor with 25 aboard. Five people died; four were severely injured.

In October 2005, a monachal called Ethan Allen sunk in 70 feet of water on Lake George in New York while carrying 49 passengers. Twenty elderly people died.

In both cases, the vessels were carrying the proper number of passengers but an excess amount of weight. Those accidents shined a spotlight on the antiquated assumed weight, which was a puny 140 pounds for boats that cruised solely on “protected waters” such as rivers and lakes.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/ne...y-sinks/nL2NG/

Blame McDonald's...