NiceGuyEddie

What I meant to say is that the Le Boat policy is that all babies, children and adults, regardless of their actual weight, count as one person towards the boat's max occupancy.

This was really helpful, thanks all. I did talk to Le Boat today and as expected the number of people they allow is the number of beds. It's not that I'm looking to take unnecessary risks or break the law or Le Boat policy. But I feel better informed having got the common sense check from experienced boaters here. Interestingly, they tell me that there's no difference between a toddler or a heavyweight when it comes to counting people, and that I can take dogs of any size, and they don't count as people either. So there's little logic or actual compliance to float testing happening here, just policy.

Thanks for the help. For clarity its on the non-tidal Thames near Reading. 3 of the people would be children.

I'm just starting my boating adventure by renting a boat on the Thames. I've rented one of these in August: https://www.leboat.co.uk/boats/caprice It sleeps 6, but along the route we're planning to meet up with possibly 6 friends. Question is ... how many people can a boat like this have onboard safely? What would happen if I had 12 on board, even if stationary? Or for short cruises? Thanks,