NAVY 7.60 at anchor on the right, beach with parasols and a granite mountain behind

Guide — Choosing · the plate, model by model

How many people
can a RIB carry

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Builder's plate · owner's manual · art. 34 of the Italian Boating Code · updated 25 September 2026

A RIB carries at most the number of people written on the builder's plate and in the owner's manual: for a CE-marked natante, the Italian craft category with a hull of up to 10 metres, this is laid down by art. 34, paragraph 3, of the Italian Recreational Boating Code. In the NAVY range it goes from 6 people on the NAVY 4.80 to 15 on the NAVY 7.60 and on the NAVY 9.50 Cabin.

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See the range, size by size

PLATE 02

The short answer

How many people
can a NAVY carry?

The maximum number of people a RIB can carry is not worked out by eye, nor is it derived from the length: the builder sets it for that design and writes it on the plate fixed to the boat and in the owner's manual. For the NAVY RIBs the technical data sheets give 6 people on the NAVY 4.80, 9 on the NAVY 5.50, 10 on the NAVY 6.00, 15 on the NAVY 7.60 and 15 on the NAVY 9.50 Cabinato. For the NAVY 6.60 the data sheet is being updated: we will give you the figure on request.

The number does not grow in step with the length. The NAVY 9.50 Cabinato, 9.80 metres overall, carries the same number of people as the NAVY 7.60, which measures 7.60: the number of people is the one recommended by the manufacturer for which the boat was designed, within its design category, and length alone does not decide it. That is why, in the end, the figure that counts is always the one stamped on the plate of your own boat.

Maximum number of people on the NAVY RIBs according to the technical data sheets, with length overall, beam and design category
Model	Length overall	Beam	People	Design category
NAVY 4.80	4.80 m	1.82 m	6 people	C
NAVY 5.50	5.50 m	2.35 m	9 people	C
NAVY 6.00	6.00 m	2.50 m	10 people	C
NAVY 6.60	on requestdata sheet being updated	on request	on request	on request
NAVY 7.60	7.60 m	2.89 m	15 people	C
NAVY 9.50 Cabinato	9.80 m	3.20 m	15 people	B

Figures from the Naviglia Yachts technical data sheets · for each boat, the builder's plate is what counts, together with the owner's manual · updated 25 September 2026

NAVY 7.60 cockpit seen from the water: console, quilted tan seats and roll bar with bimini — **FIG. 01 —** From the water, your eye goes straight into the cockpit: the seat facing the console and the tan stern sofa, both diamond-quilted, the smoked windscreen, the roll bar with its bimini furled. Behind it, the cowling of the Honda shows. On the NAVY 7.60 the technical data sheet gives up to 15 people.

Naviglia vision: the white NAVY 7.60 at anchor seen from above on turquoise water, with bow sunpad, centre console, tan stern sofa and teak-look deck

PLATE 03 — The builder's plate · Naviglia vision

Five items,
a single number

First item: who built it

NAME OR TRADE MARK · MANUFACTURER'S CONTACT ADDRESS

Every CE-marked recreational craft has a permanently fixed plate, separate from the hull identification number. The first piece of information is who answers for the boat: the name or trade mark of the manufacturer, with its contact address.

Second item: the CE marking

DIRECTIVE 2013/53/EU · ANNEX I, PART A, POINT 2.2

It is the marking required by the European directive on recreational craft. For a natante that carries it, Italian law documents the maximum number of people through the plate and the owner's manual: this is set out in art. 34 of the Recreational Boating Code.

Third item: the design category

A · B · C · D — THE WIND AND WAVES OF THE DESIGN

The letter tells you what sea the boat is designed for. The NAVY 4.80, the NAVY 5.50, the NAVY 6.00 and the NAVY 7.60 are declared in the catalogue as category C: wind up to force 6 and significant wave height up to 2 metres. The NAVY 9.50 Cabinato is category B.

Fourth item: the maximum load

RECOMMENDED BY THE MANUFACTURER · EXCLUDING THE CONTENTS OF THE FIXED TANKS WHEN FULL

Next to the people, the plate carries a second figure: the manufacturer's maximum recommended load, excluding the weight of the contents of the fixed tanks when full. They are two different limits, and they are always read together.

Fifth item: the number of people

6 ON THE NAVY 4.80 · 9 ON THE NAVY 5.50 · 15 ON THE NAVY 7.60

The last item, letter e, is the one you are looking for: the number of persons recommended by the manufacturer for which the boat was designed. Under Italian law, for a CE-marked natante it is the maximum number that may be carried on board.

See the six NAVY RIBs

PLATE 04

The rule · art. 34 of the Italian Boating Code

The right number
is in the paperwork

The Italian Recreational Boating Code (Legislative Decree 171 of 18 July 2005) devotes a whole article, number 34, to the maximum number of people that may be carried. For CE-marked natanti the number is documented by the builder's plate and the owner's manual (paragraph 3, letter a). For natanti without CE marking you look, if they are type-approved, at the copy of the type-approval certificate and the builder's declaration of conformity; if they are not type-approved, the implementing regulation of the Code applies (letter b).

For registered craft, the imbarcazioni and navi da diporto, the number is entered on the navigation licence by the authority that issues it, on the basis of the technical documentation (paragraph 1). If a boat has more than one design category, the maximum number is the one set by the builder for the category that matches the navigation actually under way (paragraph 2).

What a natante is, art. 3 of the Code explains: a craft with a hull length of 10 metres or less, measured according to the UNI EN ISO 8666 standard, which is not the same as the commercial length overall. The largest size in the NAVY range, the NAVY 9.50 Cabinato, is 9.80 metres long even overall.

NAVY 7.60 moored in harbour: quilted tan seats, roll bar with bimini, lettering on the tube — **FIG. 02 —** Still harbour water, green and clear, with the reflection of the hull barely moving. The 7.60 is moored bow-to: console, tan seats, roll bar with bimini and white outboard. Behind, red roofs and a cloudless sky.

Plate and manual
go together

The plate is the first thing to look at, but not the only one. Directive 2013/53/EU requires every recreational craft to come with an owner's manual containing all the information needed to use it safely: setting it up, maintenance, regular operation, and the prevention and management of risks (Annex I, Part A, point 2.5). That is where the number of people and the maximum load find their explanation, together with the category.

We will send you the technical data sheet of any NAVY on request, and the figures from the technical data sheets are the ones you read on this page. Before you load up friends and family, though, the reference remains one and one only: the plate on the boat in front of you.

Natanti and the licence: the guide

PLATE 05 — People and the sea · the design category

The same number,
for that sea

A · B · C · D · directive 2013/53/EU, Annex I

The number of people on a RIB always applies within its design category. Directive 2013/53/EU sets out four, and each one states the wind and the waves the boat is designed for. Category A goes beyond force 8 and beyond 4 metres of significant wave height; category B up to force 8 and up to 4 metres; category C up to force 6 and up to 2 metres; category D up to force 4 and up to 0.3 metres, with occasional waves of up to 0.5 metres.

The NAVY 4.80, the NAVY 5.50, the NAVY 6.00 and the NAVY 7.60 are declared in the catalogue as category C: wind up to and including force 6, significant wave height up to and including 2 metres. The NAVY 9.50 Cabinato is category B, up to force 8 and 4 metres of waves. For the NAVY 6.60 we will give you the category on request, with the technical data sheet.

The category does not widen the boundaries set by Italian law: a CE-marked natante navigates within the limits of its category and in any case no further than 12 nautical miles from the coast (art. 27, paragraph 4, of the Recreational Boating Code). On the plate of a natante the number of people sits next to its category, and it applies to that category.

The 9.50 cabin RIB, in category B

NAVY 7.60 lying at anchor in a bay with two sailing boats and a green hillside — **FIG. 03 —** A wide view of the bay: the masts of two sailing yachts cut across the hill, and the 7.60 lies lower down on the right, with the stern ladder and the Honda 250 in sight. Not a cloud in the sky.

PLATE 06 — The numbers of people, only the certain ones

6
people at most
on the smallest RIB
NAVY 4.80, technical data sheet.
15
people at most,
the highest number in the range
NAVY 7.60 and NAVY 9.50 Cabin, technical data sheets.
12
people at most
when the natante is on charter
Art. 27, paragraph 7, Italian Boating Code.
5
minimum items of information
on the builder's plate
Directive 2013/53/EU, Annex I, point 2.2.

White tube of the NAVY 7.60 with grey NAVY 7.60 lettering and double rubbing strake — **FIG. 04 —** A long, low strip: the white tube, the two-tone grey rubbing strake and the NAVY 7.60 lettering towards the stern. The low light brings out the volume of the tube.

«Because the sea makes no allowances, and neither do we.»

— Naviglia Yachts

What changes on board

Size
by size

From the data sheet to the deck: what changes as you move up in size, with the standard equipment of each NAVY. The people are those of the technical data sheets; the maximum load is on the plate of each boat.

NAVY 4.80

The smallest,
for 6 people

The NAVY 4.80 is 4.80 metres long and 1.82 wide, with tubes 48 centimetres in diameter, and its technical data sheet gives up to 6 people. As standard it has the centre console with full instrumentation, the steel roll bar with the navigation lights, the folding stern ladder and full upholstery, on a deck in EVA synthetic teak, stain-resistant and non-slip. The fuel tank holds 60 litres. It is one of the sizes on which you fit the 40 hp outboard to go without a licence within 6 miles in Italy, within the legal limits of 30 kW, that is 40.8 hp, and of cylinder capacity.

Naviglia vision: the white NAVY 6.00 seen from above at anchor on turquoise water, with grey sunpad and teak-look deck — **FIG. 06** — Naviglia vision: the NAVY 6.00 at anchor, seen from above. Up to 10 people according to the technical data sheet.

NAVY 5.50 and NAVY 6.00

From 9
to 10 people

The NAVY 5.50 measures 5.50 by 2.35 metres and carries up to 9 people; the NAVY 6.00, 6.00 by 2.50 metres, goes up to 10. Both come as standard with the rear seat with cushion and steel backrest, the reinforced anchor locker, the automatic bilge pump and the 135-litre fuel tank. Between the two sizes there are 15 centimetres of beam and one more person on board. Here too you can fit the 40 hp, within the legal limits for those without a licence: with the 40 hp we recommend going no larger than the 6 metre.

NAVY 7.60

The step up:
15 people

The NAVY 7.60 is the size where the range changes pace: 7.60 by 2.89 metres, up to 15 people according to the technical data sheet. As standard it has the centre console with full instrumentation, the helm seat with grab rail and retractable table, the fibreglass roll bar with the navigation lights, the swim platforms with the folding ladder and the 280-litre fuel tank. A word of warning for anyone thinking of work: if the RIB is chartered out, under Italian law no more than 12 people may be carried on board, even if the plate allows more.

NAVY 9.50 Cabin

The largest,
up to 15 people

The NAVY 9.50 Cabin, 9.80 by 3.20 metres, is the longest in the range and carries up to 15 people: the same as the NAVY 7.60, which is more than two metres shorter. The builder sets the number on the design, not the length. It is design category B, with an interior cabin with berths and a separate heads, a shower on board and a 150-litre fresh-water tank: it is the size for those who also want to spend the night on board.

The cabin RIB

PLATE 08

The rules that count heads

A lifejacket
for everyone

The number of people on board is not only a matter for the plate. In Italy, art. 54, paragraph 1, of Ministerial Decree 146/2008 requires the individual and collective life-saving appliances to be enough for the number of people on board, crew included, and those listed in Annex V to be kept on board «in relation to the navigation actually undertaken». What counts is where you are going that day, not only the category of the hull. The Annex V now in force is the one replaced by Ministerial Decree 133 of 17 September 2024, and it has applied since 21 October 2024.

Within 6 miles. Lifejackets of at least category 100 for everyone on board, as within 3 miles, within 1 mile and in inland waters. The lifebuoy with its line is required within 6 and within 3 miles, as it is within 12 miles and in inland waters.
Within 12 miles. Lifejackets of at least category 150 for everyone on board, with an automatically activated light, and the coastal liferaft, also for everyone on board.
The liferaft on RIBs. Inflatable craft, rigid-hull ones included, that are CE-marked, in category A, B or C and compliant with UNI EN ISO 6185 parts 3 and 4 are exempt within 12 miles from the self-inflating liferaft under the conditions of art. 54, paragraph 2-bis, of Ministerial Decree 146/2008, among them a survival kit on board. Whether your boat qualifies is stated in its declaration of conformity, not in the certificate for the tube fabric.
Charter. Anyone using a natante for charter must hold a boat licence, may not carry more people than the craft is authorised to carry and, in any case, no more than 12 (art. 27, paragraph 7, of the Italian Recreational Boating Code).
Insurance in commercial use. For recreational craft used for commercial purposes, the insurance must also cover injury suffered by the person at the helm and by the people carried (art. 41, paragraph 3-bis, of the Italian Recreational Boating Code).
The 12-mile limit. A CE-marked natante does not go beyond 12 miles from the coast, whatever its category (art. 27, paragraph 4). The safety equipment is chosen within this perimeter, person by person.

Bow lockers of the NAVY 7.60 open: two compartments under the sundeck, lids raised — **FIG. 09 —** With the cushions off, the bow shows its two twin lockers with the lids raised. Further forward, the cushion over the anchor locker and the inspection hatch; below, the teak-look deck.

Count first,
then embark

The right count is done ashore, before you cast off: how many people are coming aboard, how many lifejackets of the right category are on board, where you are heading. If the number of guests is higher than the one on the plate, the answer is not to squeeze in: it is to make two trips or to choose a larger size.

Anyone who works with the boat has a separate sum to do. A RIB on charter carries no more than 12 people even if its plate allows 15, and whoever skippers it must hold a boat licence. For businesses that hire out boats bareboat, within 6 miles and with an engine within the legal limits the natante can still be helmed without a boat licence, and whoever hires it out must hand over the essential handling instructions in writing (art. 27, paragraph 8). We can also make the quote out to your company.

The licence-free NAVY RIBs Request a quote

PLATE 09

The sources

The rules,
in their own words

Every rule in this guide comes from a published text: the Italian Recreational Boating Code, the European directive on recreational craft, and the implementing regulation with its Annex V. Below you will find the links to the official texts, article by article, so that you can read them for yourselves; the Italian laws are published in Italian in the Gazzetta Ufficiale.

NAVY 7.60 at anchor, stern three-quarter view, white Honda 250 and scrub-covered hills behind — **FIG. 10 —** Full late-afternoon light: the 7.60 fills the bottom right-hand corner, with the Honda 250 and the NAVY 7.60 lettering easy to read. Behind, a hill of scrub and pale rock and two sailing yachts at anchor. The water is cobalt blue, barely rippled.

Guide written by Naviglia Yachts, a brand of Michelessi Corporation Srl · updated 25 September 2026 · people from the technical data sheets: for each boat, the builder's plate is what counts

Questions about seats on board

People,
in eight answers

The questions about seats on board, each with its answer and its source. One at a time: open one and the other closes.

How many people can a 5 metre RIB carry?

A RIB of around 5 metres carries the number of people written on its CE builder's plate, which varies from one design to another. In the NAVY range the NAVY 4.80, 4.80 metres long, carries up to 6 people, and the NAVY 5.50, 5.50 metres long, up to 9, according to the technical data sheets. Under Italian law, for a CE-marked natante the number that counts is the one on the builder's plate and in the owner's manual.

How many people can a 6 metre RIB carry?

The NAVY 6.00, the 6.00 by 2.50 metre NAVY, carries up to 10 people according to its technical data sheet and is designed for category C: wind up to force 6, significant wave height up to 2 metres. In Italy, with the 40 hp outboard, within the legal limits of 30 kW (40.8 hp) and of cylinder capacity, it can be driven without a licence within 6 miles. The binding number remains the one on the boat's own plate.

How many people can a 7 or 8 metre RIB carry?

In the NAVY range the NAVY 7.60, 7.60 metres long, carries up to 15 people according to its data sheet; the NAVY 9.50 Cabin, 9.80 metres overall, also reaches 15. They are the two sizes with the most seats in the range. If the RIB is chartered in Italy, however, art. 27, paragraph 7, of the Recreational Boating Code allows no more than 12 people aboard, whatever the plate says.

How many people can the NAVY 9.50 Cabinato carry?

The NAVY 9.50 Cabinato carries up to 15 people. It is a cabin RIB 9.80 metres overall and 3.20 metres in beam, in design category B, meaning it is designed for wind up to force 8 and significant wave height up to 4 metres, with an interior cabin with berths and a separate heads. It carries the same number of people as the NAVY 7.60, which is 7.60 metres long: the builder sets the number on the design, not on the length.

Where do you find the maximum number of people for a RIB?

The maximum number of people for a CE-marked RIB is found on the builder's plate, permanently fixed to the boat, and in the owner's manual: in Italy this is laid down by art. 34, paragraph 3, of the Recreational Boating Code. The plate also shows the builder, the CE marking, the design category and the manufacturer's maximum recommended load, excluding the contents of the fixed tanks when full.

How many people can you carry on a RIB on charter?

On a RIB used for charter in Italy you can carry at most 12 people, and never more than the craft is authorised to carry: this is laid down by art. 27, paragraph 7, of the Italian Recreational Boating Code for natanti used for commercial purposes. Whoever skippers a natante on charter must hold a boat licence, even with an engine below 30 kW.

How many lifejackets do you need on a RIB?

Under Italian rules a RIB needs lifejackets for everyone on board, crew included (art. 54, paragraph 1, of Ministerial Decree 146/2008). The category depends on the distance from the coast: at least 100 within 6 miles, within 3 miles, within 1 mile and in inland waters; at least 150, with an automatically activated light, within 12 miles. This is the table in Annex V, in force since 21 October 2024.

Does the design category change the number of people?

For a CE-marked natante the number of people is the one on the plate, written next to its design category. For imbarcazioni with more than one category, on the other hand, Italian law sets the maximum as the number the builder provides for the category that matches the navigation actually undertaken (art. 34, paragraph 2, of the Recreational Boating Code). A CE-marked natante, in any case, does not go beyond 12 miles from the coast.

All the questions

PLATE 11

The guides
that follow on

After the people come the engine that carries them, the cabin for those who want to sleep on board and the full bill. The pages below answer in the same way: with the real numbers and the source alongside.

All the guides The NAVY range

NAVY 7.60 at sunset seen from astern, lettering on the tube under a wide blue sky

PLATE 12 — In person

Count the seats,
then come and try them

The plate tells you how many can come aboard; the sea tells you how it feels. Step aboard a NAVY, sit where your guests will sit and try it on the water: that is how you choose the right size. How many people do you usually take on board?

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Naviglia Yachts — Aprilia (LT), Italy · 380 173 0961

How many people
can a RIB carry

How many people
can a NAVY carry?

Five items,
a single number