Boaters feeling pinch

[TravisFling]

We have a gas station right at the enterance to our lake, so I always fill up there and it's 3.89 right now. Makes it nice. The marina is at 4.89 though. It's been pretty crazy this year with the gas, but I notice a LOT more people chilling in the swimming cove and not nearly as many on the water just tearing around burning fuel, which is great... I've always been a fan of "if you wanna cruise around, idle by the shore" as it keeps the waves down for people gettin' down... Anyways, it's been pretty decent water this year, but still some yahoos tearing it up for no particular reason...

[DanielC]

So far this season, people I have been taking out in my boat are aware of gas prices, and they have chipped in more than enough to pay for the gas the boat is using, plus a little extra to tow the boat to the launch.
We have had a cool season start here in Western Oregon, and so the traffic on the river is down.
After hearing, and seeing pictures of the Midwest flooding, I am not complaining about cool weather here. My heart goes out to those who cannot even go out right now, because of flooding, or high water levels, and have no wake zones until further notice.
Are the lakes in the Southeast starting to fill?

[skiswm]

Where I store my boat their #'s have gone up, because people want to have their boats closer to the lake instead of towing 2-3 hrs. They were also told that many of the marinas on the lake (Tahoe) had increased their fees too. Personally, I have gone to taking my 5 gallon cans and filling up with cheaper gas in Reno/Bay Area and then filling up the boat. I would imagine it's really cut into the cost of the larger boats when it's $200-$300 to fill up that really custs into your weekend of fun.

[Nautiqueman]

Water levels in Alabama are great now!

Gas is running about $4.80 on the water. I asked what the largest ticket had been recently and it was $750!
So my, $280 fillup for the SKI and the 220 is not bad by comparison, especially when you count how many folks are having fun on my boats.

[Fast351]

It's interesting, I hear people piss and moan about the price of gas to fill their cars, but I have never heard anything but "the price is the price, this is my fun money" from people filling boats.

Sure, I'd love it if gas was $1.25/gallon again, but even at $5/gallon, I'll find other places to shave off dollars. Boating, dollar for dollar, is still cheaper than many other fun activities.

[Familyman]

Just returned from Lake Shasta, CA.. Gas was $5.69 on the water (about $1 more than on land). Limited land gas stations nearby. Still cheaper than a movie with the family....