..........we already know what will happen with the 25 ft+/twin engine boat
market.

So what do you predict will happen with the single engine 19-23 foot boat
market?

JimH wrote:
.........we already know what will happen with the 25 ft+/twin engine boat
market.

So what do you predict will happen with the single engine 19-23 foot boat
market?

People who go boating because the enjoy being out on the water won't be
impacted all that much. They will slow down to "just on plane" or even
displacement speeds and have a great time. People who can't imagine
boating with anything less than the biggest available engine
cranked up to the highest possible rpm are going to be paying, and
paying, and paying for the privilege and it may be tough to find others
willing to pay much to take over the privilege and responsibilty of a
$100 an hour (or maybe substantially more) habit.

If you want to see what high fuel prices do to recreational boating,
check out Europe.
On previous visits to Britain and Spain, I have developed an informal
impression that
1) There are a lot fewer pleasure boats per capita
2) There are a lot more sailboats than powerboats
3) Nearly all powerboats are diesels

Game plan for gas boaters is likely to be; Tune up, lighten ship, look
for the most efficient operating speeds, clean the bottom, and make
sure every excursion is so much fun that
the price of fuel will be an afterthought.

Boats in the 19-23 foot range won't suffer as badly as boats somewhat
larger. The smaller boats can be more easily trailered, and usage
patterns will shift to where boaters haul the trailer to a ramp closer
to the fishing hole, state park, etc and run the boat for shorter
distances on its own bottom.

I predict that for many boaters, priorities will shift and attributes
that were important just a few years ago (i.e. maximum available speed)
will become less important as fuel prices move inexorably upward.

JimH writes:

So what do you predict will happen with the single engine 19-23 foot
boat market?

I may be unusual, but even with fuel getting more expensive, it is still a
small fraction of the true cost of ownership.

Richard J Kinch wrote:
JimH writes:

So what do you predict will happen with the single engine 19-23 foot
boat market?

I may be unusual, but even with fuel getting more expensive, it is still a
small fraction of the true cost of ownership.

You're absoutely right.

I think the challenge for a lot of boaters is that it is a cost that is
encountered so frequently, and it's easy to compare to similar costs in
the past. If the fuel cost for a 100-gallon weekend fishing trip was
$250 last year and all of a sudden it becomes $450-$500 this year there
is an impression that the total cost of boating is going out of sight.
It isn't, of course, but the damage is done by the impression. People
who don't already have the needle in their arm (or the nozzle in the
fill neck, as the case may be) will probably be more reluctant to take
up boating as a hobby and that will have long term implications for the
entire industry and infrastructure.

It would be hard to convice me that a guy in a position to pay $2000 a
*month* for boat payment, moorage and/or tow vehicle payment,
insurance, maintenace, repairs etc is really going to be run off the
water by a couple of thousand dollar a *year* difference in the cost of
fuel. Buying a boat is a poor financial decision that we all willingly
make in order to enjoy the associated benefits. If fuel goes up, the
poor financial decision doesn't suddenly become dramatically worse than
it was to begin with.

" JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT comREMOVETHIS wrote in message
...
.........we already know what will happen with the 25 ft+/twin engine
boat
market.

What do you mean "will"? It already "DID" happen.........at least up
here.


So what do you predict will happen with the single engine 19-23 foot
boat
market?

" JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT comREMOVETHIS wrote in message
...
.........we already know what will happen with the 25 ft+/twin engine boat
market.

So what do you predict will happen with the single engine 19-23 foot boat
market?


Nothing will happen to the 19-23 foot boat market. If you spend $2000 a year
on gas, would spending $2800 make a difference?

Harry Krause wrote:


Heheh. There's just no limit to the lengths some will go to rationalize
away the raping of the American public.

"Nothing is wrong; everything is wonderful. Those WMDs are just around
the corner."

Cool it, Harry. There is no correlation between observing that even a
doubling of fuel prices
won't price most people out of boating (unless they're looking for an
excuse not to boat) and
"rationalizing the raping of the American public". Everything isn't
political all the time.

I disdain the reckless profiteering and blatant greed that is driving
fuel prices these days as much as anybody, but it's too early to sound
the death knell for boating. In case you haven't noticed, prices this
time last year were already "double" or "triple" the prices of just a
few years ago and boat sales and usage have remained healthy. Yes,
there are some changes happening as a result of fuel pricing (I'd hate
to have a big inventory of twin big block gassers intended for sale to
the "working class" right about now), but there are a lot of ways to
have a splendid time on the water that don't have to involve running
around lickety-split all the time or burning 60 gph.

Harry Krause wrote:
wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:

Heheh. There's just no limit to the lengths some will go to rationalize
away the raping of the American public.

"Nothing is wrong; everything is wonderful. Those WMDs are just around
the corner."

Cool it, Harry. There is no correlation between observing that even a
doubling of fuel prices
won't price most people out of boating (unless they're looking for an
excuse not to boat) and
"rationalizing the raping of the American public". Everything isn't
political all the time.


A. Baloney or, if you prefer, bologna.

B. The recent surge in oil prices is political. It wouldn't have
happened with a different administration in Washington.

We get a chance to shift the dominant party in congress in a few
months- assuming that's what the majority of people want. Then we'll
have to "stay the course" until the next president, of whatever party,
takes over in 2009. No real choice.

I have to disagree that the surge in oil prices wouldn't be happening
with a different administration in office. While it's true that the
Bush family fortunes, and those of most of the Bush family friends, do
extremely well when the price of oil becomes insane it's hard to
imagine that the guy the R's should have run in 2000 (McCain), the guy
who most likely actually won in 2000 but didn't get to take office
(Gore), or the unfortunate choice the D's ran in 2004 (Kerry) would
have had the political horsepower to jawbone the oil companies into
making less than the astonishing profits they are currently piling up.
Bush doesn't currently have any political HP to jawbone Big Oil- but
neither does he have the will to do so.

It occurs to me that the price of oil and refined products has been
rising for the last 40 years, during periods when we have had Democrat
as well as Republican administrations.

Personally can't wait to get my boat out of the shop and start burning
$6-8 an hour in fuel. :-)

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
. ..
wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:

Heheh. There's just no limit to the lengths some will go to rationalize
away the raping of the American public.

"Nothing is wrong; everything is wonderful. Those WMDs are just around
the corner."

Cool it, Harry. There is no correlation between observing that even a
doubling of fuel prices
won't price most people out of boating (unless they're looking for an
excuse not to boat) and
"rationalizing the raping of the American public". Everything isn't
political all the time.


A. Baloney or, if you prefer, bologna.

B. The recent surge in oil prices is political. It wouldn't have happened
with a different administration in Washington.

Can you say 'Jimmy Carter'?

JimH wrote:


Can you say 'Jimmy Carter'?

Yes, and usually without stuttering. Maybe the best human being, but
among the most ineffective politicians, ever to assume the office of
POTUS.

I clearly remember the first time I ever saw $1/gallon gas prices. In
fact, when the prices first hit $1 it represented almost a quadrupling
of prices since the party in the WH at that time assumed office. I
always thought you were old enough to have been an adult during the
years prior to Carter taking office, and if you are and if you wrack
your memory you'll
recall images of "gas lines" that snaked around city blocks, rationing,
and fuel prices that sometimes went up by the hour from that same era.

I'd sure like to see those days of 25-cent gasoline return. Of course
I'd like a gallon of ice cream or some glassware thrown in every time I
fill up as well. At my 25-cent price, I shouldn't have to get my hands
dirty pumping gas or checking oil nor should I have to tip the
attendent. In addition, I'd like my windshield cleaned and as long as
I'm wishing the windshield cleaner might as well be a shapely young
woman who will be visually interesting as she reaches to the center of
the glass. (When I arrive in Hell, I intend to ask for a drink of
icewater.)

But on the other hand, would I rather earn what I make today and pay
$3-4 a gallon at the pump or go back to the wages I earned in the late
60's and early 70's and buy gas for 25-cents? No contest, I'll stick
with the current equation. :-)