Gas prices vs Boat prices?
 

Do you think after of running this summer that we will see a lot of boats up for sale and do you think the bottom will drop out of powerboats like the large suv's and trucks are now? And yes I understand gas is a small expense for a lot of high end boaters. It would be interesting to hear some of your committs. :D

I sell cars, and I can say YES, people are dumping them at a ridiculous pace right now.

At one point monday, we had an Explorer, 3 Xterras, and a Grand Cherokee getting appraised for trade at the same time. Wow.

I'm going to keep both rather then lose my azzz. Blew 350 on gas for a 26ZX Donzi and a F-250 4x4 towing it just 60 miles one-way. Boating is no longer a pleasurable hobby. I used to spend that much on repairs, now its a day on the water. Those of you who have deep pockets wont understand the dilema facing the avg. boater. I gave up my 30 spectre due to insurance issues and now just wanting to get on the water is a huge expense. Say what you want, this Govt. and Congress are steering this country into the abyss. Totaly out of touch with soceity and how people are going to pay bills. I make a good living, but my daughters are struggling to make ends meet with the cost of living right now, and getting to and from work with gas at 4.00 dollars.

Memorial Day weekend....our gas dock was empty... I fueled up along with Sak and there were no other boats fueling up or even waiting to fuel up, we usually wait in line.... Half the boats haven't even cut thier shrink wrap off yet and out of almost a dozen lifts on my dock there's only 4 of us out there so far. Maybe the weather the past couple weeks effected it but who knows....

Other than some fishing boats, the rivers had literally half the amount of boats than usual... There were boats out there but not half as many as in years past and I thought last years numbers were down....

The price of fuel will have a chilling effect on our sport. Boating is paid for out of extra income. You spend a lot of this income just to live and boating goes bye the way for necessities, food, shelter, clothes, and to and from work to pay for the necessities.

Yesterday I seen a bunch of gas stations at $4.05 per gal. in FLA. I also saw a bunch of stations closed down. I think this gas BS will kill the avarage boaters. OS boating and buying will become only for the elite, just like high price yachts. Just look at this forum. Posts, threads are down. members on line is down. Boat prices are down. (and sillly me, I just bought one, a few months ago, should have waited) I'm ok for a while, but my Doughter and Son are in deep shlt, just like the country. I will probobly keep the Avanti for a year then it will be sold for peanuts. :(

Guys chill a little.I don't like the prices either but if we are smart enough to afford these boats we can get through this.I can remember as a little kid my Father screaming that gas went to .30 cents a gallon.The world did not end then and it won't now

Isn't it sick how much the cost of our passion has gone up? Last week i got a letter in the mail something to the effect "respected business leaders, bla, bla, bla has been invited to have dinner with the President" My first reaction was that I am not going to support that F?*&king dick. He has this nation so messed up now, with little signs on short recovery. It's so much bigger the just the cost of gas to play or even just to get to work... Sorry to vent... I'll stop... Hope there aren't any bush fans reading.

I work part time for a marine retail store that competes with West Marine.The main reason is to support my boating habit. I've seen a decrease in impulse buys and a focus on neccesary parts. Sales are down but people are still boating.

On the lake there are a lot less boats running all day and more anchoring in coves just hanging out.

It all comes down to your personal preferance and budget. We have high rollers that can swing 1000 a day for fuel to the guys in jon boats that spend 10 for the whole day.

I do both. The Apache will burn 28 gallons per hour running hard or way less cruising. Right now we are dialing the boat in so I'm doing a lot of top speed runs. I'm comfortable with the money paid out for gas now but irritated at the same time. We may have to quit eating out so much and downgrade our menu from steak to chicken at home but we will continue boating.

When the gas budget exceeds what I'm comfortable with we will run our small fishing boat. It takes a little longer to get there and its a rough ride but we can still be on the water.

On the holidays we will definitely be saving the extra cash for gas in the Apache.

When I bought the Apache I was pizzed that gas was 1.33 !!

Thats what I get for not finishing the boat earlier! :)
Jim

Been trying to sell my boat for 2 years and now I don't even get calls. It will be a classic by the time it sells

It will definately hurt boat values, just like SUV's. So getting rid of your boat will be costly and difficult. I would rather wait it out. Not interested in leaving this hobby/lifestyle. I will conserve fuel where I can, but I'll still be boating. The money you would lose selling your boat will probably pay for several years worth of fuel.

I will definately be cutting back on my boating this year. This crappy economy has my income down so now I don't have the extra $ for fuel. Keeping my gas guzzlers for now, hoping things will turn around soon.

Didn't help that the factory went out of business and you have probably the baddest Powerquest in company history..........

They don't want to upgrade the tanks to a double wall setup. They knew it was coming for 10 years but on shrinking margins many stations are opting to just sell the land for a profit rather than dump 200K into a business with lower margins/ bigger expenses.

I am so glad I bought a single engine boat rather then the double that I was looking at last year.

I hate to burst anyones bubble. A few years, I won't even waste ink on the screen to complain. This situation is not a "few years". The world is smaller, there aren't any more new frontires and new discoveries. The US budget and defficit can't survive a constant gov. expenditures hoping that later will recover. THis is not a recoverable "recesion" while no one want's to admit it, and we are all in denial. I HOPE I'm wrong.
I won't stop boating, but I will change life styles. I'm not nto the dooms day BS but things are changing and we have to get ready and prepare. There are no more yupies and baby boomers to bail the US econ. out. The middle class and upper middle class, taking the most of the burden for all the economical BS, gas prices etc. are thinking abut retiring in 5-15 years. No major spending sprees. The next generation are not ready to spend major $. therefore the less spending, less $ exhcange.. weak markets,, shlty economy. It will take 5+ years... food for thought.. my .02 and hope I'm dead wrong, and wish I could say "I was wrong"..

: Disclaimer I am NOT a Bush fan: But that being said if you really think this nation is messed up due to one man, you are a bit naive on how the government works in this country.

Gas prices are phucked up but you guys sound like the world is coming to a hault. After I figured everything out the current price of gas is costing me about $85 more a weekend or about $1275 per year. So you tie-off a little more, or don't use your boat one weekend a month or .........slow down a little. I agree, everybody has their financial limits just trie to make the best of the current state of affairs. If you b!tch and complain, you will positively put an end to a sport you love. If your a fan of baseball and have been watching the games from box seats all your life, do you stop going to the games if you lose your box seat?? No, you just drink more beer and paint your face so nobody recognizes you. :cool-smiley-011:


For what it's worth, I went boating on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. On both day's I was astonished at the number of boats out....I mean crowded busy. Corner Gas station, $4.07 price on the water $4.99.

Paging Donzi C.....
We'r taking the Avanti out this weekend for prop trials. Wanna tag along?? BTW where did you buy your Donzi? LBM ?

I bite my toungue as I coment here. WTF has the government got to do with the price of gas? If anything they have held the price down for a long time! Europe has been paying twice what we are now for awhile! I'm just like everyone else and want cheap gas!

The thing people need to do is do their part! I'm trying! I can buy the gas to do what I have always done. But this situation pisses me off. I'm tired of feeding the ARABS! I am doing the best I can to use as little gas as I can. If everyone would do the same it would make a big difference! I am squeaking 20MPG outta my Suburban(when I need it for Bus.) and got 14 towing my 260 legend powerquest! Just gotta slow down a little! I ran a short course at the Lake Hartwell Pokerrun and didn't run balls out cause I didn't wanna feed the Arabs! I only burned $150 worth a gas in the boat and ran the boat 2 days before the run!

Wake up America! It's time ta show the Arabs we can do without....if ya don't we'll be payin $10 a gallon! WTF I guessd my legs can used some exercise and I will get out my bike! :D

The answer to the 1st question is closing off areas to drilling and not allowing new refineries to be built.

And europe pays twice as much mostly due to taxes.

The only good thing is now there will be a push for more better technology. I can still afford it but I'd buy a Volt tomorrow if it were available.

Anyone notice that refineries are only at 88% capacity when mid 90s is more common this time of year?

My dad was talking to a guy that auctions vehicles to used car lots. He said that he had a 07' F-350 dually diesel that he was auctioning off. He started at like $30,000 and got all the way down to like $18,000 and it still wouldn't sell. Before fuel went up so much, that truck probably would have sold for close to $40,000. It hurts to fill up now-a-days.

I think I'm crazy looking to buy a 35 ft boat with twin 525's
I should be looking at a sailboat and not worry about gas.

Nice looking boat but,.... I can't figure out your asking price from your link?

Your absolutely correct. It isn't just one man. I know that... But he also isn't doing anything to help matters. I honestly think he too stupid to know how bad things are. An interview I saw lately when he was asked about a recession he had that stupid smirk on his face and claimed not being in a recession. The one post I responded to just hit me because of the invite I got to have dinner with bush.

a guy asked me the other day if I was going to sell my boat and get a smaller one....I said "sell it to who?"......Im getting used to the idea that this is going to be my boat

Went to buy gas Monday of Memorial Day weekend the marina owner said he sold 2500 gal of $4.08/gal gas the Friday before the holiday weekend. A one day gallon record for him. Odd though that there are not that many boats out, particularly performance boats. Maybe the cruisers filled up to idle all summer. :D

I have kept the speed down and the gas is lasting much longer than before. Should be OK to keep the boat and the hobby, it's paid for.

Paradox, you couldn't have hit the nail more on the head. I saw a presentation a couple months ago by a consulting firm at a city council meeting regarding the changes in the demographics, and the resulting loss of overall earning and spending forecasted (and for government tax revenue). They discussed how income and spending change through people's lives, and how the baby boomers are entering a phase where they will spend less, and will be entering retirement. The next wave of spenders, Generation X, isn't expected to hit until after 2020, and that surge will be much more mild than the baby boomer group was. Add to the mix, the huge influx of poor, uneducated immigrants, and, things look pretty bleak for quite a while.

Michael

From Wikipedia
In macroeconomics, a recession is generally associated with a decline in a country's real gross domestic product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive quarters of a year.

With that definition we are not in a recession.

The country might not be in a recession but my ass has been in a recession for 2-3 years. My industry (auto) has been cutting salary and benefits for years. If you don't count food and energy costs in your economic calculations you are NOT telling the truth.
It might be time for a DEM pres. Then the REP can get the congress back and straighten this sh*t out!

I call BS, you don't know how to keep the speed down. :D :D

You know if US average auto fuel economy were 6mpg better, ie nearly the same as european mpg, we wouldnt need to import a single drop of mid east oil.... in nyc all i see is crown vic's, towncars and suburbans doing what? 15mpg? that is a really dumb waste of oil.

I bought a second boat this past friday....a single engine 23 foot bowrider....I will be driving the extra 20 miles instead of putting in closer to the house and boating up to the hang out...but will never stop boatting....

One problem with that. After four years of a Dem pres. and a Dem Congress, it would take the Reps 20 years to straighten out the mess they will make. The present Dem Congress is the proud owner of the lowest approval rating since they've been doing ratings. These are the folks that were elected in for 'change' in '06 that promised to lower your gas costs.

The current Democratic presidential candidates are proposing government run health care programs, which would do irreparable damage to the tax rates and the economy. Talk to anyone from a country with nationalized health care about their tax rates. It would kill economic development. No Republican could straighten that out later.

Michael

what i did.

sold the cig and bought a used 28' cruiser w/twin small blocks for 20k to get me on the water this summer. last weekend i spent under $200 in gas and covered 90 miles and nothing broke! the ride is comfortable, i can stand up in the cabin, its easy to get in and out of, i can drink a beer and listen to tunes, and use the ac if i want. i still miss the cig but i wont be buying another one unless its a REALLY good deal, however good deals are still going to be tough to find because a lot of people owe more then their boat is worth.

friend of mine owns a brokerage business at loto. same time last year he had 70 boats on his lot. this year he has 120 and the only thing selling are toons and deckboats. he also handles repos for a well known bank that does a lot of boat loans. every few weeks they drop what they will take for the boats.

I was wondering who's boat that was that you were on Sunday. We didn't stick around too long though - I got tired of fighting anchors.

I think more people in the sub $150K boat category will be scaling back.

I was considering everything between 26 foot cats with a single to 32 ft V's with twins. Now, I think I'm better off going with a nicer, newer 26 foot cat with a single. Much more efficient design with only one motor will mean that much more speed per gas $. Combined with cheaper storage, cheaper tow vehicle, etc, it all adds up.

So I think the market that will get hit the most is the less expensive, larger V's. Newer big boats are so expensive gas is just a tiny portion of overall cost, but for the more "avg" the gas will cut into the fun.

I would be be a happy man if my Avalanche got 15mpg. So far 12mpg city. Don't believe the estimated mpg on the window sticker THER ARE ALL LIES! Luckily it is a lease. So I happily get to toss the keys back in two more years.

What I meant was the present potus and dem congress has f*cked it up so bad maybe if we reversed it it would go back to the way it was.