I think the sport of boating will never be the same as it was the last 10-15 years. I absolutley love to be on the water but I find myself working my a$$ off instead. To date I have been out two (2) times this year. It feels like I'm working harder to make less. Five years ago I wouldn't blink an eye when filling up. Today the same fill-up cost double if not triple. Also, at least in our area, guys just get sick of the BS that goes on. It wasn't long ago I wouldn't think twice about having a few beers and running all over the place. Now we have marine patrol up our a$$ not only for BUI but also for noise. People seem to be a bit more apprehensive about their spending habits. Even if you have it $$$$, you just don't feel good about spending it.

I'll agree that big groups are usually more fun, but I had a GREAT day on the Ohio river today w/ just my future wife & 1 of her good friends... Had another buddy bring his boat and some friends just stopped @ a couple bars, had some nice runs, tied up & enjoyed the day!! I used to really like the party aspect of a lot people w/ me & partying but today was 1 of the best days on the water in quite a while even having some engine/electrical issues. Starting to enjoy days like this more & more... Not many things I've found that put a bigger smile on my face than running WOT right by downtown cincy!!!!!

Because they are my friends and I enjoy spending time with everyone one the water. It is always a good time.

Heres my take with it. Number one is kids and performance boats are not fun for kids, what can you do drive fast for 10mins park it. Not fun for a kid. Second off people dont have the money to pay 4 bucks a gallon right now. Not to mention a lot of people cant afford these boats to start then add in 500 buck fuel tanks alot of people are going to rethink their boating. Thats why there are more of these boats for sale than ever right now and at good prices.

It's getting to be a dark time for lots of people big thing is the fuel you pay double for your boat and your truck to tow it. Just towing your boat an hour is going to cost you 40 bucks. If gas and the economy stays like this for 2-3 more years the life of boating we know is going to change. Its even going to get to the point for most of us that we might have to downgrade to 25-27fters with smaller engines which suck less fuel and takes less fuel to get them somewhere.

But it all boils down to money fellas, some of us had it and now dont, some of us never had it but acted like they did, and some of us will always have it.

Have to disagree there. My kids love haulin azz, catching air, etc. etc.

I can see where a perf. boat would be boring on a small lake. A typical day on the water for me is usually running anywhere between 50-100 miles. Where I boat, I can go somewhere different every time and not run out of places to go.

If I had to worry about the $$ every time I went to the gas station, I would just get out of boating, or downsize.

Yeah,
Most of the time I we just go by ourselves, don't really plan anything with anyone. I'm really busy most of the time, even on the weekends, (Hectic running you own business!) and when I'm done with my weekend projects, most of the time we just drop the boat in water and go out even if it's just for 2-3 hours. As long as I get to spend some time on the water, with my family, that's all that really matters to me.....
Dean

I think you've touched on a good point here. This is a different world in the Good 'Ol USofA these days. There are tons of unemployed or if they're not unemployed they're doing jobs for a fraction of the pay to get by and basically working their butts off to get by.

Those who have jobs have seen their hours go up and up to make up for the loss of those who where layed off. I see this with my own family and friends. Everybody seems tired and "frazzeled" these days. Before I sold my PowerPlay my hours were going through the roof, and for somebody who spent most of the summer on the water I went out just 4 times my last summer with it.

Why?...because it was a huge pain...drive to the boat, uncover it, put the props on, set it up for the day, trailer it to the ramp, wait for the retards to launch their boats, park the trailer and finally go out. When you're done you have to wait for the retards, get the trailer, load the boat, drive it to the lot, wash it, wash the trailer, flush the engine, take off the props, unload the day's crap, cover it. Sheesh...working more hours because of a bad economy then going through all that basically killed it. Same with my friends who used to go out all the time with us...they had to spend their time dealing with life's chores since they had less free time than before.

Next boat will be a rack stored outboard without question. So even though it seems like people have the time, they might, but they might be too run down to deal with it as much as they used to.

You may be right but there will come a point when they would rather being tubing, riding a jet ski or have 2-3 friends on board.

Plus I taught my youngst how to drive the Hustler yesterday, it was just idling thru the manatee zones. She drove right past the marine patrol, we waved, they waved, and we keep on idling.
Dean

I have found that I have 50 people that want to go boating with me when I don't have plans to go, but when I call and invite them, they can never actually go.