wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:38:45 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

I would think that the reasoning behind this is that people with small
crafts are tired of paying slip fees for something mostly portable.
That's what I like about my 23'r. I can still trailer it around, and
not be stuck with slip fees and not knowing that my boat was being
watched or not. And/or the marina is finding that they can pull in
much more revenue by accomodating larger crafts with minor expansion
expense. Especially if they charge by the foot of the boat.


People with smaller boats keep them in slips so they can use them
more. It's really as simple as that. They like to stop by after work
during the week and go out for an hour or two. If they have to drive
home, hitch up the trailer, drive to the launch, wait in line, launch,
retrieve, etc, etc, they simply can't use the boat as often and
impulsivly. It's not that they are tired of paying, it's that they
can't afford it any longer, but they want to hang on to whatever kind
of boating lifestyle they can still manage.

When the marinas reconfigure for larger boats, it is for fewer, larger
slips in the same space as the more numerous small slips. They just
want it configured for something they can sell. The bottom line is
that the small boats are really being squeezed out by fuel costs, not
slip fees.

Bear in mind that most people with these small boats are at the lower
end of the financial spectrum compared with the big boat owners. Fuel
costs hit them a lot harder. You could even argue that the big boys
don't really feel the fuel price increases much at all. They don't
have to chose between fuel and a slip. They just write a check and
enjoy themselves.

My boat is too large to trailer. I could save a lot by putting my boat
on a mooring, but like trailering, it would seriously curtail my use
and enjoyment of the boat. I want to use it as much as possible, and I
can afford it, so I pay for a slip. Not everyone is in that position.

Blue collar boaters could really use a break. They need it.



wrote:
On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:34:13 -0800 (PST), Chuck Gould
wrote:

On Nov 28, 3:22?am, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:
On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:12:40 -0800, "Calif Bill"

wrote:
The 20% or so of the boaters in the
country, the fuel costs of getting the fishing hole with the 12-16'
fishing
boat is going to be 10-20x the fuel costs for a day of fishing.

I've had this discussion with a number of tournament types over the
past couple of weeks and their overall approach to the upcoming
southern season and next summer.

A lot of guys are going to double up and team fish.

It would make sense that people will change some of their customary
boating practices to adapt to the higher fuel costs, but I still
predict that few people who currently boat will be driven out of the
pastime soley because gas or diesel is up a couple of dollars per
gallon.

In my area, it was very apparent this past season that the bulk of
fishing boats from 16 to 20 feet were absent from slips. The parking
lots at area ramps were far more crowded than in the past. Seems
pretty obvious what happened.

Some marinas are responding by removing the smaller slips and
replacing them with new accomodations for larger boats.


Lots of the trailer size crowd also store their boats near a ramp. When you
look at the cost of leaving a boat in a slip, it is large. More bottom
paint and cleaning as well as the cost of the slip. Marina Del Rey, has
boat storage about 200 yards from the ramp. So someone can easily dump the
boat in the water for a couple hours fishing. Lots of ramp areas do the
same thing, nearby storage.