On Apr 29, 6:06?am, wf3h wrote:
Some folks are speculating that gas can hit $4/gallon this year. Fuel
dock prices could shoot above $5. Any idea at what point people will
just stop boating? This is a form of the 'luxury' tax a few years ago
that collapsed the yacht makers. why WOULDN'T gas prices have the same
effect?

http://www.marinemax.com/investor/


People will just "stop boating" at different rates. It's apparent that
some already have, or are delaying the initial purchase or trade-up
from a present vessel. Reluctance of new participants to get into
boating, due to fuel prices or
other concerns, hampers the resale market and inhibits the ability of
current owners to upgrade.

Down thread, somebody comments about the market returning to smaller
boats. I'm not sure that will be the result of this third straight
year of gas gouging. From what I can see, the small boat builders are
hurting even worse than the yacht manufacturers. Launching a trailer
boat requires a big truck, preferably 4WD in a lot of situations. That
can be a $40-50,000 proposition, or more, in the current market and
since most folks won't have the luxury of owning a vehicle for no
purpose other than launching a boat the fuel costs associated with a
two vehicle are a concern seven days a week, not just on Saturday or
Sunday when the boat gets wet.

Wally Lunchbucket was never going to buy a $250,000 boat, but the
Wally's buy a lot of boats in the $35-100,000 category and often
budget very carefully to make the monthly payments. The vast majority
of people are "payment buyers", and make decisions whether to buy or
not buy a major item based less on the price than on whether the
monthly payment is affordable.

The average citizen considers petroleum products almost as essential
as food or shelter. What else would most of us continue to buy if the
price shot up 50% in 90 days? Darn little, IMO. When the price of this
essential commodity goes through the roof, the money to buy it has to
come from somewhere. Unfortunately, it will frequently come from folks
cutting way back on their boating or choosing not to become boaters in
the first place.

IMO, take a careful look around. We're in the middle of an important
shift in recreational norms in the Western world that will render high
fuel consuming
items obsolete.

The guys in the big boats? They can afford the fuel.

On 29 Apr 2007 08:39:57 -0700, Chuck Gould
wrote:


Wally Lunchbucket was never going to buy a $250,000 boat, but the
Wally's buy a lot of boats in the $35-100,000 category and often
budget very carefully to make the monthly payments. The vast majority
of people are "payment buyers", and make decisions whether to buy or
not buy a major item based less on the price than on whether the
monthly payment is affordable.

Interesting. Maybe because I only spent about half a year on the west
coast I never met a Wally Lunchbucket.
Around here I know plenty of guys called Joe Sixpack.
Ever heard of him?

--Vic

On Apr 29, 9:03�am, Vic Smith wrote:
On 29 Apr 2007 08:39:57 -0700, Chuck Gould

wrote:
Wally Lunchbucket was never going to buy a $250,000 boat, but the
Wally's buy a lot of boats in the $35-100,000 category and often
budget very carefully to make the monthly payments. The vast majority
of people are "payment buyers", and make decisions whether to buy or
not buy a major item based less on the price than on whether the
monthly payment is affordable.

Interesting. *Maybe because I only spent about half a year on the west
coast I never met a Wally Lunchbucket.
Around here I know plenty of guys called Joe Sixpack.
Ever heard of him?

--Vic

Joe is Wally's kissin' cousin. 'Cept of course Joe and Wally don't
kiss- at least not in public unless they're in San Francisco or
Seattle. :-)

Wally's brothers, Joe and Johnny Lunchbucket are probably mentioned
more frequently than Wally. Disheartening news is that with fuel dock
prices already in the $4.50 range and headed for $5, none of the
Lunchbucket brothers will be racing out to buy a new boat anytime
soon. That impacts everybody who owns a boat and hopes to sell it
someday as well as all of the folks who sell new or used boats for a
living.

Chuck Gould wrote:
On Apr 29, 9:03�am, Vic Smith wrote:
On 29 Apr 2007 08:39:57 -0700, Chuck Gould

wrote:
Wally Lunchbucket was never going to buy a $250,000 boat, but the
Wally's buy a lot of boats in the $35-100,000 category and often
budget very carefully to make the monthly payments. The vast majority
of people are "payment buyers", and make decisions whether to buy or
not buy a major item based less on the price than on whether the
monthly payment is affordable.
Interesting. �Maybe because I only spent about half a year on the west
coast I never met a Wally Lunchbucket.
Around here I know plenty of guys called Joe Sixpack.
Ever heard of him?

--Vic

Joe is Wally's kissin' cousin. 'Cept of course Joe and Wally don't
kiss- at least not in public unless they're in San Francisco or
Seattle. :-)

Wally's brothers, Joe and Johnny Lunchbucket are probably mentioned
more frequently than Wally. Disheartening news is that with fuel dock
prices already in the $4.50 range and headed for $5, none of the
Lunchbucket brothers will be racing out to buy a new boat anytime
soon. That impacts everybody who owns a boat and hopes to sell it
someday as well as all of the folks who sell new or used boats for a
living.



Please...the Lunchbucket family has been working at Wal-Mart and 7-11 as
a result of the Bush Administration's eagerness to export U.S.
manufacturing jobs to the Pacific Rim and Mexico and Central and South
America.

On Sun, 29 Apr 2007 12:39:29 -0400, Harry Krause
wrote:

Chuck Gould wrote:
On Apr 29, 9:03?am, Vic Smith wrote:
On 29 Apr 2007 08:39:57 -0700, Chuck Gould

wrote:
Wally Lunchbucket was never going to buy a $250,000 boat, but the
Wally's buy a lot of boats in the $35-100,000 category and often
budget very carefully to make the monthly payments. The vast majority
of people are "payment buyers", and make decisions whether to buy or
not buy a major item based less on the price than on whether the
monthly payment is affordable.
Interesting. ?Maybe because I only spent about half a year on the west
coast I never met a Wally Lunchbucket.
Around here I know plenty of guys called Joe Sixpack.
Ever heard of him?

--Vic

Joe is Wally's kissin' cousin. 'Cept of course Joe and Wally don't
kiss- at least not in public unless they're in San Francisco or
Seattle. :-)

Wally's brothers, Joe and Johnny Lunchbucket are probably mentioned
more frequently than Wally. Disheartening news is that with fuel dock
prices already in the $4.50 range and headed for $5, none of the
Lunchbucket brothers will be racing out to buy a new boat anytime
soon. That impacts everybody who owns a boat and hopes to sell it
someday as well as all of the folks who sell new or used boats for a
living.



Please...the Lunchbucket family has been working at Wal-Mart and 7-11 as
a result of the Bush Administration's eagerness to export U.S.
manufacturing jobs to the Pacific Rim and Mexico and Central and South
America.

Harry, Harry, there are some good places for your political attempts. Isn't
your septic tank about empty now?

Chuck Gould wrote:
On Apr 29, 6:06?am, wf3h wrote:
Some folks are speculating that gas can hit $4/gallon this year. Fuel
dock prices could shoot above $5. Any idea at what point people will
just stop boating? This is a form of the 'luxury' tax a few years ago
that collapsed the yacht makers. why WOULDN'T gas prices have the same
effect?

http://www.marinemax.com/investor/


People will just "stop boating" at different rates. It's apparent that
some already have, or are delaying the initial purchase or trade-up
from a present vessel. Reluctance of new participants to get into
boating, due to fuel prices or
other concerns, hampers the resale market and inhibits the ability of
current owners to upgrade.

Down thread, somebody comments about the market returning to smaller
boats. I'm not sure that will be the result of this third straight
year of gas gouging. From what I can see, the small boat builders are
hurting even worse than the yacht manufacturers. Launching a trailer
boat requires a big truck, preferably 4WD in a lot of situations. That
can be a $40-50,000 proposition, or more, in the current market and
since most folks won't have the luxury of owning a vehicle for no
purpose other than launching a boat the fuel costs associated with a
two vehicle are a concern seven days a week, not just on Saturday or
Sunday when the boat gets wet.



You don't need a $50,000 truck to haul around many 18-21' boats. I towed
a nice 19-footer with a small V6 Ford truck, and there are plenty of
smaller boats available.

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Chuck Gould wrote:
On Apr 29, 6:06?am, wf3h wrote:
Some folks are speculating that gas can hit $4/gallon this year. Fuel
dock prices could shoot above $5. Any idea at what point people will
just stop boating? This is a form of the 'luxury' tax a few years ago
that collapsed the yacht makers. why WOULDN'T gas prices have the same
effect?

http://www.marinemax.com/investor/


People will just "stop boating" at different rates. It's apparent that
some already have, or are delaying the initial purchase or trade-up
from a present vessel. Reluctance of new participants to get into
boating, due to fuel prices or
other concerns, hampers the resale market and inhibits the ability of
current owners to upgrade.

Down thread, somebody comments about the market returning to smaller
boats. I'm not sure that will be the result of this third straight
year of gas gouging. From what I can see, the small boat builders are
hurting even worse than the yacht manufacturers. Launching a trailer
boat requires a big truck, preferably 4WD in a lot of situations. That
can be a $40-50,000 proposition, or more, in the current market and
since most folks won't have the luxury of owning a vehicle for no
purpose other than launching a boat the fuel costs associated with a
two vehicle are a concern seven days a week, not just on Saturday or
Sunday when the boat gets wet.



You don't need a $50,000 truck to haul around many 18-21' boats. I towed a
nice 19-footer with a small V6 Ford truck, and there are plenty of smaller
boats available.

The trick would be to keep the total towed package at 3000 lbs or less.
Even mid-sized SUVs should be able to handle that... eg Toyota Rav 4 with V6
or the Highlander.

On Apr 29, 12:55 pm, "Don White" wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message

...





Chuck Gould wrote:
On Apr 29, 6:06?am, wf3h wrote:
Some folks are speculating that gas can hit $4/gallon this year. Fuel
dock prices could shoot above $5. Any idea at what point people will
just stop boating? This is a form of the 'luxury' tax a few years ago
that collapsed the yacht makers. why WOULDN'T gas prices have the same
effect?

http://www.marinemax.com/investor/

People will just "stop boating" at different rates. It's apparent that
some already have, or are delaying the initial purchase or trade-up
from a present vessel. Reluctance of new participants to get into
boating, due to fuel prices or
other concerns, hampers the resale market and inhibits the ability of
current owners to upgrade.

Down thread, somebody comments about the market returning to smaller
boats. I'm not sure that will be the result of this third straight
year of gas gouging. From what I can see, the small boat builders are
hurting even worse than the yacht manufacturers. Launching a trailer
boat requires a big truck, preferably 4WD in a lot of situations. That
can be a $40-50,000 proposition, or more, in the current market and
since most folks won't have the luxury of owning a vehicle for no
purpose other than launching a boat the fuel costs associated with a
two vehicle are a concern seven days a week, not just on Saturday or
Sunday when the boat gets wet.

You don't need a $50,000 truck to haul around many 18-21' boats. I towed a
nice 19-footer with a small V6 Ford truck, and there are plenty of smaller
boats available.

The trick would be to keep the total towed package at 3000 lbs or less.
Even mid-sized SUVs should be able to handle that... eg Toyota Rav 4 with V6
or the Highlander.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

A Rav 4 might tow three thousand lbs, but I would not want to have to
stop it fast.

On Apr 29, 11:28 am, Harry Krause wrote:
Chuck Gould wrote:
On Apr 29, 6:06?am, wf3h wrote:
Some folks are speculating that gas can hit $4/gallon this year. Fuel
dock prices could shoot above $5. Any idea at what point people will
just stop boating? This is a form of the 'luxury' tax a few years ago
that collapsed the yacht makers. why WOULDN'T gas prices have the same
effect?

http://www.marinemax.com/investor/

People will just "stop boating" at different rates. It's apparent that
some already have, or are delaying the initial purchase or trade-up
from a present vessel. Reluctance of new participants to get into
boating, due to fuel prices or
other concerns, hampers the resale market and inhibits the ability of
current owners to upgrade.

Down thread, somebody comments about the market returning to smaller
boats. I'm not sure that will be the result of this third straight
year of gas gouging. From what I can see, the small boat builders are
hurting even worse than the yacht manufacturers. Launching a trailer
boat requires a big truck, preferably 4WD in a lot of situations. That
can be a $40-50,000 proposition, or more, in the current market and
since most folks won't have the luxury of owning a vehicle for no
purpose other than launching a boat the fuel costs associated with a
two vehicle are a concern seven days a week, not just on Saturday or
Sunday when the boat gets wet.

You don't need a $50,000 truck to haul around many 18-21' boats. I towed
a nice 19-footer with a small V6 Ford truck, and there are plenty of
smaller boats available.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

the last couple years, i towed my 18 ft Chris craft runabout back and
forth to the lake with an '89 Merc. Grand Marquis. towing it ogt 15
mpg. the boat with it's 4 cyl chevy engine provided loads of fun on
less than 10 gal of gas.

this year, I'll tow the 23 ft Marquis cuddie to the lake w/ a 91 Grand
Marquis station wagon. same drive train as a ford half ton truck of
the same year. it will do fine. and probably even make betterr towing
milage due to the fact the 23 ft'r is on a dual axle trailer that even
though th boat is heavier will pull easier. I ahve already found that
out.

now the 23 is much heavier than the Chris, and has a 350 v-8. But I
think it will probably use more fuel than it's smaller counterpart,
but the bigger comfort and smoother ride will more than make up the
difference. even with towing, I've never spent over a hundred bucks a
day at the lake for fuel, And I might be suprised, but even with the
larger craft, I still don't think I will.

This is an unbelievable statement. Ground Control to Major Chuck! Ground
Control to Major Chuck! You're out of control....
You can pick up a used PU for a grand or 2, throw a couple grand into it
to make it reliable, and paint it to match the boat to boot for under 6K
total.
Classic example of the SUV Mentality permeating our society. Big brand
new 50K truck....
With the cost of new trailer boats in the 22-25 ft range at 70k or more
and dock gas at $4.50 with no end in site, Just who do you expect is
stupid (and rich) enough to fork over 120k (that's unfinanced) to do the
trailer boat thing? Buy a brand new truck to tow the boat? Come ON.....
JR

Chuck Gould wrote:


Down thread, somebody comments about the market returning to smaller
boats. I'm not sure that will be the result of this third straight
year of gas gouging. From what I can see, the small boat builders are
hurting even worse than the yacht manufacturers. Launching a trailer
boat requires a big truck, preferably 4WD in a lot of situations. That
can be a $40-50,000 proposition, or more, in the current market and
since most folks won't have the luxury of owning a vehicle for no
purpose other than launching a boat the fuel costs associated with a
two vehicle are a concern seven days a week, not just on Saturday or
Sunday when the boat gets wet.


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Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth