Interesting 4 day, 3 night cruise.

Splendid weather.

Our general destination was about 60 miles from Seattle. We
encountered a "cruise in" sponsored by a large cruising club. I know
several people associated with the group and we were bs-ing about
things in general when one of the organizers mentioned, "We originally
had close to 40 boat scheduled to make the Memorial Day Cruise, but as
the date got closer more and more them dropped out. We wound up with
16 boats instead of 40. Almost everybody who dropped out mentioned
fuel costs as either the main reason or one of the more important
reasons for cancelling."

Interesting.

We stopped at Bainbride Island on the way back to Seattle today,
(Bainbridge is just a few miles from Seattle), and Eagle Harbor was
*jammed* until very late on Monday afternoon. Looks like people are
going boating, but not going as far.

A possible upside may be that the casual, once-in-a-while, jerkaround
boaters might not be out at all this year. The amount of goofball
nonsense on the VHF, bogus Maydays, kids playing with the radio, and
just plain clueless VHF operation seemed to be way, way down. Either
the screwballs have migrated to text messagin one another or there are
fewer of them on the water........

I love it. Every time fuel costs go up, my single diesel trawler's
value goes up. Fuel is probably the least cost of cruising for me.
Insurance and maintenance are way up there, dockage also.

On May 29, 4:00?am, Keith wrote:
I love it. Every time fuel costs go up, my single diesel trawler's
value goes up. Fuel is probably the least cost of cruising for me.
Insurance and maintenance are way up there, dockage also.

As a fellow owner of a single diesel trawler, I wish I could share
your
joy.

Every boater, power and sail, is directly or indirectly damaged by
these high fuel costs. There is a certain critical mass of people
interested in boating required to sustain the infrastructure of fuel
docks, marinas, supply vendors, repair professionals, etc. Everybody
depends on the same infrasturcture, whether an individual burns 60
gph, 20 gph, 2 gph, or sails.

On 29 May 2007 08:03:18 -0700, Chuck Gould
wrote:

Every boater, power and sail, is directly or indirectly damaged by
these high fuel costs. There is a certain critical mass of people
interested in boating required to sustain the infrastructure of fuel
docks, marinas, supply vendors, repair professionals, etc. Everybody
depends on the same infrasturcture, whether an individual burns 60
gph, 20 gph, 2 gph, or sails.

I wouldn't go that far. There are some boaters - power and sail - who
feel higher fuel prices for less crowded waterways is a fair
trade-off. There are still plenty of sailors who use very little
fuel, and plenty of OB skiff fisherman who use surprisingly little
too. Fewer wake-makers is a boon to them.
I've seen many good fishing lakes destroyed by cheap gas and
cheap booze, which lead to speedsters coming in and tearing things up.
As far as infrastructure, the law of supply and demand might work in
the fuel-misers' favor there. Fewer boats probably means less
expensive dock and mooring fees.
It may even lead to reducing canalside home prices, which are always
at a premium. Not sure about that, though.
My Dad lives on a canal in Punta Gorda, FL, and it always surprises
him - and me - to see all the empty docks along the canals by his
home. It's like that through much of the town.
There's one boat within eyeshot and the owner takes it out once or
twice a year.
Of course Dad doesn't have a boat now either, because he's too infirm
to boat. Maybe higher fuel prices will squelch the "dream" of the old
folks to buy canalside to go boating, and they'll just get a nice
place on a golf course, which might suit them better.
High fuel prices will most hurt those who make a living in the boating
industry.

--Vic

On May 29, 11:02�am, Vic Smith
wrote:

As far as infrastructure, the law of supply and demand might work in
the fuel-misers' favor there. *Fewer boats probably means less
expensive dock and mooring fees.

More likely it will mean that the fixed costs reflected in the
overhead, (property taxes, wages, etc) will need to be recovered from
a smaller group of customers with higher costs for services.


�
It may even lead to reducing canalside home prices, which are always
at a premium. *Not sure about that, though.
My Dad lives on a canal in Punta Gorda, FL, and it always surprises
him - and me - to see all the empty docks along the canals by his
home. It's like that through much of the town.
There's one boat within eyeshot and the owner takes it out once or
twice a year.
Of course Dad doesn't have a boat now either, because he's too infirm
to boat. *Maybe higher fuel prices will squelch the "dream" of the old
folks to buy canalside to go boating, and they'll just get a nice
place on a golf course, which might suit them better.
High fuel prices will most hurt those who make a living in the boating
industry.

--Vic

Chuck Gould wrote:
On May 29, 11:02�am, Vic Smith
wrote:

As far as infrastructure, the law of supply and demand might work in
the fuel-misers' favor there. �Fewer boats probably means less
expensive dock and mooring fees.

More likely it will mean that the fixed costs reflected in the
overhead, (property taxes, wages, etc) will need to be recovered from
a smaller group of customers with higher costs for services.



Are you in the running for Boat Manufacturer's Assn "pimp of the year"?

No shoot. I get hit up at the stop lights and parking lots all the time
to sell the '79 Diesel Rabbit I bop around town in. SUV louts the bunch
of 'em....
JR

Keith wrote:

I love it. Every time fuel costs go up, my single diesel trawler's
value goes up. Fuel is probably the least cost of cruising for me.
Insurance and maintenance are way up there, dockage also.



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

"JR North" wrote in message
.. .
No shoot. I get hit up at the stop lights and parking lots all the time to
sell the '79 Diesel Rabbit I bop around town in.


Sure you do.

NOYB wrote:
"JR North" wrote in message
.. .
No shoot. I get hit up at the stop lights and parking lots all the time to
sell the '79 Diesel Rabbit I bop around town in.


Sure you do.




I have a friend who used to own one of those. Gawd, what a diesel stench
in that car. Worse in a care ever. Sounded like a cement mixer, too. But
he did get good mileage. He never could get a girl to go out with him
twice, though, because the diesel smell permeated everything.

I went to the Florida Keys by boat this past weekend for 3 days. We slept on
the boat, and managed to fish only one and half days due to rough sea
conditions.

Fuel burn was 270 gallons...100 gallons each way, and 70 gallons heading to
and from the fishing grounds, and trolling for 8 hours.


Fuel costs were $960 ($3.57/gallon), the slip was $170 for two nights, and
drinks, food, and provisions were under $200. Total=around $1400.

If I had gotten a hotel on Memorial Day weekend for two nights, it would
have cost me $500, and a fishing charter would have been $900 for one day
and $500 for the second day. We would have had to go out to breakfast,
lunch, and dinner rather than bring our own food, which would have added
another $300 to the tab for 3 days. Gas for the car ride would have run
another $100. Total=$2300.

Boating and fishing on a liveaboard is still cheaper than a hotel, dining
out, and hiring a fishing guide. I'm surprised that so many boaters who own
large expensive live-aboards would cite "higher fuel costs" as the reason
for cancelling a planned trip that involved travelling only 120 miles
round-trip. An extra $1/gallon at the pump would have added less than $150
to their trip.





"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
oups.com...
Interesting 4 day, 3 night cruise.

Splendid weather.

Our general destination was about 60 miles from Seattle. We
encountered a "cruise in" sponsored by a large cruising club. I know
several people associated with the group and we were bs-ing about
things in general when one of the organizers mentioned, "We originally
had close to 40 boat scheduled to make the Memorial Day Cruise, but as
the date got closer more and more them dropped out. We wound up with
16 boats instead of 40. Almost everybody who dropped out mentioned
fuel costs as either the main reason or one of the more important
reasons for cancelling."

Interesting.

We stopped at Bainbride Island on the way back to Seattle today,
(Bainbridge is just a few miles from Seattle), and Eagle Harbor was
*jammed* until very late on Monday afternoon. Looks like people are
going boating, but not going as far.

A possible upside may be that the casual, once-in-a-while, jerkaround
boaters might not be out at all this year. The amount of goofball
nonsense on the VHF, bogus Maydays, kids playing with the radio, and
just plain clueless VHF operation seemed to be way, way down. Either
the screwballs have migrated to text messagin one another or there are
fewer of them on the water........