Ugly economy torpedoing the boating industry

Until consumer confidence returns, industry executives said they're making an effort to reach out to customers, offering classes and excursions, focusing on overseas sales buoyed by the weak dollar, and developing fancy-featured new models in an effort to win back U.S. shoppers when consumer confidence grows.

"When a recession first hits, the boating industry — like many of the other leisure industries — is the first to get hit and the last to bounce back," said Scott, 57. "Until that happens, it's going to be a little slow around the marinas."

Brian Tinkler, general manager Sunset Marina in West Ocean City, Md., is preparing for a slow summer — especially if the mid-Atlantic's fishing business is anything less than robust.

Already, Tinkler's seen customers ration boat trips and share expenses for a single boat, rather than taking trips with several boats at a time.

"If people know the fish are there, they'll pay the money for the fuel to go catch them. But they aren't going to pay the money to go on a wild goose chase for fish," he said.

Meanwhile, Tinkler's seeing his charter business ebb as fuel prices climb. Three years ago, his marina on Maryland's Eastern Shore chartered boats for between $800 and $1,500 a day. Now, a daylong rental for the same fleet costs $1,200 to $2,500.

Alex Laidlaw, a corporate vice president of Encino, Calif.-based Westrec Marinas, said he expects to see fewer smaller boats out on the water and fewer medium-sized boats, which can cost between $75,000 to several hundred thousand dollars — departing from his company's 26 marinas.

"We're clearly going to see a slower summer," he said. "They're going to the boat, but the boat is staying at the dock."

With twin 75-gallon gas tanks — and a fuel efficiency of just few miles per gallon — Hixson, Tenn. insurance agent Gary Brown has no plans to keep his 32-foot cruiser "Gentle Persuasion" in its slip.

Instead, he's making plans to economize fuel as gas prices for marine fuel soar above $4 a gallon.

"I'll throttle back, consume gas a little better, and just take a little longer to get there," he said.

Al Ehrlich, a 67-year-old boater from Chicago is already scaling back what he spends on movies and other shows so he can afford to spend as much time as possible aboard his 45-foot boat "Adrenaline" when the ice on Lake Michigan thaws.

"I'm almost thinking of putting a sail on my boat to let the wind help me along," he joked.

But like most die-harder boaters who've invested as much in their boats as some people have in their houses, Ehrlich says he no plans to be landlocked.

"I have a large investment in mine, so I'm going to use it one way or another," he said. "I'm not going to let it sit."

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