Hard Times Hit Lake Erie Boating

V

Valkyrie

New member
Hi Brats,

Marcia and I are here on Valkyrie on Lake Erie for a five day cruise/fishing trip and are seeing evidence that boating is way down on the Western Basin of the lake, which is by far the most popular destination.

On Saturday we ran about 45 miles across to the Canadian side to visit Leamington, a small town which has a very nice "destination" marina. It wasn't empty, but not far from it.

We then ran to South Bass Island to clear beck in on the video phone, which is located in the park at Put-in-Bay, a "get drunk and dance on the table sort of place." The mooring field was nearly empty and the town docks, which are usually rafted five deep on a late June day, had less than a couple dozen boats tied up.

We docked at the state park docks located at Oak Point, the smallest (one acre) state park in Ohio. There were only four boats tied up to the twenty available slips and we were the only ones who spent the night. VERY unusual for this time of the year.
Locals confirmed that the last month has been the same way.

As is typical, lots of people asked about our C-Dory, but more often than not, one of their fist questions concerned fuel consumption. We're glad we chose the boat that we did!

Regards,

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
I wonder if this is typical nationwide? Our local lakes are definately less crowded, most slips are still full...but nobody seems to be using their boats. Gas is 4.40-4.80...not too bad compared to 3.98 on the street.
We were kinda hoping that the traffic would be down for our upcoming TN River trip.
I just heard today that boat sales are off up to 40% locally...but western NC isn't a big boat sales area anyway.
 
Nick ~ I just returned from Oriental, NC today (east coast of NC). I heard from several folks that business is DOWN this year. Even the tiki deck is noticing a decline in business.

I walked to the harbor last Friday afternoon. First thing I asked was "Where is everyone?". Normally the harbor is full by Friday afternoon. Not that day.

I am happy for my Honda 90, and as soon as I get a few issues straightened out with my Honda 9.9 I'll be even happier!

Al
 
Saame here!

Except for three day weekends, we're running on about 4 cylinders out of 8 most of the summer here on Shasta Lake In Northern California.

Of course, it doesn't help right now that half of Northern California is on fire from 3000 dry lightening strikes over the weekend!

We have 130 fires in Shasta County alone!

And I thought I gave up smoking in 1997!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Here at Deep Creek in the Cook Inlet the charter boats are still running out 30-45 miles with their loads of "pukers" at $225 per head but they can pass the fuel costs off to the customers. The number of boats is down approx. 30% though.
Private boats are way down. I estimate the numbers are down 60%. The boat launcher knows exactly. At $55/launch plus fuel and bait a trip costs approx. $80. You want to load up on fish at that price.
Gas is $4.64 at the closest (and only)pump up in the village.
Diesel is $5.18.

As an aside........the number of RV's coming up from the lower 48 is really down. Gone are t he monster motorhomes and 5th.whls. Small bumper pulls are more prevalent.
There are a big number of Class "C" rented motorhomes that were rented in Alberta and the Yukon (cheaper than Alaska)by tourists from overseas. They have the bucks in this day and age.
 
It sounds like it's the same all over.

However, I forgot to mention something that our marina owner told me the other day. He has seen at least a dozen new rentals on his over-30 foot docks. It seems that a number of boaters were able to sell their mid-20 foot boats and actually bought mid-30 footers at fire-sale prices. They don't leave the dock, but just use them as floating vacation homes. Many are convinced that gas prices will come down and they will be able to use them a lot at that time.

RE: RV use. Marcia and I are getting sales flyers on great deals on RV's from a number of dealers in the area who are struggling to keep the doors open. We had been thinking about getting about a 26 foot pull-behind, but have decided to stick with our Coleman pop-up for a few more years.

Regards,

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
Lizzie (the kid, not the boat) and I went to a Lake Washington waterfront park in Bellevue for a few hours yesterday. Beautiful day. After a while it struck me that not one single boat went by. OK, it's a Monday, but not even one boat? :?
 
Valkyrie":k5vqe6h8 said:
It sounds like it's the same all over.

It seems that a number of boaters were able to sell their mid-20 foot boats and actually bought mid-30 footers at fire-sale prices. They don't leave the dock, but just use them as floating vacation homes. Many are convinced that gas prices will come down and they will be able to use them a lot at that time.
Nick
"Valkyrie"
Click to expand...

Gotta agree. San Diego is finally feeling the diesel price pinch on the docks. Personally I think $4 or less for gas or diesel is a fantasy that will never be realized again. All the long range boats and most overnight boats have hefty fuel surcharges now.

We do have Tijuana where, so far, the Mexican government has been subsidizing fuel prices. Diesel is $2/gallon but the fuel availability is poor.

Oh well, like most C-Brats, the fuel prices aren't a concern for me.

Don
 
no question about it! the economy is in the toilet and that has dramatically effected business. people who might ordinarily make purchases are now holding off. ford is advertising truck sales at employee discounted prices and then offering a $5,000. off, additional incentive. our local marina's have vacant slips, when normally, at this time of season, they would be filled. one of my largest commercial accounts, (a motorcycle dealership) one would think they have to be making a killing, motorcycles, scooters, averaging 50, or 60 miles a gallon, no not the case, financing has tighten to the point that are concerned about their future.
now, having said that, boating, for those who can and will spend the money, has never been better. most of the knuckleheads are off the water and that makes for a more enjoyable time for all!
nick, glad to hear you guys are spending some quality time afloat. i haven't heard from byrdman. have emailed and posted but still no reply. hope i haven't wore thin on him!
best regards to all,
pat
 
It's clear that the nation has cut waaay back on it's fuel use. Not just a token amount. I read an article that claimed americans drove 1.5 billion miles LESS in April 08 compared to April 07 :shock: . I wonder what the refineries are doing with all the extra fuel these days?


And yes, even the fisherman I know are thinking twice about offshore fishing. Especially in marginal weather conditions or marginal fishing reports.
 
I've really been amazed that the effects of fuel prices are just now starting to show, especially locally.
This area has average income, but housing runs the cost of living up compared to the rest of NC.
It's still strange that alot of local eating establishments haven't gone under. Gas at $3 per gallon probably knocked out the pay day dinner-out for the average worker. $4 a gallon bites into groceries and skips the necessities (cable/sat TV, cell phones, internet service and the like :roll: )
I worry that alot of folks are getting by with some of those free credit card offers, and when they max those out we'll really be in a fix!
 
We're anchored in Sloop cove at Valcour island on lake champlain NY.We're told it's a popular anchorage but there's only one other power boat.We see more sail boats.We've had no problem getting a slip overnight without a reservation anywhere in the last 2 months.It still hurts when we fuel up but are glad we have a smaller fuel efficient boat.We've also noticed a lot of canadians.Let's hope fuel prices come down.
Alan & Linda on Simplicity.
 
Hello,
From what I've read the whole state of Ohio is kind of hurting right along with Michigan. A lot more than just the boating sector. I think it will get worse before it gets better. I live in Pa. and it is no walk in the park here either. New Jersey is facing major budget problems etc. My wife works for a large drug company and they are slashing not cutting. People in their early fifties getting laid off before they can retire or retain the low cost health benefits. Sales force being cut back by the thousands. I wonder how all these people are going to be able to make car payments house payments etc. It almost seems like that eventually the domino effect will be reaching all of us. People will be cutting up their boats for heat in the fireplace this winter. Look out it's going to get like a 2008 version of Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. Sell, sell, sell. D.D.
 
hey dave,
i wouldn't jump off the bridge quit yet. this problem is cyclical. capitalism will figure it out and the rebound will start. all of us need to retool, improve our individual marketability and we'll be right back in the race.
there are some good deals to be had, and to a small extent that's part of the problem. those who have money are holding it for the deal opportunity. the holding of money rather than the spending of money contributes to this problem.
as far as boats go, i'm holding with what i have. would like to purchase a motorhome, but not sure to wait or spring for the deal.
best regards
pat
 
Captain,
No worries, I'm not going to jump off the bridge. But I hardly think what's happening is purely just a cycle. Not saving money is a lot worse than spending what you don't have. I would say the housing market will be a least five to seven years before it corrects itself. The fed has been avoiding raising interest rates for way to long and letting the dollar plummet to record lows isn't a good sign. The government bailing out Bear Stearns in my opinion wasn't the right thing to do. People who act irresponsibly should have to stand up and take their beating. Whether it's an individual or a business. Watching out for the environment is great but buying everything from China hasn't done much for our balance of trade. It's only my opinion, but I think things will be getting worse before they get better. I hope I'm wrong. D.D.
 
captain dave,
well spoken. can't disagree with you. leanders loaned without due regard for credit worthiness. housing has tanked, but when adding the cost of bricks and mortar, factor in true cost of land, not artificially inflated, then one should have a stable housing value. here in the southern ohio area we have not had large housing changes one way or the other, so, in a down market our housing values, that is the cost of b & m plus land, should be somewhat level. it's not today, due in part to the foreclosure rate, but with fewer housing starts, demand should catch up to supply.
i'm interested in knowing to what extent are boats being foreclosed on. any idea?
always good to exchange thoughts and ideas.
best regards
pat
ps: now get down from that bridge, besides, the waters not that deep and it might even be cold!
 
Recently I received the county's reassessment on our place. The assessment on the property remained the same, however the assessor's value on the house, shop, and outbuildings went down. Never thought I'd see that. (For the time being that part is good, since I don't figure on moving away from here any day soon... :wink )
 
Pat,

In regards to your question about boat repo's, there has been quite a bit of coverage about that on the nationals news. The repo's are way up!

If you recall the marina where Tom has his Ranger 25, most of the boats there are repo's. That's why Tom has the "Stay off. Boat not for sale" sign in the window of Banjo. He said that he came down to his boat one day and found people sitting in his cockpit, talking about how much they should offer on his "repo'ed" boat!

Regards to you and Linda,

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
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