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“It’s been a double whammy with the weird weather patterns and the gas prices,” said Curt Redman, night manager at Pettibone Boat Club in La Crosse, Wis.
Redman has heard talk of the rising gas prices from plenty of boaters this season. He noticed over Memorial Day weekend people weren’t planning trips as far up or down the Mississippi River.
“People are all kind of in the same boat,” he said. “They are all kind of wondering and waiting to see where it (the gas prices) will go.”
While gas prices at the pump have reached nearly $4 per gallon, marine gas is typically 30-50 cents higher, said Mike Anderson, director of the American Boating Association.
The pump prices at Dick’s Marine on Latsch Island on the Mississippi River in Winona Minn, went from $3.62 for 92 octane gas, the only kind they sell, when they closed last November to $4.30 per gallon for the same octane now, said Brenda Kanz, who helps her mother and father-in-law run Dick’s Marine.
They have about half the customers at their pumps this summer compared to last summer at the same time, said Kanz.
“It’s not going to be a good year,” she said. “I think the gasoline is hurting everyone and I think our gas stock is going to suffer.”
However, Kanz agreed the gas prices aren’t the only reason boat travel is less than last year. She said the sparse number of warm days so far this spring and high water at the beginning of the season, which increases the risk of accidentally hitting something, also contribute.
The Kanz family houseboat, a 44-foot Gibson, gets about three miles to the gallon, and costs about $650 to fill up, said Kanz.
They haven’t gone on any trips yet this season, but will likely plan one on Labor Day weekend. Last year, because of the rising gas prices, they decided to take the trip with other couples and all pitched in to save on gas money, said Kanz.
“I think we’ll do that again this year,” she said.
Justin Pretasky, owner of American Marine in La Crosse, Wis., which sells new and used boats, has also seen fewer boaters this season but attributes that to the weather, not gas prices.
“The weather seems to have a bigger impact than gas,” he said. “If we have a warm summer, our business will be the same as last year.”
The rising gas prices haven’t affected business, he added.
“It is still a great family activity and people still want to get out there and enjoy it,” said Pretasky. “Maybe they are just not taking as many long distance trips as they have in the past.”
The rising price of gas hasn’t deterred Eric Paquette, of Eau Claire, Wis., from taking his two kids out water skiing on the Mississippi River near Pettibone Resort. It costs him about $60 to fill up his v hull boat to take his children out for half the day, he said.
“If people love doing something, they are going to pay the price,” he said. “You still want family fun and entertainment, even if it is at a higher price.”
Kj Lang can be reached at (608) 791-8226 or klang@lacrossetribune.com.
