High fuel costs rock the boaters
By KHURRAM SAEED
ksaeed@lohud.com
THE JOURNAL NEWS
30 Gallons $108
Meghan Deutermann of Mamaroneck Boats and Motors puts away the gas nozzle at the fueling dock after George Vasquez of New Rochelle gasses up. Vasquez said yesterday that with the high gas prices, he'll probably keep his boat moored and just hang out on it more rather than take it out into Long Island Sound.
$3.649
$3.649
$3.649
$4.199
$3.389
(Original publication: May 5, 2006)
Dana Ship loves taking the Family Ship - that's the name of his 28-foot powerboat - for a ride around Manhattan. But with boat fuel prices at $3.65 a gallon, those trips may become less frequent.
The boat's tank holds 72 gallons, meaning it costs more than $260 to fill up - or about $20 more than this time last year. A round trip to Manhattan and back takes an entire tank.
"It's only going to get worse. We know that," Ship said while relaxing on his boat with his dog, Jake, the other day at the Haverstraw Marina in West Haverstraw.
Even so, the optician from New City predicted boaters would absorb the higher costs during the summer but scale back longer trips.
"People are going to bite the bullet," said John Panebianco, co-owner of Panco Petroleum, which runs two fuel docks in Stony Point.
Memorial Day weekend, which marks the unofficial start of the recreational boating season for Lower Hudson Valley boaters, is still a few weeks away, and marina midgrade 89 octane is at $3.649 a gallon. In May 2005, the same gallon cost $3.389.
But some boat owners fear prices might approach post-Hurricane Katrina levels, when a gallon sold for $4.199 in early September.
"People who are passionate about boating are not going to let gasoline prices keep them off of the water," said Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, a trade group based in Chicago.
Dammrich said the typical boater used his or her vessel about 75 to 100 hours a season, consuming about 400 gallons of gas.
With the boating season lasting about four months in New York, Dammrich said people would continue fishing, day-tripping and spending time with their family on the water until gas reached a price that was too painful to bear.
"I don't know what that price is," Dammrich said.
During the summer, the organization held a boater panel about increasing gas prices. Ten percent of the panelists said they would boat less, 20 percent said they would stay closer to home, and the rest said it wouldn't affect them at all.
Ship recalled when fuel prices spiked during the summer, people came down to marina - and never left.
"They were just uncovering the boat, bringing the lounge chair, sitting on the dock," Ship said.
Marc Katzman has two power boats at Tarrytown Boat Club and Marina - Family Ties, a 46-footer, and Lighten Up, a 26-footer.
The Ardsley resident intends to cruise the Hudson as often as in years past, although he might take out the smaller boat instead for a trip to upstate Kingston. His larger boat, which has a 450-gallon tank and burns 35 gallons an hour, will be used to entertain as well as for longer trips to Newport, R.I.
"I don't even look at the fuel prices, as crazy as it may sound," said Katzman, who sells and distributes laundry machinery. "There's nothing that's sane or rational about boating. It's just expensive. It's an expensive hobby."
Boating is a pastime that local residents increasingly are pursuing with fervor, said Steve Plotkin, who is the manager, dockmaster and sales agent for Half Moon Bay Marina in Croton-on-Hudson.
Higher gas prices haven't stopped people from putting their boats in the water, Plotkin said, or from purchasing or renting boat slips at the 173-slip marina.
"Why should I worry? You hear my phone. It's ringing off the hook," Plotkin said. "I don't worry until I have to and I haven't had to. ... It hasn't affected me. People are calling me, and people are getting bigger and more expensive boats."
Carmine D'Alessandro, a Waldwick, N.J., police officer who keeps his 27-foot powerboat at the Haverstraw Marina, expected to spend close to $500 on gas in the summer. D'Alessandro, his wife and two children particularly enjoy going out at night when the Hudson River "looks like glass."
"It's going to put a little damper on what we do," D'Alessandro said of gas prices. "But I didn't buy the boat to have it sit here at the marina. I'm going to use it. If it's going to cost me a little more, it's going to cost me a little more."
For waterfront businesses that count on out-of-town boat traffic, such as marinas and restaurants, these are uncertain times.
Dammrich, of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, said his group was completing a national study on trip-spending. As an example, he said the owners of the 4,600 boats that are in Lake Michigan's harbors in Chicago spend about $21 million annually.
Norman Feinberg, co-owner of the Haverstraw Marina, said out-of-town boaters produce a small but significant amount of revenue. The 900-slip facility offers a swimming pool, cabanas, tennis courts, food services and a children's recreation room for those willing to pay.
"It's a little bit too early" to tell, he said. "I suspect a lot of those people are waiting to see what their situations will be. A lot of people will go into the water. The big question is whether they're going to go out and take trips."
Those who stay local might be more inclined after a day of boating to get in their cars and eat in restaurants in nearby towns and villages, away from the waterfront.
"I'll suffer like any other restaurant now," said Tom Scaramellino, owner of Crystal Bay Restaurant, which is at the Charles Point Marina in Peekskill.
Only 5 percent of the restaurant's business arrives by boat, but customers have come from as far away as Long Island, New Jersey and New England. Scaramellino said he was hopeful boaters would still want to experience harborside dining, even if it was close to home.
"People are still going to stay the night on their boat, recreate down on the boat, spend the weekend at the marina," he said "So it's not all negative."
Ship, the boat owner from Rockland, said people with the big boats would clearly have the money to offset any fuel increase.
"But the marginal guy, the guy with this size boat, I think is going to think twice about it," Ship said.
By KHURRAM SAEED
ksaeed@lohud.com
THE JOURNAL NEWS
30 Gallons $108
Meghan Deutermann of Mamaroneck Boats and Motors puts away the gas nozzle at the fueling dock after George Vasquez of New Rochelle gasses up. Vasquez said yesterday that with the high gas prices, he'll probably keep his boat moored and just hang out on it more rather than take it out into Long Island Sound.
$3.649
$3.649
$3.649
$4.199
$3.389
(Original publication: May 5, 2006)
Dana Ship loves taking the Family Ship - that's the name of his 28-foot powerboat - for a ride around Manhattan. But with boat fuel prices at $3.65 a gallon, those trips may become less frequent.
The boat's tank holds 72 gallons, meaning it costs more than $260 to fill up - or about $20 more than this time last year. A round trip to Manhattan and back takes an entire tank.
"It's only going to get worse. We know that," Ship said while relaxing on his boat with his dog, Jake, the other day at the Haverstraw Marina in West Haverstraw.
Even so, the optician from New City predicted boaters would absorb the higher costs during the summer but scale back longer trips.
"People are going to bite the bullet," said John Panebianco, co-owner of Panco Petroleum, which runs two fuel docks in Stony Point.
Memorial Day weekend, which marks the unofficial start of the recreational boating season for Lower Hudson Valley boaters, is still a few weeks away, and marina midgrade 89 octane is at $3.649 a gallon. In May 2005, the same gallon cost $3.389.
But some boat owners fear prices might approach post-Hurricane Katrina levels, when a gallon sold for $4.199 in early September.
"People who are passionate about boating are not going to let gasoline prices keep them off of the water," said Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, a trade group based in Chicago.
Dammrich said the typical boater used his or her vessel about 75 to 100 hours a season, consuming about 400 gallons of gas.
With the boating season lasting about four months in New York, Dammrich said people would continue fishing, day-tripping and spending time with their family on the water until gas reached a price that was too painful to bear.
"I don't know what that price is," Dammrich said.
During the summer, the organization held a boater panel about increasing gas prices. Ten percent of the panelists said they would boat less, 20 percent said they would stay closer to home, and the rest said it wouldn't affect them at all.
Ship recalled when fuel prices spiked during the summer, people came down to marina - and never left.
"They were just uncovering the boat, bringing the lounge chair, sitting on the dock," Ship said.
Marc Katzman has two power boats at Tarrytown Boat Club and Marina - Family Ties, a 46-footer, and Lighten Up, a 26-footer.
The Ardsley resident intends to cruise the Hudson as often as in years past, although he might take out the smaller boat instead for a trip to upstate Kingston. His larger boat, which has a 450-gallon tank and burns 35 gallons an hour, will be used to entertain as well as for longer trips to Newport, R.I.
"I don't even look at the fuel prices, as crazy as it may sound," said Katzman, who sells and distributes laundry machinery. "There's nothing that's sane or rational about boating. It's just expensive. It's an expensive hobby."
Boating is a pastime that local residents increasingly are pursuing with fervor, said Steve Plotkin, who is the manager, dockmaster and sales agent for Half Moon Bay Marina in Croton-on-Hudson.
Higher gas prices haven't stopped people from putting their boats in the water, Plotkin said, or from purchasing or renting boat slips at the 173-slip marina.
"Why should I worry? You hear my phone. It's ringing off the hook," Plotkin said. "I don't worry until I have to and I haven't had to. ... It hasn't affected me. People are calling me, and people are getting bigger and more expensive boats."
Carmine D'Alessandro, a Waldwick, N.J., police officer who keeps his 27-foot powerboat at the Haverstraw Marina, expected to spend close to $500 on gas in the summer. D'Alessandro, his wife and two children particularly enjoy going out at night when the Hudson River "looks like glass."
"It's going to put a little damper on what we do," D'Alessandro said of gas prices. "But I didn't buy the boat to have it sit here at the marina. I'm going to use it. If it's going to cost me a little more, it's going to cost me a little more."
For waterfront businesses that count on out-of-town boat traffic, such as marinas and restaurants, these are uncertain times.
Dammrich, of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, said his group was completing a national study on trip-spending. As an example, he said the owners of the 4,600 boats that are in Lake Michigan's harbors in Chicago spend about $21 million annually.
Norman Feinberg, co-owner of the Haverstraw Marina, said out-of-town boaters produce a small but significant amount of revenue. The 900-slip facility offers a swimming pool, cabanas, tennis courts, food services and a children's recreation room for those willing to pay.
"It's a little bit too early" to tell, he said. "I suspect a lot of those people are waiting to see what their situations will be. A lot of people will go into the water. The big question is whether they're going to go out and take trips."
Those who stay local might be more inclined after a day of boating to get in their cars and eat in restaurants in nearby towns and villages, away from the waterfront.
"I'll suffer like any other restaurant now," said Tom Scaramellino, owner of Crystal Bay Restaurant, which is at the Charles Point Marina in Peekskill.
Only 5 percent of the restaurant's business arrives by boat, but customers have come from as far away as Long Island, New Jersey and New England. Scaramellino said he was hopeful boaters would still want to experience harborside dining, even if it was close to home.
"People are still going to stay the night on their boat, recreate down on the boat, spend the weekend at the marina," he said "So it's not all negative."
Ship, the boat owner from Rockland, said people with the big boats would clearly have the money to offset any fuel increase.
"But the marginal guy, the guy with this size boat, I think is going to think twice about it," Ship said.