Fuel prices make waves as boating season opens

PORTLAND – The arrival of boating season in Maine is leaving powerboat owners with a case of sticker shock as some scramble to adjust to record-breaking prices for gasoline and diesel fuel.

In the past, Robert Feeney would keep the motor on his 25-footer running while he and his wife fish for stripers and mackerel in Casco Bay. But with gas hovering close to $4 per gallon at some marinas, Feeney is looking to cut costs without reducing his time on the water.

“You can maneuver your boat better with the fuel going,” said Feeney, an assisted-living facility administrator from Portland, “but we can put the anchor down so the boat doesn’t move as much, even with the wind.”

During the Memorial Day weekend, as many boaters put their craft in the water for the first time this season, marina owners noticed that some were being more prudent in terms of fuel consumption.

Some were dropping anchor in Sebago Lake or limiting their water skiing to an hour or so instead of several hours, said Dan Allen, owner of Causeway Marina in Naples.

Others may have elected not to go out at all.

“It seems like there’s not the ton of people that I expected with the good weather,” said Allen, who was selling premium gas for $3.99 per gallon and regular for $3.79.

While motorists struggle with rising gasoline costs, the task can be more of a challenge for boaters. Even smaller powerboats guzzle gas faster than a Hummer, and fuel costs about 50 cents a gallon more at the docks than on land. Marina owners say they face higher costs because they must employ dock hands and pay for environmental insurance to protect against spills.

Five years ago, the owner of an average-size 20-foot boat would have shelled out about $30 for a day out on the water. Today, that same excursion would cost more than $100, Allen said.

At the Maine Yacht Center in Portland, dock master Karen Hamilton said the rise in gas prices is reflected in the breakdown of out-of-state boats.

“I’m getting people showing up from Massachusetts and New Hampshire,” Hamilton said, “but I’m not getting a lot of people from much farther away.”

When boats from Connecticut and New York dock at the marina, they typically do not stray far north of Portland, she said.

There are still plenty of people, though, who pay no mind to gas prices, said Judy Marsh, owner of Paul’s Marina in Brunswick, where the price over the holiday weekend was $3.25 a gallon for regular.

“People really don’t even ask,” Marsh said. “They say, ‘I waited all year and my family and I are going to enjoy the weather and this day.'”