Bayliner Boats - Gasoline Prices Affect Summer Travel

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Hi gang, Rick Ostler here bringing you Bayliner Boats along with news and views from the boating industry. The jury might still be out on how higher gasoline prices affect summer travel.

Clinton and Perry Lakes, Kansas - gas prices nearing $4.00 a gallon

Officials at Clinton and Perry lakes reported typically busy Memorial Day boating and camping traffic this weekend. But with gasoline nearing $4 per gallon, several holiday boaters and campers said higher pump prices were still on their minds. Sherry Reed, James Brewton and their friends pooled their money to put gas in Brewton’s 1998 Bayliner to spend Monday afternoon on Clinton Lake. They spent $70 total to fill up the tank before they left Lawrence.

Gas, an Issue now for boaters

“We used to be able to say, ‘Hey, let’s go boating,’ and now we have to make sure we have enough people to cover the gas money,” Reed said. She said the afternoon sunshine made Monday look more like a typical Memorial Day at the lake, compared with a gray and cloudy morning earlier, because more boaters hit the water. Park rangers said campsites at Clinton and Perry lakes were full for the weekend. Last year, high waters forced them to close some flooded camps and beaches.

Boat Traffic during long weekend

Officials at Clinton Lake said traditionally 40,000 to 50,000 people spend some time on the federal land every Memorial Day weekend. “I would say it would probably be within that mark,” said Jon Carlisle, a park ranger at Clinton Lake with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. At both lakes, boating traffic seemed to be off-and-on at certain times, but they suspected it was due to the storms that moved in throughout the weekend. “I think we probably had more effect from weather than we did fuel prices,” said Kenneth Wade, operations project manager at Perry Lake with the Corps of Engineers.

Spending only one tank of gas

Carlisle, at Clinton Lake, said higher fuel prices might not hit the two area lakes as hard during summer holidays because they serve a local population in northeastern Kansas and the Kansas City area. Matt Jones, who owns a Tonganoxie plumbing company, spent the weekend with family from the area camping at Clinton State Park. It makes for a good family atmosphere, and the campground was full most of the weekend, he said. But they also decided ahead of time to use only one tank of gas in their boat the entire weekend. They still had fuel to go back on the water Monday afternoon, but for the first time the thought was there, he said.

Clinton Marina, Kansas, drop in boat traffic

Megan Hiebert, president of the Clinton Marina, said she had not noticed a drop in boating traffic in the lake. “If it hits 5, 6 or 7 (dollars), but again, we were saying the same thing when it hit 3 and 4,” she said. Some boaters Monday said they made small changes to try to consume less fuel, but at the same time they still wanted to find a way to have fun on Memorial Day weekend. “Somehow, we’ll work a little harder, make a little more money to afford our favorite thing to do,” said Jim Fender, of Lawrence. Thanks to 6News anchor/reporter Mark Boyle for this story.

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Rick Ostler, North American Waterway