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sa meredith · 06-27-2007, 03:35 PM

I'm getting in the conversation a bit late here....but my thoughts are these...
The drop off in boat traffic is part of a much bigger picture. There are now just so many people who made huge money for a long time...and we all tend to spend as quick as we make. And now, things are very different. People whose income 100/150/200K are seeing things change very rapidly. However, the payments they have committed to over the years are not changing. The $2000 mortgage, the $500 boat payment, the $1000 payment on the vaca house, the $400 car payment...and on and on it goes. People in Real Estate, Auto Sales, Ins. sales, Investment Banking...all having to "tighten the belt a notch or two". And at some point something has to give. The recreation buget is just not there right now. And the gas price is just a small part of a HUGE problem...a bit of salt in an open wound. Although the boat might be in a slip, ready to go, (and might even be paid for), the thought of a trip to the lake for a day or two, with all the expenses that go with it (gas, food, lodging,and the way kids just seem to spend money on small stuff) is just out of the question right now. So instead of 10 or 11 weekends during the summer, it is 4 or 5.
I guess the overall point is that the drop off in boat traffic is a trickle down effect of the state of the economy. Gas prices are a small part of it.

06-27-2007, 03:35 PM	#21
sa meredith Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 986 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 32 Thanked 352 Times in 137 Posts	Economy over all... I'm getting in the conversation a bit late here....but my thoughts are these... The drop off in boat traffic is part of a much bigger picture. There are now just so many people who made huge money for a long time...and we all tend to spend as quick as we make. And now, things are very different. People whose income 100/150/200K are seeing things change very rapidly. However, the payments they have committed to over the years are not changing. The $2000 mortgage, the $500 boat payment, the $1000 payment on the vaca house, the $400 car payment...and on and on it goes. People in Real Estate, Auto Sales, Ins. sales, Investment Banking...all having to "tighten the belt a notch or two". And at some point something has to give. The recreation buget is just not there right now. And the gas price is just a small part of a HUGE problem...a bit of salt in an open wound. Although the boat might be in a slip, ready to go, (and might even be paid for), the thought of a trip to the lake for a day or two, with all the expenses that go with it (gas, food, lodging,and the way kids just seem to spend money on small stuff) is just out of the question right now. So instead of 10 or 11 weekends during the summer, it is 4 or 5. I guess the overall point is that the drop off in boat traffic is a trickle down effect of the state of the economy. Gas prices are a small part of it.