Quote:
Originally Posted by secondcurve
Are there any thoughts out there about whether Winnipesaukee slips will open up a bit this year in light of high gas prices (my guess is that we are looking at $4.00 a gallon at most marinas) and falling economic activity? Clearly, there is a lot of money on the lake willing to pay high prices for a scarce resource, but is it possible we are approaching a break point. I'd be curious to hear about any recent information regarding availability/pricing.
Thanks in advance..
|
I think you won't see much difference in slip availability... There is and there will always be some sort of turnover (just like the housing/real estate market)... It is supply and demand... Yes there are some slips available now, but who knows if this will be the case in July... Most people will realize that it may be easier on your wallet to rent a slip rather than to trailer back and forth every weekend using a lot of gas in your vehicle... Also, boat show season is upon us and the Boston Boat Show was quite busy when I was there... I think there will always be people buying boats no matter what the gas prices are... The gas prices don't affect people who want to go boating too much... Most of what I see is people complaining about gas prices for their cars because it is a necessary evil and you have to fill up your car because you have to use it to go to work and to get you around... People who go boating make a conscious choice to spend their time and money participating in this recreational past time... I think the RV industry is taking a bigger hit than the boating industry... So the majority of people who go boating, although may pay higher prices for boat gas, won't complain about it too much because it is a quality of life issue... You want to be out there using your boat having fun in the sun because it gets you away from work and all your other daily pressures... Think about it in these terms: "How may hours of fun per gallon are you having" spending time with your family/kids/relatives/friends etc... versus the cost per gallon... You can't put a price on it!!! Yes, the cost of gas on the lake is more than for cars which means that you may spend more time anchored at a sand bar rather than blowing around the lake, but I doubt that it will ever get to $4.00/gallon. Even if it does, that won't scare me away... The subprime real estate market is a bigger problem and if you drive around the lakes region currently, you will see far more house/condos/cottages on the market for sale than you will see boat slips. Hope my .02 cents was worth it
