Quote:
Originally Posted by sdowney717
An argument against power boats as being reasonable.
have you thought about this way. My boat has a 300 gallon tank.
If it cost $4 to fill up that is $1200.
If I filled the tank a hundred times that will cost $120,000
I have easily filled my car tank many more times than a hundred.
Power boating well I see very few boats on the water today. Most of the boats at the marina just sit there. How was boating back in the 1960's as far as the number of boats on the water? That was when fuel was considered cheap before the Arab oil embargo.
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I'm with you brother. I am just as frustrated as you when it comes to fuel cost, but think about the figures you posted: 300 x 100 = 30,000 gallons of fuel. In what time-frame: one year; five years; ten years? Is this really a feasible figure for the average powerboat calculated for the near term? Maybe for you, but not in my world. I'm underway a lot to and from the
Bahamas, and I own three powerboats, 52' (1100 gal), 42' (350 gal), and 17' respectively.
Comparing apples to oranges: A person who smokes a pack a day is spending $1825.00 per year on cigarettes (is it 5.00 a pack?), or $18,250.00 every ten years. I don't smoke, and at $1825.00 per year I'm glad I don't, however, I spend at least that much on my Harley each year. Habits cost
money, and boats can be a habit. In all due respect, most of us choose our poison. I feel that if it is hurting you in the pocket too much, then one has to find a new habit. I doubt that I can quit boats, so I cut back here and there to ease the pain.
For me, the cure to minimizing sticker shock at the
pump is to fill up well before I'm empty. Either way, it hurts. Powerboats aren't for everyone (and I respect those who prefer sail as the primary propulsion) but if you think people aren't using their boats, come on down to
Fort Lauderdale. This past Saturday I went out for a
cruise, and then turned around and went home because there were way too many weekend boaters for my taste. I thought the high winds would keep them in. Nope.
Its the same in
Bimini...there are large numbers of
Florida based triple and quad
outboard boats tooling around there (and I do mean "tooling" around). I watch them fill up with 200 and 300 or more gallons at $6.15 a gallon before they
head back to
Miami or wherever. Sure, it wasn't like that in the '60s, but I don't see how that has a bearing on the matter.
I can say one thing about paying $6.00 per gallon for
diesel in the
Bahamas: It makes paying $3.50 or $4.00 stateside seem like a gift.
By the way, hello again CF, back after a long break.
Cheers,
Dave K
Daring
Game
Ft Laud FL