Three out of four boaters say that sky-high fuel prices are changing the way they go boating this season, encouraging them to get on the water less often, take shorter trips and make other accommodations.

A nationwide poll of 400 boat owners commissioned by Mad Mariner provides a unique window on how fuel prices are changing the habits of everyday boaters, who have been forced to adjust as gas prices climbed above $4 a gallon and diesel flirted with $5 a gallon.

TOM TRIPPGas pumps are hardly busy this summer as boaters cutback to shrink costs.While one third of those polled said they are not making any changes, many more boaters said they are taking steps to save money. For example, 45 percent said they would go boating less often this season and 32 percent said they would take shorter trips. Another 43 percent said they delayed launching their boat.

In fact, a whopping 64 percent said the cost of fuel is one of the largest factors keeping people from becoming boaters in the first place.

The idea that people may be boating less is almost certainly bad news for the boating industry, which is amid the largest sales decline in more than a decade. While much of the conversation about the industry's struggle this year has dwelled on boat sales, companies that serve boaters – boat yards, equipment makers, fuel suppliers, bait and tackle vendors, retail chains and others – also feel the pinch when boats stay in their slips.

"Fuel prices and the weak economy have absolutely affected usage," said West Marine Chief Executive Geoff Eisenberg. The decline, he said, "negatively impacts traffic to our stores and website."

MAKING CHOICES

The Mad Mariner Poll queried 400 boat owners on a broad range of topics, and its findings yielded a range of unique information, from the true impact of fuel prices to first-time insights into the role of women in the sport. The 30-question poll was conducted for Mad Mariner in June by Mountain West Research Center, an Idaho-based polling firm, using secure surveys delivered and completed online. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

While the poll numbers show that boaters as a whole are taking steps to save money, individual anecdotes show the depth of those efforts, with boaters slowing down, sharing costs and even cancelling trips.

Ron Reimann, of Arden Hills, Minn., has been planning for more than a year to bring his boat Flying Colors from New Buffalo, Mich., closer to home. The trip will be about 1,000 miles, involving 31 locks and dams, and he is scheduled to leave this week.

Reimann says he budgeted $5 per gallon for fuel, but first modified his cruise plan because of fuel costs. "The one adjustment we did make," says Reimann, "is to plan a couple of extra days and take it a little slower, so we will travel at displacement speed – about 10 mph – where I get the best fuel economy."

Paul Baldassano Jr., 62, keeps his Silverton 453 motoryacht, Eagles Nest 4 Two, in Forked River, N.J. Fuel costs have not stopped him from boating but have significantly affected how he cruises. In the past, "we'd try to go out at least twice a week for a run of about 30 miles roundtrip each time out. But this year, we've made shorter trips weekly to conserve fuel," he said.

Baldassano said that he will still make his annual cruise up the Hudson River, but this year he plans to share fuel expenses with another couple. Baldassano said he normally takes the boat down to Florida for the winter, but that fuel costs have killed that annual pilgrimage. Instead, he's decided to permanently relocate his boat to the Sunshine state.

"I'm not looking forward to spending $6,000 to $8,000 on fuel [to make the trip], but I have no choice," says Baldassano. Once the boat is in its new home, "we'll plan our trips according to fuel costs and sharing," he added.

Of course, not all boaters are cutting back. Bob Persichetti, a self-described "diehard" from Waretown, N.J., said he runs his gas-powered 37-foot convertible, Britanic, pretty much as usual.

"We have 260 boats at our marina," Persichetti says, "and I am one of the few that take a cruise every weekend," he says.

Persichetti says that his time on the water is too precious to curtail. "I own a small business and, like most, work a ton of hours," he said. "My and my wife's passion is boating. We are early in and late out, and as soon as [Britanic] splashes we rarely miss a weekend."

INDUSTRY SLOWDOWN

The Mad Mariner Poll showed that fuel costs have caused 18 percent of boaters – roughly one in five – to consider buying a different, more fuel-efficient boat. But consideration and buying are two different things.

TOM TRIPPThe Mad Mariner Poll showed fuel costs have caused 18 percent of boaters to consider buying a different, more fuel-efficient boat.The marine industry, as successful as it has been over the years, is a business that competes for discretionary dollars. Very few people need a boat in the same way that they need groceries, housing, health care or even a car. When the economy softens, discretionary spending naturally shrinks, as families cut back to afford necessities.

Boating, as a relatively expensive recreational activity, is an easy target when families start making cuts, as last year's sales numbers show in stark relief. Industry sales fell 5 percent in 2007 to about $37.5 billion, the largest decline in a decade, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. While there were many factors in the decline, industry experts said fuel prices were a major contributor.

The high cost of fuel may have another deleterious impact on the industry in addition to sagging sales: it may make it hard to recruit. For years now, the National Marine Manufacturers Association has spent millions of dollars on sophisticated campaigns designed to attract new boaters to the sport.

Polling shows that the costs associated with boating are the largest factors that prevent people from joining the sport. Roughly two thirds of those polled said that the cost associated with buying a boat, maintaining it, berthing it and fueling it were the biggest factors, far outweighing the difficulties of operating a boat or getting a nautical education.

The current climate has caused many marine companies to conclude that they need to address fuel costs in their marketing plans. Luhrs Group, for example, offered fuel as part of a package of freebies for those who purchased a boat during their July 4 sale.

Scout Boats, of Summerville, S.C., has specifically added fuel-efficiency material to its website. Alan Lang, the company's vice president of marketing, says that customers are now adding fuel consumption to their buying decisions. He believes it will affect the entire industry, and that some companies will be forced to "compete on fuel efficiency."

Some companies are even offering products designed to appeal to thrifty, fuel-conscious buyers. Island Pilot, for example, is offering its Hybrid DSE catamaran, a boat that makes heavy use of solar power and is capable of cruising at slow speeds using no fuel at all under the right set of circumstances.

Hunter Marine just introduced its new 27-foot Edge motorsailer, which combines reasonable sailing performance with the ability to harness a 75 HP outboard and reach planing speeds. It's a boat designed to appeal to new buyers, offering versatility and fuel economy at a cost of less than $40,000.

Yet, while both boaters and businesses adapt to the current fuel prices and the weak economic climate, one thing they are not yet doing is leaving the sport. The Mad Mariner Poll showed that just 5 percent of respondents said they would not go boating this season, a number squarely within the margin of error, and only 8 percent said they planned to sell their boat.

Perhaps many feel like Larry Turner, who lives in Tacoma, Wash., and uses his vintage 1981 34-foot convertible on Puget Sound. As he put it, "What we have not done is stay home and leave the boat in the slip. If it comes to that, it needs to go."