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.