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."