With gas prices forecast to stay low this summer, motorboaters, marina operators and industry analysts expect to see more vessels out on the Chesapeake Bay this summer.
The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded in Maryland was $2.34 Monday — nearly 40 cents cheaper than last year, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic, and the lowest June 6 price since 2005. While the cost of oil is rising again, the increase is expected to remain gradual, keeping prices at the pump low throughout the summer.
That's good news for Cheryl Krajcsik, a retired computer products buyer who spends half the year on her 42-foot-long Sea Ray with her husband and two Shih Tzus. Their dual-tank boat holds up to 300 gallons and travels about 14 miles on a gallon.
"We are planning several weekend trips this year and a big weekend trip this Fourth of July," Krajcsik said. "We haven't done that in the past couple of years because of fuel prices and other variables. But this year, we are looking forward to moving our boat a lot more."
Marina operators, too, are happy to see lower gas prices. Pat Williford, owner of Stansbury Yacht Basin in Middle River, expects to see more boaters at her filling station this summer.
"Things are turning around," said Williford, who has run the marina since 2002. "Gas prices have been dropping during the last year and a half, and more people are around the river."
Before 2007, Williford was selling nearly 70,000 gallons of gasoline a year. But after the recession that began that year, and then a sharp increase in gas prices, Williford said she was lucky to sell a third that amount.
Williford makes most of her money by renting boat slips. High fuel costs can cut into that business.
"A lot of people sold their boats during the high gas prices. When people sell their boats, then I have empty slips," Williford said. Owners of large gas-guzzling vessels can spend nearly $3,000 a year on a slip.
"The gas price effects a lot of things — how many times people go out and whether or not they keep their boat," Williford said.
Williford sold 40,000 gallons last year and expects to sell more this year.
Generally, Williford said, fuel costs 50 cents more on the water than on land.
Dan Hueter, 28, bought a 20-foot Bayliner Trophy a few months ago. He said it can hold about 40 gallons.
If the price of gas is low, he said, he will try to buy at least $100 at one time. Hueter plans to take his boat to Love Point to catch rockfish, he said.
"It's always a good thing when prices are lower," Hueter said. "It gets you onto the water more frequently."
Susan Zellers, executive director of the Marine Trades Association of Maryland, said that as with many recreational activities, boating relies heavily on the amount of money consumers have left over after food, clothing and shelter.
Higher fuel costs mean fewer trips to the marina and out onto the water. Zellers said the industry has tried to generate more reliable revenue by adding other activities to the marinas.
"We see marinas adding more facilities like swimming pools, snack bars, health spas," she said. "Things to make people come to the marina and get on their boats, but not have to go very far on them."
Gas prices three and four years ago were keeping families off the water, said Jim High, owner and operator of the Baltimore Boating Center in Essex. He said he was able to keep many interested by offering water activities that didn't need gasoline.
"We were lucky we got into the paddleboarding business a little before it caught on," High said.
High said he is seeing more interest in powerboating again. His marina also sells used boats.
Sales of boats have risen since the beginning of the year, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. Sales of new powerboats could climb as high as 7 percent compared with the year before, the association predicted.
Thom Dammrich, president of the association, said lower gas prices help. But he said many dedicated boaters will likely still hit the water even if the cost increases.
"For many Americans," he said, "the season is so short that there is nothing that's going to keep them off the water."