Costly gas hasn't idled area boaters

Jet skis cost $60 a day to fuel now, but marinas say they're busy as ever.
By AMANDA GARRETT
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
Jet skis zipped along and pontoon boats glided over peaceful waters as vacationers enjoyed a beautiful summer afternoon on Lake Milton.
With gas prices hovering around $3 a gallon, area residents will pay a steep price for an afternoon of fun on any lake in the Mahoning or Shenango valleys.
"It's ridiculous," said Chris Boesche of Lake Milton, who was on the back of his wave runner at Lake Milton State Park boat ramp. "It costs $60 a day to run this thing."
Boesche's friend Gino Gioppo of Boardman said the high price of gasoline has caused him and Boesche to cut back on water sports.
"We can't bring it out like we did last summer," he said.
Bob Gardner and Jeff Horn, both of Austintown, were untying Gardner's fishing boat from the pier.
Gardner said he doesn't let gas prices get in the way of his favorite hobby.
"I come out here whenever I get the chance," he said.
It takes about 10 gallons of gas per day to run Gardner's three-seat boat. Horn said they try to conserve on gas by cutting back on the speed.
"If you don't put the throttle all the way open, you don't use as much gas," he said.
Business booming
Most area marinas and state parks haven't seen much of an impact.
"There's no difference," said Kathy Sofchek, assistant manager of Mosquito Lake Marina. "We're as busy as we ever were."
Business is smooth sailing at RC's Marina in Sharpsville, Pa, which has a dockside gas station on the shores of Shenango Lake.
"We have about 600 boats, and they're paying $3.05 at the pump right now," Secretary Heidi Butterfield said. "They come to us because they would have to use more gas pulling the boats out of the water and taking them to a regular gas station."
Anglers are crowding Pymatuning Lake State Park, Park Manager Phil Vichosky said.
"We're actually very busy," he said. "This is the best year in 10 years for crappie, and we've had a lot of fisherpeople to take advantage of it."
Employees of West Branch Marina said they have seen a slight decrease in business, but they don't blame it on gas prices.
"I think the rainy weather has affected it more than anything," employee Sarah West said.
Officials at Berlin Lake said it was too early in the season to tell whether boating rates were up or down.
Boaters across the country are still trying to enjoy their favorite pastime while also saving money, said Mike Anderson of the American Boating Association in Harwich Port, Mass.
"You get a lot of grumbling and griping, but in general people are using their boats, they're just using them more efficiently," he said. "Boaters are deciding not to run their engines at full throttle and shutting them off more to let the boats drift."
Boaters are also doing without new equipment, Anderson said.
"People are definitely rethinking purchases," he said. "Rather than buying a new GPS system, they'll save that money for gas."
Although boaters aren't yet ready to abandon ship, if gas prices continue to rise there could be serious problems in the industry, Anderson said.
"If gas prices keep going up, who knows what will happen," he said.
agarrett@vindy.com