Despite economic conditions that all but capsized the recreational boating industry, two out of three boaters say the recession did not impact their boating season in 2009, according to a Mad Mariner survey.
While headlines were filled with economic woes, the 1,081 boaters who responded to the web-based survey made one thing very clear: they got out on the boat this year.
Almost two out of every three respondents said they did more boating in 2009 than they did the previous year. In fact, roughly 54 percent said they spent more than 30 days on the water this season – an 8 percentage point increase over a similar survey conducted in April that asked boaters about their experiences in 2008.
The survey, which was conducted Dec. 14 to 23, was part of an ongoing effort to collect information on how boaters actually use their boats. It was published in connection with Mad Mariner's annual Year in Review and Full Results were made available.
The survey was also a contest and one lucky boater, Peter Williams, won the West Marine RU-260 Sport Dinghy, worth almost $800. Everyone else who took the survey received three months free on Mad Mariner, with your account to be credited automatically (you don't have to do anything).
CLOSE TO HOME
Guatemala. Alaska. The Intracoastal Waterway. The British Virgin Islands. The stories told by boaters about their travels this season – respondents were asked to provide Highlights and Lowlights – crackled with adventure.
There were some wonderful moments, many of them simple. "Soloed the boat across the lake for the first time," wrote one boater. "Crossed an ocean for the first time," wrote another. No details given – and none needed.
There were also some horrible moments. "I launched our boat in a 25-30 knot winds figuring I could easily handle it," wrote one boater. "The travel launch had no sooner dropped me in the water when the wind caught me and I banged into 2 boats doing minor damage. I managed to get out of the launch area with the help of three marina employees and proceeded to my slip area about 100 yards away. The wind caught me big time and I hit reverse in error and did $8,000 in damage to my boat and the same to the guy next to me. A friend was heard describing my piloting as follows: hit everything in the harbor except the lottery! And he was right."
However, whether the experiences were good, bad or ugly, boaters as a group stayed pretty close to home this season.
More than half of those who responded stayed within 15 miles of their home port on the average day on the water. The most common destination was an anchorage. Almost half also said they had five or fewer trips that involved and overnight stay, and those most often involved tying up at a marina.
Fully 22.5 percent said they did not take any trips at all.
ECONOMIC WOES
Of course, the economy was not without impact.
Though not a majority, one in three boaters said the recession did impact their boating. Among them, 41 percent said they spent less money on the boat; 41.5 percent said they took shorter trips; 38 percent said they went boating less often; and 33 percent said they spent more time at the dock.
Few had plans to spend large amounts, with more than 75 percent saying they had no plans to buy a boat, new or used.
Money was clearly a limiting factor – but so was time. More than half of those who responded say that the primary reason they don't do more boating is a lack of recreational time. Only one in 10 cited economic reasons like the cost of fuel.
As one boater put it, "I had great plans for the season, but work obligations became awful, and I did not dare blow them off in this kind of economy."
Of course, there were cases in which the economy freed up some time, too.
"My brother was laid off so it gave us the time to sail in Michigan waters," one boater explained. "Port hopping and enjoying the port towns were what we did. Sometimes just a conversation on a dock is cool."
