The most obvious effect of steep oil prices is the pinch boaters feel at the fuel dock, as gasoline balloons to more than $4 per gallon in some areas with diesel close behind.

But complaints can also be heard in showrooms, where salespeople often use the increasing cost of oil to justify the increasing cost of new boats. Can you really trust a dealer when they say this year’s model is more expensive than last year’s because the price of oil has gone up?

The truth is that it is difficult to make generalizations, because different companies and segments of the market are impacted by a myriad of economic factors. But government and industry statistics do show that the price of oil and the average price of a new boat in some segments of the market have climbed together since at least 1995.

For example, the average cost of a new boat with an outboard engine nearly doubled to about $15,000 between 1995 and 2005, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. The cost of a new boat with an inboard engine rose roughly 87 percent to almost $400,000 during that same period. Concurrently, crude oil prices tripled worldwide, from $17.02 per barrel to $54.52 per barrel, according to statistics from BP.Reporting: Patrick Reaves
Sources: BP, NMMAThe price of crude oil and the price of power boats with inboard and outboard engines increased between 1995 and 2005.

James Petru, director of industry statistics and research at the Association, said any industry that is reliant on petrochemical products like fiberglass is going to be sensitive to oil prices.

“We do anticipate it to cause increases,” he said, though he added that, “I don’t think it will affect boating any more than the plastics people.”

High oil prices hurt more than just consumers. Boat builders feel the sting first, in the form of increased costs for raw materials and shipping, which are generally passed on to dealers and then to buyers. Many manufacturers, particularly those with smaller companies making smaller boats, say fluctuating oil prices make managing their costs and customer pricing far more difficult.

“You look at a boat, and it’s almost all based on petrol,” said Rob May, director of marketing for Regal Boats, which makes high-performance gas and diesel engine sport boats and cruisers. Because wooden boats have been reduced to niche craft, and boats made of steel and aluminum are still small segments of the market, the vast majority of recreational boats are made primarily of some form of petrochemical, usually fiberglass and plastic.

Regal Boats makes about 3,000 recreational units per year, ranging from 19 feet to 53 feet. May said that because the cost of building those boats has risen so steadily, Regal has to fight harder than before to retain and gain market share.

“We have been very cautious because of the price of raw materials,” May said. “We have to work harder for the sale before.”

Of course, many factors impact the price of new boats. But whatever the cause, the trend toward higher numbers has not slowed. New boat sales grew from $9.6 billion to $11.5 billion between 2005 and 2006, according to an Association report released in May of 2006. The report says the increase was caused in part by rising production costs that included petrochemicals.Reporting: Patrick Reaves
Sources: BP, NMMAThe price of crude oil and the price of boats with inboard engines both increased between 1995 and 2005.

“The cost of the product rises when raw materials go up,” said Raymond Currey, head of sales for Burr Yacht Sales, which sells high-end Fleming yachts.

Currey said that rising boat prices are an anticipated part of selling boats.

“While we’d like to see prices go down,” he said, “nothing costs the same as it did in 1995.”

He also said that a demand for new and better equipment such as stabilizers and thrusters have also contributed to price increases. “People put and expect more equipment on their boats,” he said.

Buyers looking at new boats don’t need statistics to see the trend. Some well-known boats, such as the Fleming 55, have seen sharp increases over the past several years.

“As the price of oil goes up, so does everything else,” said Kathi Reid, spokesperson for Grand Yachts, a Canadian retailer that carries the Fleming 55. She confirmed that the model has seen steep increases over the last few years, in part because of the price of oil.

Boat builders say that smaller companies making smaller boats are the most likely to be hurt by rising oil prices, as are some marine suppliers

“It’d be nice if they evened off for a period instead of jumping up every few weeks,” said John Arbuckle, owner of Buck Woodcraft, a marine supplier in the Florida Keys that also makes doors, tables dinghy chocks and other products from a composite material called Starboard.

Reporting: Patrick Reaves
Sources: BP, NMMAThe price of crude oil and the price of boats with outboard engines both increased between 1995 and 2005.Because of its size, Buck Woodcraft has to absorb the increased cost of materials, which then gets passed on to the consumer in order to keep the company profitable. Arbuckle said oil prices affect the cost of his materials more than any other factor. “Everything is plastic or a form of plastic,” he said. “That’s all petrochemical.”

While larger companies have the capacity watch oil prices and adjust their materials to improve margins, Arbuckle said he does not have the resources to make those adjustments. “If I were a large-scale boat manufacturer, I’d be watching the market like crazy,” he said.

Manufacturers of larger boats, who sell to wealthier clients, are sometimes less impacted by fluctuations in oil prices, even though the price increases associated with their boats may yield larger figures.

For example, Katie Ross, a spokeswoman for Burger Boat Company, which specializes in custom-built yachts longer than 80 feet, said that higher oil prices do affect the cost of shipping and construction but the company does not change its business formula much because its wealthy clientele are less sensitive to price changes. The impact of oil prices on building materials or fuel may mean less to owners of higher-end boats.

“When it comes time to fuel up, these people have pretty deep pockets,” Ross said about the company’s clientele. “They’re aware of those consequences.”