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BY KEITH EDWARDS
Staff Writer 05/18/2008

Staff Writer

The water, at least, is still free.

But the cost of getting to it and, for those whose chosen watercraft is a motorboat, out onto it, is rising faster than an incoming tide.

Nevertheless those in the boat business, especially locals selling more fuel-efficient water toys, anticipate the summer boating season could still be strong, if different.

"Right now, our sales are hovering right around where they were last year and last year was the most successful year in our 60 years in business," said Rob Brown, co-owner of Clark Marine in Manchester, which sells a variety of motor and self-powered boats. "We live in a beautiful area for boating. It would be a shame, because of the cost of fossil fuels, if we stop using that resource."

He noted many forms of recreation are more expensive due to gas prices and people are likely to have less "disposable" income this year, due to the increased cost of heating their homes and driving their cars.

Brown said if boaters are careful about how they use their boats, the high gas prices could only amount to an extra $50 to $70 spent over the course of the summer.

"People passionate about it are going to find the right way for them to enjoy the water," Brown said. "If your idea of leisure time is a go-fast boat, or wakeboarding or water-skiing all day, you're going to notice the bottom line to a degree. But there are a number of ways around it."

Brown suggested boaters who might otherwise cruise around a lake under power for a day could, instead, motor up to one end of the lake, shut off the motor and drift to the other end of the lake.

Or take a more high-tech approach and consider a new hybrid boat, such as a model of pontoon boat Clark Marine sells that can putt along at low speeds solely under electric power from trolling motors integrated into its pontoons.

"You can run this boat, say, three to five miles per hour, fast enough to keep the bugs off you, with three or four people on board and it's absolutely silent, no noise, no vibration," Brown said of the boat when running in electric-only mode. "If you want to go faster, you've got a 75-horse Merc that can take you 25, 26 miles per hour, enough to take the kids tubing. It's a very versatile craft."

Or boaters can forgo motors altogether, and rely on the wind or their own arms to move them through the water.

"I've never been partial to speedboats anyway but with gas prices so high, maybe (kayaking) will increase in popularity," said DeeDee Giguere, of Sabattus, an avid kayaker.

Giguere said for paddlers, the high gas prices could make for an even more pleasant summer on the water, as there could be fewer motorboats around -- and more solitude.

Ralph Ardito, owner of Belgrade Canoe & Kayak, anticipates a strong season this summer, helped by high gas prices that could have more new boaters looking at paddle-powered boats.

"The big boats are being parked this year," Ardito said.

Ardito, who stocks 800 canoes and kayaks, jokes "most" of the boats he sells get over 200 miles per gallon.

He said Maine has the highest per-capita number of paddlers of any state in the country.

But Mainers don't just use fuel-efficient boats. They build them, too.

The 14-to-23-foot traditional New England family fishing boats built by Maritime Marine in Augusta, a subsidiary of Kenway Corp., have long been known for their fuel-efficiency, even before gas prices skyrocketed, representatives said.

"Unlike a lot of boat builders, we're in the fortunate position that our boats were designed to be fuel-efficient 20 years ago," said Ian Kopp, president and chief operating officer. "Our boats can use smaller, fuel efficient engines while still achieving the same performance as boats with bigger motors.

"I wish I could chalk it up to sheer genius (in anticipation of high gas prices) but it was really just a design that made sense.

"It's more economical, and now that's much more of a positive, so we're emphasizing that fuel efficiency. It's gained more importance in people's decision-making now."

Kopp said sales have been steady but aren't increasing astronomically. But, he noted, there are numerous stories of other boat manufacturers shutting down plants, so steady is good.

The Augusta-built boats are available through dealers up and down the East Coast.

The company employs about 30 people in boat manufacturing and 80 overall.

Maritime's boats, Kopp explained, have a unique hull design featuring a deep-V entry, traditional for offshore stability, followed, in the aft portion of the craft, by a flatter section of hull. The design allows the boats to plane very quickly -- at 14 mph -- thus requiring less power, and burning less fuel, while still maintaining stability in rough water.

"It allows our customers to have smaller fuel tanks on their boats," Kopp said. "Which is less painful when filling up at the gas station."

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com

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