Storage boats
 

Driving along rt 3 in Meredith,I notice that the yard at Meredith Marina is still full of covered storage boats.....looks more like winter than summer and making me wonder if it's just the weather or all of these new fees and taxes are taking a toll.

It's amazing how much shrink wrap is still up on the 4th of July weekend. I thinks it's the perfect storm for boating.

High gas prices (some hangover from last year)
Bad economy (9.5 % unemployment)
Bad weather (rainiest spring I can remember)
General anti-boating vibe (it's not green, and more NH specific, it's dangerous)

I can cost $1000 to dewinterize and launch a medium boat, then add in slip fees, fuel and re-winterizing in 4 months.

A lot of people just don't have the money, or have it but are afraid to spend it.

I bet when we look back at it, the number of people boating, decreases over 2008-2012. There are lots of used boats for sale, and all the new boat builders have stopped or slowed building. This won't change until people have reason to believe things will be better.

article
 

I came across this article a short while back, about people just abandoning their boats:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/business/01boats.html

If you want to abandon your boat, leave it at my place. I prefer an old Lyman (one of the smaller ones) or a classic Chris Craft. Oh, good condition please.

If you want to see what the tough economy is doing to boating you have to look no further than the amount of boats for sale at the Lakeport Marina and Erwin Boat yard in Laconia. People can get by without a boat but not a roof over their head. The amount of inventory ay these locations exceeds the amount of homes for sale.

Dry land
 

as of july 3 at least 50 boats at mt view yatch club are on dry land

Interesting. They were lined up all day yesterday at Libby Museum. I think there may be one of the monitors there. Someone was walking around looking like he/she had maybe a clipboard in his/her hand. Does anyone know for sure?

Not winter storage
 

The boats you see in the yard when coming down Route 3 are the boats in our valet service. We do store shrink-wrapped boats in the yard during the winter but we have the wrap off of all the boats in the yard. We have a handful of "stragglers" who haven't picked their boats up yet but that happens every year.

We hope everybody had a safe and enjoyable 4th. Let's hope the sunshine continues!

clarification
 

Tis, sorry- can you decipher your statement and question? I just got lost!

As I was about to post, I thought maybe you were talking about folks ready to launch their boats in Wboro?

LOL, sorry Vita, yes, I can decipher what I wrote but apparently you can't! I was saying people were lined up to put their boats in the water at the Libby Museum.
Also I remembered reading ( I thought it was on this site) about lake monitors being stationed at launch ramps. I saw someone there who looked like they were doing that. I was wondering if anyone else saw this person and if that is what they were doing. It looked like he/she had a clipboard and pencil in his/her hand and watching them launch.
Does that make it clearer? Sorry? I know what I am talking about shouldn't everyone else, even if it is mixed up? :laugh:

Thanks for clearing that up,MM.I feel a little better knowing that.Everyone in business is badly in need of a good summer and boating is the first indicator.Sunday.the town docks few packed with boats.

Now I'm picking up what you are throwing down!!
 

Thanks for the clarification. Does a monitor mean that they charge a fee on those days for non- residents? I launch at States Landing and there is never anyone monitoring but I wonder about other more busy ramps.

No, they are not charging a fee, I don't think. I think they are just checking for milfoil and zebra muscles, etc. as well as seeing what is going on in general. I read about it somewhere, I thought it was here. Maybe someone else remembers better than I do.

Meredith town ramps they have a monitor and collect non res. fee to launch