Fuel prices are through the roof! Who knows better than boaters?
If you think it鈥檚 expensive to fill up your car, try fueling up a boat.
Fuel prices run higher on the water for a number of reasons: Insurance at marinas is generally higher than at land-based gas stations. Marinas usually have a lot of specialized dock maintenance. And, with a compressed season, marinas 鈥� particularly those in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. 鈥� have just a few months to turn a profit.
But the prices per gallon are more than a dollar higher than they were a year ago.
As of Friday, The Wharf Marina was charging $6.17 for diesel and $6.63 for gasoline. James Creek Marina had diesel for $6.15 and gas for $6.50 per gallon. National Harbor was selling gas for $6.45 per gallon and reported a malfunction with its diesel system, so a price was not available. Columbia Island Marina does not sell diesel, but gas was $6.60 a gallon.
The higher fuel prices are causing some to adjust their boating behavior.
鈥淚 just took the boat out last weekend, and we didn鈥檛 go fast. We went at a snail鈥檚 pace because we didn鈥檛 want to use that much fuel. It鈥檚 expensive,鈥� said Jodie Knox, who has a boat at Capital Yacht Club. 鈥淲e have a 53-foot boat, and we probably went about 7 knots, so that鈥檚 pretty slow to go all the way to Mount Vernon because we didn鈥檛 want to burn that much.鈥�
鈥淚 usually fill up the fuel at the end of the season, and I鈥檓 so glad I did that last year because I鈥檓 starting with a full tank this summer, but I鈥檓 going to be really conservative with it until the prices come back down,鈥� Knox said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to go very far on trips this summer until I see the fuel prices come down,鈥� said Jon Love of Ashburn, Virginia, who keeps a boat at The Wharf. 鈥淣ormally by now, I would have gone up on the bay or taken a long ride down the Potomac.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e been shortening my rides, and, hopefully, I won鈥檛 buy as much fuel,鈥� Love said.
鈥淭hat changes how much we go boating,鈥� said John Locke, who lives aboard at Capital Yacht Club.
鈥淲e often would take our boat down to Colonial Beach or someplace like that. But we鈥檙e not going to. We鈥檙e going to instead drive and save money with an Airbnb, and we鈥檙e not going to go boating. We鈥檒l wind up boating less,鈥� Locke said.
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