Gas.........

[HURRICANEBOB]

I'm gonna throw in some thoughts, be glad to discuss any, as they do I feel relate to fishing and boating and the related industries.

What could be some of the GOOD impacts from higher gas prices?
a. If gas stays high, and probably will, I'd guess most of us will postpone buying a new boat because the cost of gas takes the disposable income we would have spent to get the shiny new one.
b. If demand for boats drops because we all spend more for gas, then maybe......(I can wish right?)......maybe the stupidly high prices for boats and motors will drop some. (I'm not slamming dealers, I know margins are small, but $34,000 for a bass boat is still a little crazy to me when I can get a new truck for less). Conversely, if demand for smaller lighter boats increases, guess what a 14 foot jon boat is going to cost in the future?
c. Just maybe some manufacturers will increase the emphasis of economical operating costs for their boats, with better hull designs, lighter materials, etc. I think we are already seeing some of that as boat motors are getting more efficient, and I do realize that some of that has come because of the more strick EPA guidelines and goals.
d. Hopefully with higher gas, gas guzzling SUV's will see a demand drop, and us that have to have them to pull the rig might get a little help. As my van gets older, I won't even think about buying unless its a year end when the rebates and incentives go bonkers!

Here's some stuff I'm doing to try to cut costs:
a. When I trailer down to a lake, I plan to stay a couple days instead of just one. That way I get the bang for the buck of 2 or 3 trips, go less often, and save some towing gas costs.
b. I added a second trolling motor battery for my 12 volt system, and plan to add a third one. I now ramp in as close to where I fish as I can, and spend more time on the trolling motor, and less on the big motor.
c. I steer clear of full throttle, 1/2 throttle takes more time to get there, but saves $$. Each boat as a certain planing speed where its most efficient, so I try to find and maintain that as the top speed I'll go.
d. I do fish the Ohio more. After ramp in , I run in one shot to the northern most area I plan to fish, then spend the balance of the day drifting or trolling motor running down stream to each other spot I want to try. (DISCLAIMER: Really ticks me off when the wind is so strong from the south that it over rides the current......all plans have shortfalls. )
e. I do plan to invite freinds when I go. One boat, one trailering cost, but 2 man days of fishing. When I go north to fish, I invite northern freinds, when they come south, they pick me up on the way.
f. I'm keeping the 13 year old pontoon, its ugly, but its far cheaper than a new one. The motor I got is not efficient, but its gonna have to do, and do so at 1/2 throttle. The van will have to absolutely die of natural causes before it gets replaced. And if I have hail damage or a small fender bender, the insurance settlement check is not going to fix the van, its going to pay for the gas to get me to the next fishing trip. I'll live with a crumpled fender so long as it does not compromise saftey nor safe vehicle operation.
g. I shall not buy gas from any boat dock, I'll ramp out for gas. The gas on shore is cheaper, and just maybe if I help reduce demand at the dock pump, those who can't ramp out will benefit.
h. I'm putting the sleeping bag on the boat, and a nice warm blanket and pillow in the van. Avoiding just one $45/night motel bill for a 2 day trip, puts enough gas in the tow vehicle to get me home from Cumberland. Avoiding that one motel bill also will get me to and from the Ohio River for one more trip. And if I sleep on the boat, I save running back to the dock at night, tow vehicle operation to ramp out, and then back in, and boat gas to get out to the fishing spot in the morning. And I get to fish longer as I don't lose as much time running.
i. And I have switched to cheaper beer..........if gas gets real high......I might even reduce the consumption levels.

[dc chopper]

Talked to a guy at T ville today, said he was there for the 2nd time because of gas, normally went to Nolin. I fish with my dad most of the time and we split gas so it hasn't affected us that much.....YET.

[riverrat12]

Guys before this thread gets zapped I wasn't looking for an economics lesson I really was just asking if it was slowing you down as much as me. Thanks to those that actually answered that question, I guess missery loves company, lol.

No, Not me Mark, Yes it takes me 15$ to fill up now but it lasts me 3 weeks = 3 trips. Got to love all the power in my15hp Johnson. Sorry couldn't meet you and John at the ChowWagon. And Bob cuttin down the consumption of cheap beer is just not the answer lol..And were you down on the river last Fri. below the second dam??? Chuck

[cra97]

I had not read this thread until tonight, but man are there some VERY insightful comments on the whole issue. I did not realize the profit on gas, to the oil companies, was only a bit over 8 cents and that amazes me. The commentary from all angles: war cost, politics, supply and demand, ect., are really all inter-related in many ways, but the presentation of these here is extremely well thought out and put together. I traded my old SUV in (on an even trade) 6 months ago for a Toyota Matrix and I thank god everytime I close out 350 miles and have to only put $40 in the tank. My SUV WAS costing $60/tank BEFORE this insanity. Thank you all for the well written and presented posts, I am going to print this off and use it as a reference for when I start teaching again.

Rob

[HURRICANEBOB]

And were you down on the river last Fri. below the second dam??? Chuck[/QUOTE]

No sir. My pontoonie is a dark maroon, 20 foot Monark, with a Merc, and a smiley face that looks like this (or close to it) on the rear of the port pontoon

[Moose1am]

Are you ready to say UNCLE ...?

All you have to do is look at who's benefiting from these high oil prices. It's not hard to figure out why we are getting it up the ass.

[Steeler_Boy]

Fellas, all I can say is that my golf game is now getting a little bit more practice.
Unfortunately, it's not showing that in the scores.

[jmwldcat]

sorry but you are wrong. a barrel of oil is 42 gals of which 51.4% is auto gas. it cost about 9 dollors from the drill to the end of the refinery. transportation cost is on the rise so that accounts for some of the other cost. oil company profits are listed at 7.3% but this is a hard crude profit not a refined profit which has risen to 324% over the last 30 months. refined profit in other words gas is where all the money is. on avg ashland made in profit about 6.2 billion a qtr and that is still moving.

OK, here we go again. I was going to keep my mouth shut, but because someone interjected politics into the matter I had to speak up. The high gas prices are not a result of some conspiracy cooked up by the oil companies. And, contrary to the opinion of Mr. "Smuckey", it is not some greedy attempt by the Bush administration to "make all the money he can". THE PRESIDENT, NOR THE CONGRESS, HAS ANY CONTROL OVER THE PRICE OF GAS, THEY DO HOWEVER CONTROL THE RATE AT WHICH IT IS TAXED AND REGULATE WHERE IT CAN BE DRILLED FOR DOMESTICALLY. And what is your beloved Democratic controlled congress doing? Not a darned thing except complain about the president. Why, because neither of them can do a thing.... is called a F-R-E-E M-A-R-K-E-T E-C-O-N-O-M-Y. I don't want them to be able to do anything about it, because if the can control them they can control us all.

While this may be hard for some of you to stomach here it is. The reason for the high price of gas is two fold. First and foremost it is the weakness of the dollar. The lower the value of the dollar the less buys. Secondly it IS a function of supply and demand. If we can drill for our own or convince OPEC (fat chance) to produce more crude oil, the price will drop.

The breakdown:
Barrel of Oil = $120.00 (50 gal)
# of gallons of gas per barrel = approx 35-40 (depending on grade)
$120.00/37.5 = $3.20 = + refining costs and transportation + state tax + .18 federal tax

So you can see that the profit (and heaven forbid the oil companies make a profit) is minimal. The reason for the large quarterly profits posted by the oil companies is the extremely high demand.

And what about the effect of the penalties on those profits proposed by our good friends on the left? Well... no company pays taxes. They simply pass that increase along to you and I, its that simple.

I realize that this hurts everyone, but right now there is nothing we can do except weather the storm. It is not the fault of any one president, congress, or party. The blame rests on all of our shoulders because for too long we have been dependant on foreign sources of oil instead of drilling for our own in conjunction with the development alternative fuel sources (not ethanol.... we have all seen the effect of that on food prices and supply). It cannot last for ever, eventually the dollar will rebound and, hopefully, we will drill for our own sources of oil.... caribou be damned.

I will now get down off of my soap box.

PLEASE MOVE THIS POST TO THE "OFF TOPIC DISCUSSION BOARD"

Keep on chuckin'

[gocards40]

It won't change my fishing. I have more money than I do time to fish but not much of either if that makes any sense. I will do as I always have and fish closer to home because I don't have time to be on the road for hours and make those trips to the bigger lakes often. Depending on the weather I still get the same enjoyment out of sliding my 12 foot jon boat out of the truck as I do dropping the fishing barge in the water. I still get to fish at least once a week but just have to stay a little closer to the house.

[HURRICANEBOB]

6.2 billion a qtr and that is still moving.[/QUOTE]


NOTE TO SELF:
a. Go to med school.
b. Become doctor.
c. When an exec from Ashland comes into the emergency ward, charge him 324 percent more for health care, critcal care or not.
d. If he can't pay it, tell him to park his butt on the curb, just like my van is doing.

Greed, is greed. I fully support free enterprize, it's the American way. So whenever and whereever I get to do business with Ashland, I will be sure to exercise the free enterprize sysem, and they will pay until their wallets bleed green. Fair is fair, and turn aout is fair play.

[mhall]

No, Not me Mark, Yes it takes me 15$ to fill up now but it lasts me 3 weeks = 3 trips. Got to love all the power in my15hp Johnson. Sorry couldn't meet you and John at the ChowWagon. And Bob cuttin down the consumption of cheap beer is just not the answer lol..And were you down on the river last Fri. below the second dam??? Chuck

It wasn't me Chuck, and yea John and I missed you I had to drink your share of that 6 dollar beer, lol.

[riverrat12]

And were you down on the river last Fri. below the second dam??? Chuck

No sir. My pontoonie is a dark maroon, 20 foot Monark, with a Merc, and a smiley face that looks like this (or close to it) on the rear of the port pontoon[/QUOTE]

Bob ,I'll keep a look out for ya and stop by and say hi. And Mark I here the climate change is affecting the Hopp crop so the price of beer and gas are going to skyrocket....sad,sad ,sad, Whats a guy supposed to do now.lol Chuck