Quote:
Originally Posted by Grizz
I can't help but wonder if houseboating will go out of favour rather quickly with the huge increases in gas prices. I've rented a couple of times and these things really chew through the petrol.
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Ironically, boats are about the most fuel efficient form of transportation that exist. There is a reason that low cost commodities like gravel and sand are shipped by barge. It is only
going fast that take a lot of fuel. If you are willing to go at "hull speed" which is about 8.5 mph for a 35 foot boat, or about 10 mph for a 50 foot boat, you can sip on the fuel and get 10-15 mpg, which is not bad given the weight you are moving. Given that with a houseboat it would seem that the journey is the point, I would not think that slow speeds would be a huge problem. Then again, I think kayaking is fun.
For this reason, I think that we are going to see some movement in the boating industry from speed boats to cruisers.