In your opinion, how popular will Sailboating be compared to Powerboating?

manhattan08 · #1 03-31-2010

A few weeks ago, I spoke with a marina / broker located in Maryland. He made the comment that the sailboat market is really beginning to pick up compared to the powerboat market.

Considering his comments and considering that gas will at some point in the near future hit $4.00 a gallon, do you think that interest in sailboating is on the rise?

Do you think that sailboating will ever get back to the level of popularity that it was back in the 70's?

BubbleheadMd · #2 03-31-2010

Only speaking for myself, I will tell you that the cost of fuel absolutely was one factor in my decision to make the switch. I'd rather pour money into the pockets of craftsmen who make sails and rigging than the pockets of those who refine petroleum.

sailtimeci · #3 03-31-2010

The future of sailing rests clearly in how we as a community support and promote youth participation primarily and how affordable access to sailboats is offered secondarily. If you all havent read this book I highly recommend it http://www.savingsailing.com/ I have no interest in the marketing of this book or anything like that. But it sure does hit the nail on the head or is that the pintle on the grudgeon?

tommays · #4 03-31-2010

Well

I guess it depends on wear you live BUT around here there BOTH still packing the marinas and IMHP if you dont like sailing the price of gas is NOT gonna make you like it you will just use the boat less

manhattan08 · #5 03-31-2010

I noticed that my local lake Parks and Rec. is now offering sailing lessons and they have a sailing club that you can join. I hope this will encourage more people to consider sailing instead of the the old powerboat....

ericread · #6 03-31-2010

I still think that the ease of renting a powerboat will continue to make it the dominant way to enjoy time on the water. Sailing does require a commitment to training and in most cases, you must demonstrate your proficiency in order to rent (charter) a sailboat, if even for an afternoon sail. Although everybody loves to gawk at the sailboats, most of those folks really don’t want to make the commitment necessary to sail.

Just my $.02.

Eric

Fstbttms · #7 03-31-2010

Powerboating will always be far more popular than sailing. Always. Dumb, fat Americans can't resist just jumping in, turning a key and taking off at high speed, whether it be on pavement, dirt or water. Most powerboaters are "boaters" in the loosest sense of the word only. To them, a boat is simply the aquatic version of their car or quad-runner. Don't even get me started on the jetski retards.

nolatom · #8 03-31-2010

Long-term, I think sailing will benefit from the "green" movement while powerboats don't.

Geography is important. If there are interesting places to go or things to do which are close for 20 knots but not for 5 knots, then power will predominate, since powerboats are more of a "means to an end" (be it a fishing or diving hole, water skiing, etc) than are sailboats, which are an "end in themselves", fun to just sail, while going nowhere in particular.

More fuel shortage/cost will mean more sail in the boating "pie". Whether that pie itself will shrink or grow in the face of an economy with insufficient affordable fuel is another question, whose answer I don't know.

sailingdog · #9 03-31-2010

Well said... sad, but true.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fstbttms

Powerboating will always be far more popular than sailing. Always. Dumb, fat Americans can't resist just jumping in, turning a key and taking off at high speed, whether it be on pavement, dirt or water. Most powerboaters are "boaters" in the loosest sense of the word only. To them, a boat is simply the aquatic version of their car or quad-runner. Don't even get me started on the jetski retards.

klem · #10 03-31-2010

People tend to put less and less time into these sorts of activities now and I think that sailing will suffer more than powerboating. Sailing requires a certain level of proficiency which takes a lot more time to achieve than driving a powerboat. I agree that people are often lazy and sailing does not appeal to lazy people.

Many of the sailors that I know think that powerboats are boring. I see sailing as something that you can spend a lot of time at whereas powerboating you do a couple of weekends a summer (I am excluding expeditions).