May 13, 2008 - 08:39:20 CDT
Spring has arrived, the weather is warming up and boats are starting to park in the marinas. Soon school will be out, people will plan family vacations and the lazy days of summer will take over."Once the key is turned on the front door of school and kids are let out, our sales spike," Gary VanBeek, general manager ofRiver City Sports Inc. said.
An advantage to the boat dealers in Bismarck is the Missouri River. The boating season is extended because the current of the river makes it thaw more quickly than the lakes do in other parts of the state, opening up the season much earlier and closing as late as November.
"We have guys that have been fishing on the river for over 30 days, already," VanBeek said.
However, with the rising prices of gasoline, boaters may be deterred from using their boats as often this summer.
"We're finding (gas prices) are adjusting what people are buying," VanBeek said. "The pontoons are our number one seller and they are fuel efficient."
VanBeek said he had customers that will only burn one to two tanks of fuel an entire summer because they're using their boat as a vehicle to park at a sandbar, and those who use a tank of fuel in two weekends because they like to take excursions down the river.
"People probably aren't going to Devils Lake, Oahe or Sakakawea as much and are buying smaller boats with smaller engines," VanBeek said.
Boat sales have remained consistent to the local dealers, despite the rise in fuel cost.
"We haven't seen a rise or decrease in our sales," Eric Moritz, owner of Moritz Sport and Marine said. "We have been very flat for the last three years, which Ithink is a good thing."
Another advantage to having the river: The water levels do not fluctuate very much during the boating season. The water level can get low in the fall and high in the winter and spring, but tends to stay even through the summer because of the water let out of the Garrison Dam to run turbines, said VanBeek.
"If the water levels do get low, then you get the beautiful sandbars on the main channel," VanBeek said.
It's becoming a trend for families to go out to lake cabins and boat for recreation instead of taking a huge family vacation, said Josh Vallely of Vallely Sport and Marine.
"The boating season is about seven months long, picking up when kids get out of school and dropping off when kids return to school," VanBeek said. "I don't think people really view it as short."
(Samantha Stockman is a senior at Century High School.)
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