Oil prices killing water activities??

Oil prices, including diesel fuel and gasoline, are at record highs in the U.S. The high price of gas for both land vehicles and boats has reduced new boat sales over 40% since last year. Sure, owning a boat is still considered a "luxury"...but who would call a 14 ft. aluminum john boat and a 5 hp kicker a luxury model?
Okay, my boat is a bit bigger than that, but it is nowhere near the large end of the scale. We used about 20 gallons of gas in the boat last year, on 12 outings. My wife does not like to bounce around in the boat, so we keep the speed down. We don't water ski or pull tubes (yet), so we just went from place to place in a couple small lakes chasing fish. I have friends who use over a hundred gallons of gas DAILY in their boats. Needless to say, prices have cut their water time a lot, and the new boat is on hold for now.
I intend to use my boat MORE than I did last year. How can I do that? I plan to be more efficient with my money and my time.
Let's start with the boat. I have replaced the spark plugs and wires, cleaned out the carbs and changed the fuel filter for more reliability and a better running. A two-cycle engine like my boat has runs cleaner when it runs better, so everyone wins. I use less gas, make less pollutants, the boat is more reliable and safer when it is tuned its best.
I plan to change the propeller this year also. Right now the prop is a 24 inch pitch, which is pretty high for my setup. It maximizes top speed and gives a very good cruise speed. The down side is the boat is hard to get on plane, like starting your car on a hill - in 5th gear! it's great once you get moving, but getting going is really tough! Since I rarely run at wide open throttle (WOT), and getting on plane is a real struggle, I am going down to a 21 inch pitch prop, probably a four-blade model. The four-blade has a better reverse response, better handling at all speeds and better acceleration. I will sacrifice a little top speed, that I almost never use. Looks like a win-win situation to me.
Getting to the water takes gas too, so The Tank gets a tuneup also. A new air filter and fresh oil for the engine and transmission are in order. The Tank got new plugs just a few months ago, so they can stay. Tire pressure is a big deal now, as firm tires roll easier that flabby ones. You probably noticed it's about impossible to find a gas station that has a working air hose...so I now have a portable compressor that just plugs in an woo-hoo! Firm tires for both the truck and trailer!
Must not forget the trailer!!! New bearings for the old trailer, repacked every year at a minimum. If finances allow, it will get new tires also. trailer tires need to be kept well-inflated also, or you risk a blowout on the road. Murphy's Law guarantees the blow out will occur as far from help as possible, in a location your cell phone gets no signal and the spare will be flat, too (don't worry because the lug nuts won't come off anyway).
Lesson learned: take care of your stuff!!
Okay, so we have the rig at max efficiency. Now we have to work on being efficient of the other thing we spend a lot of - time. If we have no time to go boating, then we won't go. I know several folks that clearly have more than enough money to go, but have no time - so they say. Some are too busy earning all that dough in the first place, others just are not organized enough.
That would include me!! so, how do families like mine find more time?
Most folks have their time off on weekends and holidays. Okay, so the trick is to make sure nothing else can take over your days off. Looks like we have to make sure that EVERYTHING gets done during the week!
Keep your house clean. Get that laundry finished. Work in your yard after work until its too dark to see. Unless you would rather do it all on Saturday instead of fishing...