In the same vein as Art's recent post on cross-price elasticity of demand:

Howard Gendron stopped driving his 28-foot cabin cruiser on Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay two years ago because gas prices were up and his waterborne gas hog sent his fuel costs "out of sight," he says.

But the mechanic had to satisfy his love of water, he says, so he bought a 21-foot Sea Ray with better mileage. "We downsized," says Gendron, 44, of Warwick, R.I.

Even so, the smaller boat was no match for recent gas prices. "We're not even putting it in this year because of the cost of fuel," he says.

Boaters and jet-ski owners are feeling the pinch of rising gas prices. Some are trying to sell their boats. Others are changing their habits. Instead of gunning their engines at high speeds, they're slowing down or drifting.

They're shortening trips or just hanging out in marinas, says Scott Croft, spokesman for the 650,000-member Boat Owners Association of the United States. He calls himself the "poster child" for boaters' reaction to gas prices.

MarineMax, which calls itself the country's largest recreational boat retailer, saw same-store sales fall 28% in the quarter ending in March compared with the same quarter last year. Glenn Sandridge, vice president for marketing, says gas prices don't affect consumer decisions as much as concerns about the overall economy.

Gendron, who has been trying unsuccessfully to sell his cabin cruiser, says both of his boats will sit in his backyard this year. "You cannot give a boat away up here."