NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – As the Memorial Day weekend kicked off the unofficial start of summer, boaters took an extra concern with them to the lake Saturday – and it’s one that’s hard to ignore.
Gas prices at Nashville-area marinas are hovering around $6 a gallon.
The record prices are causing some boaters to change their habits on the lake, whether that’s letting off the throttle more or letting less people on their boats.
“The need for speed gets satisfied when I’m skipping across the waves,” Gerrod Johnson said. “I can’t maybe skip across the waves full throttle like I would because I have to be mindful of where the fuel gauge is.”
As the Memorial Day weekend kicked off the unofficial start of summer, boaters took an extra concern with them to the lake Saturday – gas prices hovering at $6.
At Percy Priest Lake on what is one of the busiest boating days of the year, many boaters were keeping gas prices top of mind, choosing to fuel up before they got to the marina.
“It’s just something you got to deal with,” Frankie Flores said. “You got to pay to play. Unfortunately, that’s just what you got to do. If that means cutting down on lunch and eating sandwiches.”
According to AAA, the average gas prices in Tennessee is $4.27, less than the national average of $4.60 per gallon.
“It’s kind of hard to want to burn through it right now, so it definitely plays a factor when it’s coming in to boating,” Flores said.
As for Johnson, he kept his boat tied up at the dock Saturday, waiting for a friend to bring him some gas.
For someone with a need for speed, he wasn’t bothered, knowing he was missing out on the record gas prices.
“I could turn it off and with these prices, it’s probably a good idea to do that,” Johnson said. “I fueled up in Nashville because I was mindful that the marina prices would be ridiculous.”
The Nashville Shores Marina said marinas don’t get the same supply of fuel that gas stations do, so they miss out on the volume discount. This is part of what the marina said is contributing to higher marina fuel prices.
Copyright 2022 WSMV. All rights reserved.