Gas Prices Soar for Boaters

But this year, they’ll need to fish a little deeper in their bank account to pay for it. The cost of fuel keeps going up -- a lesson charter boat Capt. D.M. Gray knows all too well.

“I bought this boat about 10 years ago. When I bought this boat we were paying 99 cents a gallon for fuel,” Gray said.

Now, the price of Gray's diesel fuel has nearly tripled.

“Well, our business is definitely been hurt in the last two or three years since the prices have really gone up. People just can’t drive here … everything is just more expensive. It’s definitely affected us,” Gray said.

“This is our seventh year coming out with D.M.,” Kephart said. “We’ve seen the prices go up in that timeframe about $200.

“We’ve had to budget additional dollars just for our gasoline to drive up here,” Kephart said.

Davis Compton trailered his boat to Hatteras from the western part of the state.

Scott Caldwell, who runs a small charter service, said the biggest expense to run his boat is fuel. He said his profit depends on one thing.

Gray said he’ll use 85 to 100 gallons of fuel a day to run his boat. That fuel adds up quickly to a lot of money -- money he knows will be tough to reel in from some customers.