Even as water levels have risen enough to allow for safer boating on lakes Lanier and Allatoona this summer, soaring gas prices threaten to keep more people on land this Memorial Day weekend and beyond.

It's a cruel twist for those whose livelihoods depend on an active boating season.

Phil Skinner/AJC (ENLARGE)

At Bald Ridge Marina gas is $ 4.999 per gallon of regular gas. Marina employees say the last delivery of gas went up 90 cents.

Phil Skinner/AJC (ENLARGE)

On Friday Rich Driggs of Alpharetta fills up his 2007 Sea Ray Sundancer 340 at Bald Ridge Marina, where it was $ 4.99 per gallon for regular gas.

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"Coverage of the drought has been overblown, and that's hurting us," said Rick Seelbinder, a boat salesman for MarineMax in Cumming. While Lanier is down more than 10 feet from Memorial Day 2007 — and about 13 feet below full pool — it's deep in the main channels where most boaters travel. "When people actually see the lake, they're pleasantly surprised," Seelbinder said.

But then they see how much a full tank of gas costs — and concerns about lake levels become secondary. That also tends to negate what could have been a competitive edge for Lake Allatoona, which is near full pool.

Leisure activities always take a hit during a downturn, and rising gas prices aren't helping.

A sampling taken Saturday of about a dozen marinas on Lake Lanier found regular gas going for $4.39 to $5 per gallon.

Marina managers say their prices are higher than at gas stations on land because their sales are seasonal, and they have to employ dock hands and pay for extra equipment and environmental insurance to protect against spills.

Prices like these guarantee boaters a tab for each fill-up well into triple digits, sometimes topping $1,000.

Frank Chick says he's spending about $800 to fuel his craft, roughly the cost of a round-trip airline ticket to San Francisco.

"They rake you over the coals up here," said Chick, of Roswell, who keeps his boat docked at Bald Ridge Marina on the southwest side of Lanier. He said the high cost of fuel won't keep him off the lake.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expected the usual crowds this holiday weekend, spokeswoman Lisa Coghlan said.

Changing course

Boaters are adjusting to the higher fuel prices.

Before fuel costs doubled, Sean Zare of Marietta probably would have used up two tanks of gas over a long holiday weekend.

Not so this year, as he planned to keep his yacht docked at Bald Ridge.

Zare said it now costs him twice as much — about $1,600 total — to fuel up his boat, a Meridian sedan bridge cruiser, than when he bought it in 2005. If he had known this would happen, Zare said, "I wouldn't have bought [the boat], not with these gas prices."

This year, to appease the thrill-seekers in his group, Zare purchased a pair of WaveRunners, which are much cheaper to fill up. "I've talked to lot of people up here who are planning to do the same thing," he said.

It's much easier to drop anchor when you have a larger craft like Zare's, complete with bathrooms, kitchens and beds.

Your typical ski boat, though, is geared more toward activity than leisure, and the rising fuel prices have their owners finding less expensive ways to spend their free time.

The "weekend warriors" are disappearing from the lake, a big reason why the boating industry is struggling, Seelbinder said.

His sales are down about $500,000 from this time last year. Nationally, the boating industry reported a 15 percent dip in sales in 2007, and sagging ski boat sales are a big reason.

"Guys like me, making payments of $200 to $250 a month, they're just not buying," Seelbinder said.

That middle-class squeeze has a ripple effect; a decline in ski boat sales naturally leads to lower sales in water skis, tubes and other such accessories.

"The average family, with 2.5 kids, who used to go out on the lake most weekends ... we don't see that customer anymore," said Mitchell Ryan, a sales associate with West Marine in Buford.

More of same expected

That trend is certain to continue, with gas prices expected to rise through the summer. Prices spiked at many Lake Lanier marinas just last week with new gas deliveries.

At Starboard Cove Marina in Flowery Branch, for instance, regular gas sold on Friday for $3.99. When a new shipment arrived later in the day, the price jumped to $4.39, said Melissa Morgan, a marina dock attendant.

Lake levels, meanwhile, are expected to drop as the dry season sets in, according to Army Corps of Engineers estimates. That convergence leads to a bleak summer forecast.

Staff writers Drew Jubera and Jeffry Scott contributed to this article.