Michigan State University Extension
Tourism Educational Materials - 33840421
06/06/02
Boating Patterns and Behavior
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Source: University of Minnesota
Authors: Schatz, Curtis; Lime, David W.; McAvoy, Leo H.;
Pitt, David G.
ID: CD-FO-3809
Format: Full Text
Year: 1989
Introduction
Minnesota is first in the country in per-capita boat
ownership. Nearly 700,000 boats were registered in
Minnesota in 1989-about one boat for every 6.3 people
living in the state. To determine how boaters use their
pleasure boats on Minnesota waters and what they think
about problems and issues related to boating, a statewide
survey of registered Minnesota boat owners was conducted
in 1988 by the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The results of this
survey will be presented in several issues of these
Tourism Research Summaries.
This report describes the population of Minnesota boat
owners, their frequency of public access use, and various
characteristics of their boating activity within 49 miles
of home and 50 or more miles from home. It is based on a
survey of 2,490 boat owners, projected to the entire
population of Minnesota registered boat owners. A
description of the study design and methods appears on the
last page of this report.
Minnesota's Boat Owners
Age and experience. Some 92% of Minnesota's boat owners
(the respondents to this survey) are male. Minnesota boat
owners are experienced; they have an average of 22 years'
experience operating a boat, and their median age is 47.
The mean age and median experience levels are nearly 10%
higher in the north than in the metro and south regions.
Number of boats owned. Fifty-eight percent of Minnesota's
boat owners own more than a single boat; the average
number owned (per registered owner) is two. Less than 4%
own more than four boats. A majority (54%) of those who
own a boat between 14 and 20 feet in length own more than
two boats, while over 65% of sailboat owners and owners of
boats over 20 feet in length own two or fewer craft.
Income. Boat owners' median annual incomes
($40,000-$50,000 in 1987) are nearly one-third higher than
the 1986 statewide median income of married couples in
Minnesota ($30,547). Regionally, there are some
substantial differences in boat owners' income levels.
Median incomes are in the range of $30,000-$35,000 in the
north, $40,000-$45,000 in the metro region, and
$35,000-$40,000 in the south region. Owners of large craft
(over 20 feet in length) and sailboats between 14 and 20
feet in length show a substantially higher median income
($50,000-$60,000) than owners in other categories
($40,000-$45,000).
Boating safety education. Most of Minnesota's boat owners
(77%) have never taken a boating safety course, nor have
most (96%) been involved in a boating accident during the
past five years. In this, boat owners probably resemble
the population of boaters in the state.
Use of Public Launch Facilities
Over 73% of the state's boat owners indicate that they
launched a boat at a free public water access site at
least once during 1987. The percentage of owners who used
a public access during 1987 showed considerable variation
across boat types. Owners of boats from 14 to 20 feet in
length were most likely to have used a free public access
(81%), while owners of large boats and large sailboats
(over 20 feet) were least likely to have done so (60% and
51% respectively). Canoe and kayak owners (78%),
small-sailboat (14 to 20 feet) owners (77%), and
small-boat (under 14 feet) owners (73%) all showed high
levels of use.
Overall, owners who used a public launch site in 1987
launched a boat a median of 6 times at a median of 3
different sites. Small-sailboat owners used public access
sites least often (median number of launches = 2), while
owners of boats 14 to 20 feet launched at a free public
access site most often (median = 8). Large-sailboat owners
(median = 3) and large-boat owners (median = 4) showed
relatively low usage, while canoe and kayak owners and
small boat owners used public accesses relatively often
(median = 6).
Although over half of those who did not use a public
access site during 1987 own lake shore or riverfront
property, some 67% of the state's boat owners who do own
waterfront property did use a public access site during
1987.
Minnesotans boat owners use public access facilities for
more than launching boats. Access sites are used for a
range of social and recreational activities throughout the
year. These activities include fishing, swimming, trail
access, picnicking, socializing, and a variety of other
sports and outdoor recreational activities.
Patterns of Boat Use Near Home
Some 77% of the respondents indicate that they boat within
49 miles of their home.
Over 80% of the boat owners in the north (85%) and south
(81%) regions boat near their homes, while slightly less
than 75% of the metro boat owners do so (Figure 1).
Favorite waters. Of the 37,000 watercourses in Minnesota,
survey respondents identified over 380 lakes and 25 rivers
and streams as those Minnesota waters they use most
frequently on outings within 49 miles of their homes. The
most frequently mentioned resources are listed in Table 1.
Frequency of use. Boat owners who are active within 49
miles of home spent an average of 28 days during 1987 at
the one lake or river they visited most often. Figure 2
(Vis. 2) shows that the median number of days spent at the
most visited resources varies significantly among owners
of different boat types. Canoe/kayak owners spend the
least amount of time at the lake or river they use most
(median = 12 days), while owners of motorized boats longer
than 20 feet spend the most time at this single resource
(median = 30 days).
It seems likely that small-boat owners will spend less
time visiting a single resource than large-boat owners
because small boats are easier to move and transport While
64% of canoe/kayak owners and 63% of the owners of
medium-sized (14 to 20 feet) power boats indicate that
they transport their boat to the resource they use most
often near their home, only 22% of the large-sailboat
owners, and 27% of the large-power-boat owners transport
their boats. Forty-nine percent of the small-boat owners
and 43% of the medium-sized sailboat owners transport
their boats to favorite resources near home.
______________________________________________________
Figure 1. Regional percentage of owners who boat/do not
boat within 49 miles of home
BOAT DO NOT BOAT
North: 85% 15%
Metro: 75% 25%
South 80% 20%
_____________________________________________________
Table 1. Resource visited most often during 1987 within 49
miles of respondents' homes:
__________________________________
20 Lakes listed most frequently
___________________________________
lake county
Minnetonka Hennepin
Superior Cook
White Bear Washington
Pepin Goodhue
Waconia Carver
Medicine Hennepin
Washington LeSueur
Pokegama Itasca
Gull Cass
Bald Eagle Ramsey
Forest Washington
Calhoun Hennepin
Rainy St. Louis
Lower Prior Scott
Little Vermilion St. Louis
Leech Cass
Green Kandiyohi
Marion Dakota
Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods
Mille Lacs Mille Lacs
____________________________________
10 Rivers listed most frequently
____________________________________
Mississippi
St. Croix
Minnesota
Rum
St. Louis
Cannon
Sauk
Vermilion
Snake
Black
___________________________________
Type of use. Over 84% of the state's boat owners indicate
that they generally use their "favorite" nearby resource
on single-day outings. Twenty-five percent of the owners
indicate that their use is primarily on weekends or
holidays, while over 62% indicate their use included
weekdays, weekends, and holidays.
This most used "near-home" resource is rarely more than 20
miles from the owner's home, 80% indicate that this is the
case. Figure 3(Vis. 3) illustrates the distance traveled
to lakes and rivers used most frequently within 49 miles
of home. Owners from the south region tend to travel
farther than owners in the north or metro regions, perhaps
because of the generally lower density of lakes in the
south region.
Type of boat used. Table 2 shows the type of boat used
most often near home. While some 20% of the craft
registered with the state are canoes or kayaks, these
boats account for only about 12% of the boats used most
frequently near owners' homes. Other craft under 14 feet
comprise 13 % of the boats registered with the state but
they account for only 6% of the near-home use.
Medium-sized boats (between 14 and 20 feet) comprise 64%
of the population, and account for 48% of all
close-to-home activity; a large amount of this activity
(42%) involves power boats. Large boats (motor and sail),
which comprise only about 3% of the population, account
for over 34% of the near-home use.
The data in Table 2 show little difference between
regions. Owners in the metro region appear to be somewhat
more likely than boaters from the other regions to use a
boat over 20 feet in length, but this difference is
surprisingly small, considering that two-thirds of the
large craft registered with the DNR are owned by boaters
in the metro region.
Recreation activities. A wide range of activities were
listed as the main recreation activity of boat owners when
visiting the lake or river they use most often within 49
miles of home. Nearly 42% of the state's boat owners,
though, indicate that some form of non-fishing boating is
their main recreation activity, and slightly over 46%
indicate that fishing is their main recreation activity
when visiting this resource.
Owners from the metro region (35%) are less likely to fish
as a main activity than are owners from the north (65%) or
south (43%). Owners from the metro region (52%) are more
likely than owners from the north (25%) or south (44%) to
boat as a main recreation activity.
Figure 2. (Vis. 2)Median number of days spent at
lake/river visited most within 49 miles of home
Figure 3. (Vis. 3)Distance traveled to lake/river used
most within 49 miles of home
Table 2. Boat used most often within 49 miles of home;
frequency of response.
_________________________________________________
North Metro South State
_________________________________________________
percent
Canoe/Kayak 10.2 13.7 12.7 12.3
Other Craft <14 ft. 7.0 5.7 5.8 6.2
Sail Craft 14-20 ft. 5.9 6.4 5.9 6.2
Other Craft 14-20 ft. 49.7 34.3 46.5 41.6
Sail Craft >20 ft. 5.8 13.4 6.6 9.6
Other Craft >20 ft. 21.4 26.5 22.5 24.1
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
_________________________________________________
Patterns of Boat Use Away From Home
Approximately 56% of the state's boat owners indicate that
they boat more than 50 miles from home. This is a
considerably lower percentage of owners than those who
boat close to home (77%). Figure 4 illustrates that
regional response to this question follows a pattern quite
different from that shown in Figure 1.
Boat owners from the north region are generally the most
likely to boat near home, 2 and the least likely to boat
more than 50 miles away. Owners from the metro region.
conversely, are least likely to boat near home, and most
likely to boat more than 50 miles away. Owners from all
three regions, however, are more likely to boat near home
than away from it.
____________________________________________________
Table 3. Resource visited most often during 1987 more than
50 miles from respondents' homes
20 Lakes listed most frequently
lake county
Mille Lacs Mille Lacs
Superior Cook
Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods
Leech Cass
Pepin Goodhue
Gull Cass
Kabetogama St. Louis
Winnibigoshish Cass
Green Kandiyohi
Red Beltrami
Little Vermillion St. Louis
Big Sandy Aitkin
Crane St. Louis
Bay Crow Wing
Pelican Crow Wing
Miltona Douglas
Osakis Todd
Farm Island Aitkin
Mary Douglas
Diamond Kandiyohi
______________________________
20 Rivers listed most frequently
______________________________
Mississippi
St. Croix
Rainy
Crow Wing
Snake
St. Louis
Kettle
Cannon
Straight
Sandy
Figure 4. (Vis. 4)Regional percentage of owners who
boat/do not boat more than 50 miles from home
Favorite waters. Owners listed over 260 lakes and 16
rivers in the state as the waters they use most often more
than 50 miles from home. Table 3 identifies the lakes and
rivers listed most often as the Minnesota waters used most
frequently on outings more than 50 miles from the
respondents' homes.
Nearly one-half of the 20 lakes and 10 rivers listed most
frequently appear on both the "near-home" and
"away-from-home" lists. This illustrates the importance of
these resources to all of Minnesota's boat owners.
Frequency of use. Boat owners spend less time visiting the
lake or river they use most more than 50 miles from home
than they spend visiting their "favorite" near-home
resource. Overall, owners who boat more than 50 miles from
home spent an average of 20 days during 1987 at the lake
or river they use most often. Owners from the metro region
spent 23 days at that lake or river during 1987, while
those from the north and south regions spent 17 and 15
days (mean average) respectively.
Type of use. Boat owners who boat away from home travel
distances ranging from 50 to over 1,000 miles one way.
Figure 5 illustrates that owners in the north tend to
travel the shortest distance, while those in the south
tend to travel farthest.
Over 67% of the owners transport their boat to the
resource they use most frequently away from home. Nearly
80% of canoe and kayak owners, 60% of other small-boat
owners, a majority of medium (14 to 20 feet) boat owners,
and 48% of large (over 20 feet) boat owners transport
their boat to the resource they use most away from home.
Not surprisingly, over 80% of the owners indicated that
boating more than 50 miles from their home is usually part
of an overnight outing. A comparable percentage indicate
that boating within 49 miles of home is usually part of a
single day's outing. Fifty-three percent of the owners
indicate that their use includes weekdays, weekends, and
holidays, while 38% indicate that their use is primarily
on weekends and holidays.
Figure 5. (Vis. 5)Distance traveled to lake/river used
most more than 50 miles from home
Type of boat used. The data in Table 4, compared with that
shown in Table 2, indicate that owners are more likely to
use a canoe or medium-sized motor craft, and less likely
to use a large boat, 50 or more miles from their home than
they are within 49 miles. Ease of transport and
accessibility of resources may explain this finding. This
is supported by the low use of public access sites by
large-boat owners, and the lower percentage of large-boat
owners who transport their boats.
Recreation activities. Nearly 60% of the owners indicate
that some form of fishing is their main recreation
activity when visiting the lake or river they use most
often more than 50 miles from home, while only 28%
indicate that non-fishing boating is their main recreation
activity at this resource. Owners in the north region
(68%) are more likely than owners from the metro (59%) or
south (57%) regions to consider fishing their main
recreation activity when visiting the lake or river they
use most often.
Table 4. Boat used most often more than 50 miles from
home; frequency of response
_____________________________________________________
North Metro South State
_____________________________________________________
percent
Canoe/Kayak 16.9 14.3 14.1 14.9
Other Craft <14 ft.) 3.0 5.0 2.2 4.0
Sail Craft 14-20 ft. 4.8 6.0 5.2 5.6
Other Craft 14-20 ft. 53.0 51.8 58.2 53.2
Sail Craft >20 ft. 4.8 9.5 3.7 7.3
Other Craft >20 ft. 17.5 13.4 16.6 15.0
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
____________________________________________________
Summary
The survey results indicate that Minnesota's boat owners
use public water access sites---for launching boats and
for a wide range of other activities.
Some variation exists in the boating behaviors of owners
near home (within 49 miles) and away from home (more than
50 miles). Owners are somewhat more likely to boat near
home, and spend more time visiting the lake or river they
use most often near home, than they spend visiting the
resource used most more than 50 miles from it. Near-home
boating is often part of a single day's outing, while
away-from-home boating is often part of a more extended
trip. Ease of transport and accessibility of resources
appear to affect the type of boat used near and away from
owners' homes.
Fishing, non-fishing boating, and a wide range of other
activities are associated with boat launch facilities and
visits to water resources in Minnesota.
1988 Survey of Minnesota Boat Owners-Study Design and
Method
Access to Minnesota's lakes and streams is provided
through many private and commercial facilities as well as
through innumerable public canoe launches, beaches, and
open stretches of shoreline. More than 2,200 free public
water access sites are managed by federal, state, county,
and local governments. Minnesota's Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) manages nearly 1,200 of these sites.
Although a primary DNR activity is acquiring access to
water bodies statewide, recent discussions have focused on
managing these resources to better serve the boating
public. What should the future direction be for managing
the state's water resources to offer safe and rewarding
boating opportunities?
In 1987, the authors, the University of Minnesota, and six
units of the DNR (Boat and Water Safety, Fisheries,
Information and Education, Planning, Trails and Waterways,
and Waters) entered into a partnership to conduct a
statewide survey of registered boat owners to determine
how boaters use their pleasure boats on Minnesota waters
and what they think about problems and issues related to
boating. The study investigated these concerns for the
state's waters as a whole and with specific reference to
two of our largest water resources-the North Shore of Lake
Superior and the Mississippi River downstream from the
Twin Cities.
In March and April, 1988, a mail-back questionnaire was
sent to a representative sample of 3,200 registered boat
owners drawn from the pool of 286,000 pleasure boat owners
in the state licensed through the DNR. The survey sample
was selected to enable comparisons to be made among the
three regions of the state displayed in Figure 6, and
among six major types of licensed pleasure boats: canoes
and kayaks, other boats under 14 feet in length, sailboats
14 to 20 feet, sailboats more than 20 feet, other boats 14
to 20 feet, and other boats more than 20 feet in length.
Other comparisons, such as those between boat owners who
own or do not own riparian property, are also possible.
Figure 6. (Vis. 6)Study Regions
The questionnaire was comprised of 45 questions and took
about 15 minutes to complete. The initial mailing and two
follow-up reminders resulted in 2,490 owners returning the
survey. About 100 surveys were eliminated from the
original sample of 3,200, resulting in an overall adjusted
response rate of 80 percent. This excellent response
reflects Minnesota boat owners' strong interest in
expressing their views, as well as the importance they
place on the state's free public water accesses to achieve
quality boating experiences.
Survey respondents may not be representative of the
typical boat owner. The survey questionnaire requested the
individual in the household "who goes boating most
frequently" to respond to the survey. Therefore, the
typical survey respondent may be somewhat older and a more
experienced boater than the state's typical boat owner or
boater.
Details about the study design and methods, the raw data,
and the data summary South tables are available from the
authors and from the DNR's Office of Planning.
This study was funded by the Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources.
Authors:
Curtis Schatz, Research Assistant, Division of Recreation,
Park, and Leisure Studies
David W. Lime, Research Associate, Department of Forest
Resources
Leo H. McAvoy, Associate Professor, Division of
Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies
David G. Pitt, Professor, Department of Horticultural
Science and Landscape Architecture
Editor:Louise Jones
Tourism Center, 48 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Ave.,
University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, John Sem,
Director
Copyright: 1989 by Minnesota Extension Service, University
of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
MINNESOTA EXTENSION SERVICE
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
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agriculture and home economics, acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Patrick J. Borich, Dean and Director of
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