As Labor Day approaches, many San Antonio residents will be hitching up their boat trailers and heading to the Gulf Coast or nearest lake for the holiday.
More than 19,000 boats and personal watercraft are registered in San Antonio, according to the latest data from the Texas Comptroller’s office. The numbers of registered boats are greatest in three geographically distinct parts of town: Stone Oak, Highland Hills near Calaveras Lake, and the Far West Side surrounding Lackland Air Force Base. The data includes a tally of registered boats through August 2018.
More than 1,000 boats are docked in garages and driveways in 78258, which includes the Stone Oak neighborhood on San Antonio’s North Side. Alamo Heights (78209) is a close second with 1,000 boats, and residents in Hollywood Park own 970 boats.
The boats represent a variety of brands, from Carolina Skiffs to Boston Whalers, though San Antonians indicate a strong preference for Yamaha, owning more than 1,600 Yamaha boats and personal watercraft across the city. The second most popular brand is SeaDoo (714), followed by Kawasaki (677) and Tracker (600).
San Antonio is big on horsepower, too – more than 50 boats in the city have more than 500 horsepower, typical of some of the fastest racing boats. One boat in San Antonio was listed as having a 1,750-horsepower engine, which is capable of speeds well over 150 miles per hour.
Meanwhile, gas prices in Texas continue to be cheaper than in much of the country, though a slight increase in prices is expected over the last major driving holiday of the summer, according to GasBuddy, which tracks trends in oil prices nationwide.
So if you’re a boat owner planning to hit the water this weekend, you may want to get to a gas station sooner rather than later.
