DEXTER TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — On the kind of warm, bright afternoon that Michigan boaters wait all year for, Malik Amine and his brother readied their family’s pontoon boat for the summer.The cover was off and Portage Lake sparkled in the sun. But before the brothers could leave a narrow wooden dock, they had a decision to make: how much gasoline to put in the pontoon’s 52-gallon engine.Recreational boaters, like motorists, are feeling a pinch from the Iran war. U.S. gas prices have come down in recent weeks, but a gallon of regular gas still cost an average of 34% more Friday than it did a year earlier, according to motor club AAA. The price of diesel fuel, which is also used by some boaters, is up 53% from last year.Ethanol-free gas, which many boaters, classic car owners and lawn mower users prefer, is anywhere from 20 cents to $1 per gallon more than regular fuel, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores, which also represents fuel retailers.
One gas station near Portage Lake, which is 60 miles west of Detroit, is selling ethanol-free fuel for $7 per gallon. Amine said he didn’t plan to fill the boat’s tank ahead of Memorial Day weekend.
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