News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Employees of All Marine and Storage, which manages the marina in Alpena, work to take the glass-bottom boat Lady Michigan off a large mobile hoist on Wednesday. The boat was taken out of the lake and will now be stored until the spring.

ALPENA — The number of boaters utilizing harbors and marinas in Northeast Michigan continues to climb, while the number of boaters from out of the area who use local marinas appears to have dipped.

Not long ago, marinas struggled to fill their slips, but, now, some marinas have waiting lists for people who want a slip for the season.

Alpena Harbormaster Shannon Smolinski said all of Alpena’s seasonal slips were full this year and slips for transient visitors were also well-occupied. She said the number of out-of-town boaters choosing to stay for a couple weeks or even a month was up, but shorter-term visitors held steady or maybe dropped a bit.

“We didn’t see as many boaters that do what we call ‘the loop,’ but there weren’t as many short stays as there were last year,” Smolinski said. “I think some of that is due to the cost of fuel.”

Boaters start “the loop” at their home port, which can be anywhere from the navigable waters of Florida, the Atlantic coast, the Hudson River, the Great Lakes, or inland rivers. Once the loop is started, it will continue in a counterclockwise cruise until you arrive back at your place of origin.

The distance of the loop ranges from 5,500 to 7,000 miles, depending on the alternate routes boaters might take. People who set out on that adventure are often referred to as “loopers”.

Rogers City Harbormaster Wayne Saile agreed with Smolinksi on the reasons transient traffic slipped at his harbor. He said that, despite the decline, the seasonal slips were full and he anticipates a waiting list for next year.

“Summer was really good, even though transient traffic was down,” he said. “I think that was because of the price of gas. A lot of the transient traffic we did get were big boats — 65 feet-plus — and I think we were up about 25% for the big boats.”

The harbor in Harrisville also saw a decrease in transient traffic, including loopers who usually make a stop in the Alcona area.

Harbormaster Steve Alexander said there is a waiting list for people who want one of the 72 slips, but he said few transient boats make long stays in the small city. He said people are choosing nearby marinas, where there are more things to do in those communities, and either stopping in Harrisville for a brief time or bypassing it all together.

Alexander said the final numbers will still be positive, however, because of the number of fishermen who utilize the boat launch and leased slips.

“It has been the best fishing in years, and a lot of boats have used that launch,” he said.

Smolinksi said the traffic at the harbor in Alpena is good for the marina, but also for the businesses downtown. She said that, not only do people pay to dock and fuel their boats, but they also open their wallets for food and other items.

“Usually, there is a minimum of two people on each boat, and they go downtown to eat, have a drink, or shop, and likely spend about $100 each time,” she said. “When they stay for a month, and other boats are doing the same, that is a large amount of money brought into our local small businesses.”