Many Navy bases would be in trouble if they sold their boats, but air stations are an exception.

Whidbey Island Naval Air Station can still fulfill its mission despite having quietly auctioned off most of the recreational boats at Crescent Harbor Marina on the Seaplane Base last week.

That means sailors, their families and community members won’t be able to rent a sailboat or motorboat at the Navy marina next summer for a day of cruising, crabbing or salmon fishing.

A few motorboats on trailers remain, those familiar with the situation say, but they have been moved to Ault Field base, where they can be rented by people who own rigs with trailer hitches.

An official explanation from the Navy has been slow in coming, but community members close to the situation can explain much of what happened.

Larry Munns, base commanding officer from 1996 to 1999 and a Southwest Airlines pilot today, said Friday that it was part of the Navy’s overall cost-cutting philosophy aimed at putting more money into its primary mission.

“They’ll use the dollars for Navy-related missions,” Munns said.

Records show that boat rentals were quite popular in the Navy community. Last August, there were 1,491 boat rentals, and in July there were 1,957 rentals.

The recreational opportunity will be missed, said Beth Munns, Larry’s wife and a past president of the Oak Harbor Navy League.

“It was a way for families to take advantage of what they couldn’t do on their own,” she said.

Families could rent Navy boats for far less than private rental firms charge, from roughly $30 a day for a small boat to $150 for a larger vessel capable of cruising the San Juans.

The auction was conducted on a government liquidation Web site where 44 boats were put up for sale. Prices ranged from $4,055 for a 1985 Catalina 27-foot sloop to a few hundred dollars or less for smaller sailboats.

Keith Kinnebrew, commodore and charter member of Whidbey Island Naval Sailing Association (WINSA), which was based at the Crescent Harbor Marina, arrived home from vacation last week to discover the boats had been sold. He said it was the only Navy recreational marina north of San Diego. While he knew cutbacks were coming, “I didn’t thing it was going to be that drastic.”

Oak Harbor’s sailing community knew of the auction through word-of-mouth, and several people purchased smaller sailboats with the idea of continuing sailing lessons next summer, based from Oak Harbor City Marina, just across the isthmus from Crescent Harbor Marina.

Dave Williams, Oak Harbor Marina manager, said he knew of the Navy auction “only because I tend to hear those things.” He said members of the Yacht Club purchased a few boats for their youth sailing program.

Williams anticipates the Yacht Club and WINSA will be offering sailing lessons to youth and Navy personnel and families this spring and summer, but acknowledged that the days of renting inexpensive boats at the Navy marina are over.

Williams said it’s a loss to the community, “particularly to the young Navy folks who can’t hook their Dodge pickup trucks to one of those boats,” that were moved to Ault Field.

Dave French, the Yacht Club’s sailing captain, said club members purchased several small sailboats used for teaching sailing, in the auction.

“They were a terrific buy but pretty banged up,” he said. “This was a real windfall for us.”

He assures sailing enthusiasts there will be classes available this spring, with advertising to start in May.

There are still private vessels renting moorage space at the Crescent Harbor Marina, but its days as a water recreation center for Navy families are apparently over.

“I’m sad to see the marina go,” said Larry Munns. “It was a fabulous facility, second to none.”