Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette Capt. George Boyle, master of ceremonies for Monday's Blessing of the Fleet, throws a wreath into the Allegheny River at the end of the service. The wreath is in remembrance of those who have lost their lives on the water and in the hope that no lives will be lost this year.

From the North Shore looking across the Allegheny, from Station Square looking across the Mon, from the Fort Pitt Bridge "entrance" to Pittsburgh, and from Mount Washington overlooking the Golden Triangle, you have to admit it's a pretty little city.

Face the other direction from the rivers looking inland, however, and the whole perspective changes.

		Related coverage Boating feels like freedom, but there are rules Regatta scaled to fit new digs along Mon Schedule of regatta events

It's still pretty, but "everything is different," said Greg Joyce of Glenfield, who spends most weekends on his 30-foot houseboat, anchored somewhere around Pittsburgh. "It's a whole other way of looking at the city. I'm only 20 minutes from home, and I feel like I'm a million miles away."

Not long after the coal mines were sealed and the mills closed, the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers lost the rusty stain and stench of 150 years of heavy industry. True, the Port of Pittsburgh remains industrial -- it's America's second-largest inland port, with barge traffic moving 52 million tons of cargo in 2002 and adding nearly $875 million to the region's economy. But a new industry has sprouted since the late 1970s -- an explosion of recreational boating that has continued to grow even as the population has declined.

It started with anglers, who were the first to notice the change in water quality surrounding Pittsburgh. Then about 15 years ago, marina operators and boat dealers noticed an increased demand for larger, more powerful, more expensive recreational boats. Now everything from canoes and kayaks to houseboats and even small yachts ply the local waterways, turning our three rivers into the region's new back yard.

While no one's recommending you drink from the rivers or eat the fish that spawn there, the water's fine for water skiing, wake boarding, Jet-Skiing, catch-and-release fishing, leisurely cruises or just anchoring off the Point and taking in the evening fireworks or listening to nearby outdoor concerts.

On many weekends during special events, Pittsburgh Harbor -- which officially stretches from the Ninth Street Bridge over the Allegheny to the West End Bridge over the Ohio to the Fort Pitt Bridge over the Monongahela -- looks like a giant parking lot for power boats, almost becoming an extension of the Golden Triangle and its own little neighborhood.

Steve Stapel of Ben Avon said the best thing about being on the water is the camaraderie with other boaters.

"You get to know people, or at least recognize their boats," he said. "People who moor at the same marinas get to know each other. You wave when you pass."

"It's like a little community in itself," said Kristin Winkowski of Bellevue. "Most of them are pretty nice. My favorite part is staying overnight on the boat and waking up and seeing the city at sunrise from the river. It's great."

Let the East, West and Gulf coasts have their beaches, with their gritty, often hot sand, salty water that stings the eyes and overpriced lodging that drains the pocketbook. Western Pennsylvania has its rivers and with it, a way of life that is quickly making Pittsburgh boat town U.S.A.

In 2005, nearly 30,000 boats were registered in Allegheny County alone. In the surrounding metropolitan area, the number reached 66,873, almost one-fifth of the state's total of registered boats. And that doesn't include non-motored canoes and kayaks, which don't require registration if they're not launched from state-operated ramps.

These boaters have plenty of room to roam. Aided by free passage on locks that were built to aid navigation and limit flooding, they can travel 72 miles up the Allegheny River to East Brady, past Morgantown, W.Va., on the Mon, and 981 miles on the Ohio River to Cairo, Ill., before turning to port on the Mississippi and, if the will and time are there, cruising another 900 miles to New Orleans.

Joyce Nesaw of Ben Avon doesn't go that far but considers her weekend boating trips "a mini-vacation. It's like you're getting away from the world and just relaxing."

Of course, there's more to it than that. Recreational boating is a lot of work and can be a big expense.

The largest houseboats and fastest muscle boats can cost as much as a small house. But boaters report little class warfare on the water. New 60-foot cruisers and used 22-foot pontoon boats pass each other with a wave from passengers.

"It's about the shared love of boating, that's what they have in common," said Jim Adelman, a 30-year veteran of Pittsburgh's rivers and a psychologist from Bradford Woods. "People have a more relaxed attitude about boating. Our group of friends, we do a lot of things together, a lot of it involving getting together on the water. There's no competition. You leave people alone and they leave you alone."

There is disagreement in the boating community about the need for licensing. No license is required to operate a boat in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Anyone 12 or over can pilot any recreational boat equipped with a motor of 25 horsepower or more. Those born after Jan. 1, 1982, have to take a boater safety course.

"I'm tired of government regulating every damned thing," said Stapel, of Ben Avon. "It's about freedom. Why mess with something that's not broke?"

"I think it's a good idea," countered George Boyle, a 50-year veteran of Pittsburgh waters and chairman of the Pittsburgh Safe Boating Council. "There should be a license to operate a boat like there is to operate a car.

"You can walk into a dealer today, spend $20,000 on a fast boat, get in and drive it and nobody can stop you,'' he said. "There's no speed limit on the water. Everybody can't handle that without some training, and a requirement that new boaters take classes and a safety course is just a good idea."

Steve Warobe agreed. Speaking aboard a 60-foot yacht anchored off the Point, the Upper St. Clair boater noted that "a 15-year-old with no training would be allowed to pilot this boat. No 15-year-old should be allowed to drive a 60-foot boat. There are a lot of idiots out there."

But no matter whom you ask, Pittsburgh boaters agree that local officials have been slow to see the city from their point of view.

In recent years, many old, ugly, abandoned barges -- vestiges of the "iron city" era -- have been removed from shorelines, and plenty of private marinas operate on the three rivers. But the city has only one public launch site: under the Birmingham Bridge on the South Side. And it's impossible to dock near a restaurant or hotel -- no mooring rings, no docks, no stairways leading up to the city.

"I will tell you, access to the city from the water is extremely limited right now," said Diane Greco of the Three Rivers Regatta. "Many boating groups -- Head of the Ohio, Three Rivers Boating, Steel City Dragons and quite a few other clubs participating in river-based activities -- are asking for a voice.

"It's something the city needs and it's been very slow in coming. It's very difficult to get a specific picture of what's planned or response to requests about river access. [Officials] seem to think access means access to the water, so they're talking about building parks. They're not thinking about access from the water."