Towing is included with our insurance for our Yamaha 190SX. We ran up on an unmarked and uncharted gravel shoal in the middle of Lake Tenkiller ( I thought we were in 20' of water based on available chart). Insurance company didn't have any towing service within 500 miles or more but did reimburse us for the towing we did find. Wife and I, her 99 year old mother and a couple we had known for decades were in the boat. A weekday late in the day, we were fortunate to have some boaters stop and offer assistance. Boat was hard aground in 6" of water and it was going to take professional help to get back to floating. One boat took all the passengers back to the ramp we'd launched from and I planned on staying with the boat til morning and then perhaps find some help pulling the boat off the shoal. Some time on the phone with state police led to a conversation with a local dive boat operator who came out with his wife in a work boat geared for towing and pulled the Yamaha off the shoal and towed me back to boat ramp. $550 fee `was reasonable and reimbursed by insurance.
Jonathan, believe your anchor was caught on a sunken car there in Reid. I’ve heard there are a couple of nasty items to foul on around that dock from a long time ago. Sorry one got you!
Just like I subscribe to AAA for peace of mind on the road, I do BoatUS with towing as well to lessen the anxiety whether I’m on a motor boat, camp cruiser, or big cruiser. I’m grateful I haven’t had to use it yet but the dozen-plus times I thought I might it was a very reassuring to know help was available.
Wow Nate! My best guess had been old logging equipment but a car chassis sounds likely from my limited acquaintance with the remainders. At least it was a nice spot to be stuck.
One never knows what might happen next on the water. You could lose your rig possibly in a way that interferes with motoring or you may be a no engine person. Does the taxpaying populace owe you a Coast Guard rescue? I have also come into a harbor with hard scrabble rock margins and little room to maneuver and in very high winds. My tow insurance allowed me to let a tow boat put me on the dock where without help I could not have made it. If you sail large bodies of open water with weather that can go severe, you might have a fewer good choices than you imagine. The insurance is relatively cheap.
I do like the option of having an intermediate step before a coast guard rescue. Just like I would call a tow truck, not the police, for many vehicle mishaps, I would call a tow service on the water for non-emergent situations.
I used to subscribe to BoatUS’ freshwater tow service. The annual fee was only $35. That was when they had a TowBoat on Sebago Lake where I boat in the summer. At 50 square miles Sebago is big enough that I felt it was worth it. I did use them once when the starter on my motor boat seized up. After the TowBoat owner/operator retired and moved away I cancelled the tow service membership.
Being a trailer sailor, I have used the services of Boat US Trailer Service. For an additional $17/year, they will send help to get your trailer back on the road. Used it once and the otherwise expensive help was free. Never been towed by Boat US.
I am not a subscriber, but I know that my insurance policy (through Donegal) covers towing and salvage. If you don't know about your policy, you should check. Most towing companies will tow you even if you are not part of their program, but knowing your policy will help you make decisions and even little things like how to ask the operator to make out the bill (mine knew what he was doing before I did, so he wrote his invoice up so it would get reimbursed).
I don't subscribe at the moment, but my biggest usable boat is a GP14 sailing dinghy. Once I get my larger sailboat in the water, I will be. Nobody wants to row a larger boat.
I’m a subscriber in part because it gives peace of mind to my wife when we take kids and grandkids out for day trips. With ever-shifting sand shoals and a 6-10 ft tide range in coastal Georgia it’s nice to know that there may be an alternative to sitting through a tide cycle. Be aware that Towboat US and SeaTow have different business models and offer different services.
Adding "Sign & Glide" to a Progressive insurance policy is a very inexpensive way to get unlimited 24hr towing and assistance. Thankfully, I've always been able to get myself back to the dock but it's nice knowing I have a backup. At $30 per year, it's an easy decision for me.
The decision to hire a towing service depends on where you sail. If I didn't sail in the ocean or lakes more than say 20 miles in diameter, I probably would not hire one.
I've never used a towing service and never plan to, but it was a cheap option with BoatUS so I opted in (for my cruising rowboat). I see their boats patrolling regularly on the Sacramento Delta, if I ever did get stuck somewhere it would be less embarrassing to call a tow than it would be to call either CG or a buddy to come get me.
Especially when you're past the time of invulnerability. (less than 30 years old), risking your life isn't worth the savings. My friend Dave snagged a crab pot line when we were motoring a couple of miles from Sidney, Vancouver Island. After a call to BoatUS, a rescuer came out from Ganges. Even diving with drysuit and SCUBA he was unable to get the prop free from the line given that our stern rose and fell 3 or 4 ft on every swell. So he towed us to Sidney where the calm marine allowed hime to clear the prop in no more that 10 minutes.
I might have considered searching for the anchor in the shallow water. If I had found it and been able to recover it, I would have cut off the rode on each side of the obstruction and tried to mend it back together. On the other hand, as an octogenarian I know I never will. Thanks for an interesting reminder of the usefulness of skills.
I enjoyed this story, and it was very timely since last week a friend got stranded on a nearby lake in her Compaq-16. She was stuck in weeds and she couldn't sail out of them, and her motor wouldn't start. I couldn't come and get her (long story) and couldn't find another nearby boater. She called Sea Tow but they wouldn't help her because she wasn't a member. She finally got the attention of a nearby JetSki'er who pulled her out, but it made me wonder. Has SCA done a story on the relative prices and services of competing towing services? If not, someone should consider writing it...
I just had a quick read through the BoatUS "On Water Towing Service Agreement" and anchor retrieval is specifically excluded from the benefits. I don't think a membership would have helped you with your fouled anchor.
Yeah I was surprised when I read that diving for an anchor would be covered. My policy BoatUS policy doesn't cover.
As always would be best to contact the insurer and confirm if something is/isn't part of the policy.
I've snagged with the anchor and pulled up some interesting items from the Salish Sea's bottom. List from the last five years: multiple crab pots, a bbq grill (a large one like found on a home's back patio!), many large rope/wire hawsers left over from logging operations, small trees/limbs, and a mainsail cover.
June 2023 came across a boat snagged on a large submerged tree in Hunter Bay Lopez Island, San Juan Islands. In effort to retrieve their multi-thousand dollar ground tackle (a 40' or so powerboat) they damaged the bow section of the hull/deck joint. A diver came and found the anchor/chain so wrapped around the tree to be unrecoverable. I rowed over and talked with the owner and then used my handheld GPS to mark the hazard ... though with tides/currents who knows if that tree will stay in one place!
Towing is included with our insurance for our Yamaha 190SX. We ran up on an unmarked and uncharted gravel shoal in the middle of Lake Tenkiller ( I thought we were in 20' of water based on available chart). Insurance company didn't have any towing service within 500 miles or more but did reimburse us for the towing we did find. Wife and I, her 99 year old mother and a couple we had known for decades were in the boat. A weekday late in the day, we were fortunate to have some boaters stop and offer assistance. Boat was hard aground in 6" of water and it was going to take professional help to get back to floating. One boat took all the passengers back to the ramp we'd launched from and I planned on staying with the boat til morning and then perhaps find some help pulling the boat off the shoal. Some time on the phone with state police led to a conversation with a local dive boat operator who came out with his wife in a work boat geared for towing and pulled the Yamaha off the shoal and towed me back to boat ramp. $550 fee `was reasonable and reimbursed by insurance.
Jonathan, believe your anchor was caught on a sunken car there in Reid. I’ve heard there are a couple of nasty items to foul on around that dock from a long time ago. Sorry one got you!
Just like I subscribe to AAA for peace of mind on the road, I do BoatUS with towing as well to lessen the anxiety whether I’m on a motor boat, camp cruiser, or big cruiser. I’m grateful I haven’t had to use it yet but the dozen-plus times I thought I might it was a very reassuring to know help was available.
Wow Nate! My best guess had been old logging equipment but a car chassis sounds likely from my limited acquaintance with the remainders. At least it was a nice spot to be stuck.
One never knows what might happen next on the water. You could lose your rig possibly in a way that interferes with motoring or you may be a no engine person. Does the taxpaying populace owe you a Coast Guard rescue? I have also come into a harbor with hard scrabble rock margins and little room to maneuver and in very high winds. My tow insurance allowed me to let a tow boat put me on the dock where without help I could not have made it. If you sail large bodies of open water with weather that can go severe, you might have a fewer good choices than you imagine. The insurance is relatively cheap.
I do like the option of having an intermediate step before a coast guard rescue. Just like I would call a tow truck, not the police, for many vehicle mishaps, I would call a tow service on the water for non-emergent situations.
I used to subscribe to BoatUS’ freshwater tow service. The annual fee was only $35. That was when they had a TowBoat on Sebago Lake where I boat in the summer. At 50 square miles Sebago is big enough that I felt it was worth it. I did use them once when the starter on my motor boat seized up. After the TowBoat owner/operator retired and moved away I cancelled the tow service membership.
Questions to help evaluate:
How often do I sail where other boaters are not present (but still in range of tow service)?
Do I sail with individuals who could not tolerate, or would be in danger, in a predicament (elderly, kids, pets, medical conditions)?
Am I the type who would risk physical harm to save a few hundred bucks?
Does my schedule often require that I get back to port at a certain time (meaning no availability to wait things out)?
How recoverable is my boat?
Being a trailer sailor, I have used the services of Boat US Trailer Service. For an additional $17/year, they will send help to get your trailer back on the road. Used it once and the otherwise expensive help was free. Never been towed by Boat US.
I am not a subscriber, but I know that my insurance policy (through Donegal) covers towing and salvage. If you don't know about your policy, you should check. Most towing companies will tow you even if you are not part of their program, but knowing your policy will help you make decisions and even little things like how to ask the operator to make out the bill (mine knew what he was doing before I did, so he wrote his invoice up so it would get reimbursed).
At the conclusion of this story: https://smallcraftadvisor.substack.com/p/drummond-island-capsize?utm_source=publication-search
the insurance company paid the towing, outboard repair, and sail repair. I think I was out around $100 total. Insurance is great when you need it.
I don't subscribe at the moment, but my biggest usable boat is a GP14 sailing dinghy. Once I get my larger sailboat in the water, I will be. Nobody wants to row a larger boat.
I’m a subscriber in part because it gives peace of mind to my wife when we take kids and grandkids out for day trips. With ever-shifting sand shoals and a 6-10 ft tide range in coastal Georgia it’s nice to know that there may be an alternative to sitting through a tide cycle. Be aware that Towboat US and SeaTow have different business models and offer different services.
Adding "Sign & Glide" to a Progressive insurance policy is a very inexpensive way to get unlimited 24hr towing and assistance. Thankfully, I've always been able to get myself back to the dock but it's nice knowing I have a backup. At $30 per year, it's an easy decision for me.
The decision to hire a towing service depends on where you sail. If I didn't sail in the ocean or lakes more than say 20 miles in diameter, I probably would not hire one.
I've never used a towing service and never plan to, but it was a cheap option with BoatUS so I opted in (for my cruising rowboat). I see their boats patrolling regularly on the Sacramento Delta, if I ever did get stuck somewhere it would be less embarrassing to call a tow than it would be to call either CG or a buddy to come get me.
Especially when you're past the time of invulnerability. (less than 30 years old), risking your life isn't worth the savings. My friend Dave snagged a crab pot line when we were motoring a couple of miles from Sidney, Vancouver Island. After a call to BoatUS, a rescuer came out from Ganges. Even diving with drysuit and SCUBA he was unable to get the prop free from the line given that our stern rose and fell 3 or 4 ft on every swell. So he towed us to Sidney where the calm marine allowed hime to clear the prop in no more that 10 minutes.
I might have considered searching for the anchor in the shallow water. If I had found it and been able to recover it, I would have cut off the rode on each side of the obstruction and tried to mend it back together. On the other hand, as an octogenarian I know I never will. Thanks for an interesting reminder of the usefulness of skills.
I enjoyed this story, and it was very timely since last week a friend got stranded on a nearby lake in her Compaq-16. She was stuck in weeds and she couldn't sail out of them, and her motor wouldn't start. I couldn't come and get her (long story) and couldn't find another nearby boater. She called Sea Tow but they wouldn't help her because she wasn't a member. She finally got the attention of a nearby JetSki'er who pulled her out, but it made me wonder. Has SCA done a story on the relative prices and services of competing towing services? If not, someone should consider writing it...
I just had a quick read through the BoatUS "On Water Towing Service Agreement" and anchor retrieval is specifically excluded from the benefits. I don't think a membership would have helped you with your fouled anchor.
Yeah I was surprised when I read that diving for an anchor would be covered. My policy BoatUS policy doesn't cover.
As always would be best to contact the insurer and confirm if something is/isn't part of the policy.
I've snagged with the anchor and pulled up some interesting items from the Salish Sea's bottom. List from the last five years: multiple crab pots, a bbq grill (a large one like found on a home's back patio!), many large rope/wire hawsers left over from logging operations, small trees/limbs, and a mainsail cover.
June 2023 came across a boat snagged on a large submerged tree in Hunter Bay Lopez Island, San Juan Islands. In effort to retrieve their multi-thousand dollar ground tackle (a 40' or so powerboat) they damaged the bow section of the hull/deck joint. A diver came and found the anchor/chain so wrapped around the tree to be unrecoverable. I rowed over and talked with the owner and then used my handheld GPS to mark the hazard ... though with tides/currents who knows if that tree will stay in one place!
Very interesting and certainly contrary to what I was told. Thanks for writing. This adds to the pros and cons discussion.