NEED A TOW ASAP

[carebear1968]

Hi all my husband and I are in a slip in Ft. Lauderdale and are desperately needing someone to tow us to open water or close to open water. We are sailing up to Jacksonville but need to get towed through the bridges. If anyone has a suggestion or knows someone please reply. We dont have$ 200.00 an hour but can pay something. We need to get our boat home. Thanks all. [emoji1]

[Steadman Uhlich]

Howdy!

What follows is written in a friendly tone of voice, with the sole intent to clarify some things, based on my curiosity and your post asking for help or suggestions.

My curiosity is raised because I wonder what options (and costs and liabilities) there are in this situation I and what I would do if I were in a similar situation in Fort Lauderdale. In other words, IF I had a boat temporarily in Fort Lauderdale in a marina (say an overnight stay) and needed a tow, what would be the likely costs and options?
________

You mention you are in a slip, but little else other than you are not willing to pay $200 an hour for a tow.

My friendly suggestions:

1. Indicate which marina you are in or more specific location
2. Indicate what type and size of boat you have (I looked at your CF profile and saw nothing mentioned about boat type or LOA etc.)

3. Calculate how far it would be from your origin to the destination point ("open water") and route. Post in this thread a screen shot of a chart plot from your marina (origin) to the "open water" point (destination)
4. Indicate how many bridges, how long it takes to clear them, etc.

5. Estimate the amount of time you would expect this to take.
6. Indicate how much you would pay for the service from point of origin to destination. Money talks.
_________

But, my curiosity also makes me wonder what the liability would be for anyone, who is not a commercial tow company, who would provide that tow.

I can appreciate the idea of a "Good Samaritan" helping another boater. But, I also wonder about:

1. Are there are legal restrictions against non-commercial towing, because of that location? I know that superyachts are required to have a professional towboat take them into marinas in some areas around Fort Lauderdale where the ability to maneuver is very limited.

2. Liability of the towing "Good Samaritan" captain if something goes wrong during the tow and there is some damage to any boats or loss

Given so many unknowns (up above) it seems like it would be something worthy of hiring a professional tow service who has liability insurance and necessary gear and experience.

I assume you have checked with commercial tow companies on that, and if so, what did they tell you (how much, how long, etc.)?

If you know that already, I hope you will share that information in this thread, as it could help others in the future if they face a similar situation (needed a tow from a marina in Fort Lauderdale).
_________

Again, all of the above is written in a friendly tone of voice, and simply to better understand the situation, options, and costs involved.

[thinwater]

^^ And the moment you pay "something" it is commercial. That means the "good Samaritan is operating without insurance. Distress is one thing, this is something different.

[SV DestinyAscen]

Liability is a real problem. This isn't a boat in distress. once you tow it out there, you're responsible got subsequent events.

[Suijin]

If you can afford a slip in Ft. Lauderdale, you can afford a tow. Or a mechanic.

[tuffr2]

A long time ago I told my friend he is the only person I would tow if he needed it. I have towed people 4 times with no real success. It is very difficult to tow another boat much further than off a sandbar.

Neither boat handles well, the boat doing the towing will need constant steering correcetions as well as the boat being towed.

In other words towing another boat is a PITA.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by thinwater

^^ And the moment you pay "something" it is commercial. That means the "good Samaritan is operating without insurance. Distress is one thing, this is something different.

Yes, I towed a boat once that had flipped and dumped the people in the water, the whole time I was shadowed by FWC like a criminal.
Sea Tow was there but they couldn't afford them, Sea Tow eventually left.
I later found out that if I had accepted payment, that would have made it illegal. They offered, but I figured they needed the money to save the motor, and I didn't need the money.
I assume Sea Tow and Boat US have a strong lobbying presence in Fl., and this may actually be illegal.

So, I'll Tow to help someone out, and maybe let them work it off if they feel the need, clean the bottom or something, but I will never accept a nickel. I think that may make you responsible and maybe make you a professional?


Do you have a dinghy, one that could hip Tow you?

[a64pilot]

Back forty or more years ago, before Sea Tow and Boat US, we all towed each other. Anytime you were out fishing and saw the cover off of an outboard, you trolled over and offered help, everybody did.

Lucky I guess, but we never had to be towed back, but we towed several, I remember that.

[carebear1968]

Originally Posted by carebear1968

Hi all my husband and I are in a slip in Ft. Lauderdale and are desperately needing someone to tow us to open water or close to open water. We are sailing up to Jacksonville but need to get towed through the bridges. If anyone has a suggestion or knows someone please reply. We dont have$ 200.00 an hour but can pay something. We need to get our boat home. Thanks all. [emoji1]

Thank you all for your responses. To update and clarify, we bought the 39 ft. Temple Marine from a private owner about a month ago in Ft. Lauderdale. We were supposed to be able to keep it at their private dock, however, the man took I'll family came down and we had to move it asap. This was after we bought her. We live in Jacksonville and we don't have the money to keep her in Ft. Lauderdale. But with the short time we had, we are running out of options to just get through the bridges in Ft. Lauderdale. To add.. We just got the insurance and tow package on her, but have to have it 30 days for them to cover the tow.

[carebear1968]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Yes, I towed a boat once that had flipped and dumped the people in the water, the whole time I was shadowed by FWC like a criminal.
Sea Tow was there but they couldn't afford them, Sea Tow eventually left.
I later found out that if I had accepted payment, that would have made it illegal. They offered, but I figured they needed the money to save the motor, and I didn't need the money.
I assume Sea Tow and Boat US have a strong lobbying presence in Fl., and this may actually be illegal.

So, I'll Tow to help someone out, and maybe let them work it off if they feel the need, clean the bottom or something, but I will never accept a nickel. I think that may make you responsible and maybe make you a professional?


Do you have a dinghy, one that could hip Tow you?

Thanks for your response. We do have Boat US. But we just bought the boat and they would cover it, but We have to have it for 30 days. The problem with where we are is yes, it's expensive, however, the man that sold her to us said we could keep the vessel in his private slip until Feb. And he became ill and the family requested us to move her. So we didn't really have time to set anything up.

[Franziska]

@a64pilot

That's the right attitude in my eyes.

Far to little helpfulness and far to much lawyers running around these days.

That leads to people beeing scared to be helpful because they might get sued by some idiot down the line.

Sad times.

[SV DestinyAscen]

Originally Posted by Franziska

@a64pilot

That's the right attitude in my eyes.

Far to little helpfulness and far to much lawyers running around these days.

That leads to people beeing scared to be helpful because they might get sued by some idiot down the line.

Sad times.

There's a huge difference between helping someone encountering difficulty out there and bringing them back vs towing someone out to fend for themselves.

[Pete7]

Okay, so what is wrong with the yacht engine?

In the UK you can pay someone reasonable expenses without requiring commercial coding and insurance. For example a group of lads having a whip round to pay the fuel costs for a fishing trip. As a diving club we certainly did a few jobs for a donation to club funds. Does this work in the US?

As for the towing, its not exactly rocket science, in close quarters, tie the powered vessel along side and towards the stern will enable steerage. At see a long rope to give some stretch. Keep the speed down or the towed vessel will start bow steering.

However, I would be more concerned about sailing what 270 miles? in a yacht with no engine and possibly no charging for batteries, at this time of year which will include at least one night in a boat that may have other problems.

Is it this one?

http://www.boats.com/sailing-boats/1.../#.WGlZLflIAdU


Pete

[MarkJ]

If u need a tow it means your engine isn't working.

How are you going to get into Jacksonville?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Back forty or more years ago, before Sea Tow and Boat US, we all towed each other. Anytime you were out fishing and saw the cover off of an outboard, you trolled over and offered help, everybody did.

Lucky I guess, but we never had to be towed back, but we towed several, I remember that.

I have been towed, and have given tows. Conditions were never very challenging, but there were no issues doing so. Not sure why there would be, as long as both crews know what they’re doing.

To the OP; is there a local yacht club or marina? Sounds like you’re alone on your current dock, but most boaters in the real world (as opposed to this fantasy land) are pretty good, friendly and helpful folks. If you could find some to talk to, face-to-face, I think you’d have a better chance of finding help.