Sea Tow: Only for milquetoasts?

[svmariane]

Ever buy hull insurance with a REALLY large deductible? And then...
Ever go into an unknown port?
Maybe with poor visibility?
Maybe with inclement weather, wind gusts, tidal rips?
Maybe because you HAD to with an injured/sick crew member aboard?

Its insurance. Nobody expects to drive their car around the corner and get hit by a drunk driver, right? But we buy auto insurance. Its NOT your abilities as Captain that are in question nor your nautical skills nor even your attitude! [Bit of number eight wire and she'll be alright, mate!]

Sea Tow, BoatUS, The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in GB - Heck, even Royal New Zealand Coastguard - are there for the same reasons landlubbers buy auto insurance: the unexpected and unpredictable "oops".

Disclaimer: Yeah, okay... The US system is privatized with people working the job and requires membership while some other countries rely on volunteers and donations and (piddling) gov't grants. Or their Navy. Point is: when you need ém, you really need them! Your crew will thank you.

[No. That's not my sailboat in the image. So shutup.]

[alpinista55]

Recently I lost my gearbox while motoring up Multnomah Channel in the Columbia River. I was 10 miles upstream from my marina, the narrow winding channel was jam packed with fishermen for the spring salmon run, and there was no wind for sailing. I had $2000.00 of towing coverage as a rider on my general boat insurance. Called TowBoatUS for the tow back to the dock, then a week later a second tow to the boatyard, 6 hour tow against the 3 knot current. Total cost of both tows was $1600.00, and my boat insurance covered both tows.

I've since signed up for a year of towing with our local provider, Columbia River Marine Assist. $99.00 for unlimited towing in my local cruising ground. I learned a few things from the experience. Neither TowBoarUS or my local towing provider would have covered both tows, as the second tow was a "preexisting condition". Having separate coverage in your boat insurance can cover those extra tows, or towing outside of your coverage area.

My general boat insurance costs me $1000.00 per year for a $70k of coverage, and $1M liability, an offshore rider, and the towing coverage. This was my first ever claim since 2005.

[thinwater]

[QUOTE=alpinista55;2647744]Recently I lost my gearbox while motoring up Multnomah Channel in the Columbia River. I was 10 miles upstream from my marina, the narrow winding channel was jam packed with fishermen for the spring salmon run, and there was no wind for sailing..../QUOTE]


Without trying to be at all sarcastic, there probably was an alternative to the tow: anchor or sail to a marina or dock, even if downsteam, and then finish some days later under sail when the wind becomes favorable. If you had not had insurance, this would probably have been your choice, not paying $2000. Many boats have no engine. I've found myself with no power or no steering before.




River sailing is another risk factor to add to the list, because sailing is more limited.



Yes, towing is a very convenient option. Your time is valuable. But this does not sound like an emergency situation, just an inconvenience.

[raybobsky]

Great piece of mind! After a $500 tow bill and having to leave the boat at a marina for a week ($1200). On the jersey shore, and no not for repairs!

I do not leave the dock without it.

God rules the land, the devil rules the seas!
Never know when he is going to show!

[LoudMusic]

I would feel bad asking for assistance - a tow is a big commitment and would ruin someone's day who was otherwise enjoying themselves. I'd rather pay a service to assist me than interrupt someone else's well planned trip.

[preventec47]

Originally Posted by LoudMusic

I would feel bad asking for assistance - a tow is a big commitment and would ruin someone's day who was otherwise enjoying themselves. I'd rather pay a service to assist me than interrupt someone else's well planned trip.

You could/should offer/insist on paying/rewarding someone
who was otherwise enjoying themselves. Ask them if they
would prefer for you to pay ( probably much more) to a service instead.

[danielamartindm]

Originally Posted by Jammer

A Sea Tow boat passed me the other day and it made me wonder about their service.


Their memberships, popular among occasional pleasure boaters in the USA, are $180 per year and entitle the member to free on-water assistance under a fairly limited set of specific circumstances and within certain financial limits.


It seems to me that most of the situations they cover are ones that I would expect to be able to resolve without their help.



The inland lakes where I've spent most of my time until now have (or had in the years I was there) a fairly strong mutual aid culture. People would get tows from passing boats if they were disabled.


Are they worth a closer look? Or are they just for the unprepared and inexperienced?

I find it prudent to purchase Boat US towing "insurance," as my base is southwest Florida, the shoaling capital of the world. You can do all the "right" things here and still end up on a sand bar. Your question really hinges on where you sail, and how reliable the minimum depths on those charts are.

[NSboatman]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I look at this quite differently.

We sailors traditionally have a strong, even superstitious belief, belief to the point of fanaticism, in "what goes around, comes around."

So I not only help a fellow sailor in peril, I am just as eager to help a fellow sailor avoid an expensive commercial towing bill. If someone on the next pontoon has an electrical problem, I don't tell him to call an electrician (although I'll gladly give him numbers if he wants them) -- I jump on board with my electrical bag. If a sailor from far away doesn't have charts or tidal stream maps, I don't tell him he should be better prepared next time, I just give him some old ones I have lying around, or let him photograph mine on his cell phone. Not hypothetical, but real examples. If he needs a tow, then I put himself in his shoes -- $2000! Wow! -- and roll up my sleeves and throw him a line, and am very glad to be able to help.

For the whole cruising world to rely on commercial towing means we have to somehow support a whole infrastructure of professionals ready at all times to do it. That is expensive. If we simply towed each other, it is much cheaper and more rational.

I have absolutely no problem towing a fellow sailor to help him avoid what I know would be a painful hit for most of us -- a multi thousand dollar towing bill. I am even glad to spend a few hours doing it.

It's not only a question of "what goes around, comes around." I sail for fun, doing what professional mariners do for money, for free, or rather I pay to have a chance to do it. Navigation, boat maintenance, anchoring, pilotage, crew management -- we PAY to do all of this, rather than getting paid. What's the difference to add to that "towing other sailors"? It's just one more in a long line of maritime jobs. So I do not only to help, but because it's an interesting challenge, and like everything I do on my boat, i find fun in it.

As to the risks -- who cares? We risk damage every time we go out. I have insurance to cover the stuff which I can't easily repair myself. I don't begrudge my fellow sailor taking some kind of risk to help him.


People's attitudes about this vary a lot by country. In the U.S., it seems people are much more comfortable just letting other people deal with their own problems. Over here, when someone has an engine conk out or runs aground, he calls the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard swings into action and, if there is no immediate peril to life, gets on the radio and asks if there is someone nearby who can help. Usually there is a DELUGE of offers of people willing to go even far out of their way to help, even if it's just to help a dumb fisherman who ran out of fuel. The Coast Guard sorts through the various offers and chooses the one best suited. If there isn't a good private solution, then the Lifeboat is despatched. Or a CG cutter. Even if it's just someone who has run out of fuel. I like this culture and I firmly believe that this is more in line with the old traditions of the sea.

+100000000. I couldn't agree more DH. I for one am of absolutely the same mind, and I am very happy to hear of others with the same attitude.

Fair winds-

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

You misunderstand. I don't self-insure nor did I advocate for that.
Rather than reiterate what I originally wrote pages ago, you might be better served reading it rather than misinterpreting.
My boat insurance covers all towing costs anywhere by anyone at nominal cost.

I read your earlier comments. Note, however, you are "self-insured" to the extent that you have to go out-of-pocket up front and remain so until your insurer reimburses you (ignoring to tole getting such reimbursement will require), if so. Moreover, make a towing reimbursement claim more than once or so, and see the effect on your annual premiums, which can easily exceed the cost of a BoatUS membership/towing policy. N'any case, as I said earlier, if that approach works for you, good for you/others, good for you/them. Different ships/different long splices, eh?

[JPA Cate]

So, Jammer, what have you decided, and why?

Ann

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

So, Jammer, what have you decided, and why?

Ann

Ann, I'm not sure I'm following this whole thing. Anybody doing coastal cruising in the US is foolish not to have one of the towing companies. Just because it is cheap. Someone elsewhere, it is not relevant.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by LoudMusic

I would feel bad asking for assistance - a tow is a big commitment and would ruin someone's day who was otherwise enjoying themselves. I'd rather pay a service to assist me than interrupt someone else's well planned trip.

Not me, I rather enjoy helping someone. I’m not going to endanger my family of course, but I always stop on the road etc to see if I can help.
Last time we were in Key West I towed three or four people in small retractable keel sailboats out of the shallows where they grounded right by the mooring field with my dinghy.
I was really surprised and saddened to watch how many “cruisers” just went by in their dinghies. These people I don’t think could afford SeaTow.

Most interesting ones I helped was two very pregnant Ladies in a VW bug broken down on a bridge in Savannah Ga. they had a broken throttle cable, I happened to be in our bug and had a spare. For those that haven’t done it changing a VW throttle cable is a 2 min fix, and John Muir said always carry one, so I did.
A few months earlier someone had fixed our bug’s throttle cable with my Pregnant Wife in it by crimping on an electrical terminal in Alabama.
I figured it was payback

[Lepke]

When I was young, helping a fellow mariner in trouble was the law. I didn't know it changed.
I don't socialize much, but I do like to help boaters when I can.You have to be careful with towing. Most yachts need a bridle to spread the towing force to several attachments. Most cleats can't stand hard towing and many yacht winches only support the weight of the anchor and chain, but not towing forces.

If you have a big boat, a single tow can cost several lifetimes of premiums.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Ann, I'm not sure I'm following this whole thing. Anybody doing coastal cruising in the US is foolish not to have one of the towing companies. Just because it is cheap. Someone elsewhere, it is not relevant.

Hi, Cadence,
The back story is that Jammer, with a new-to-him boat, will be based at Lake Pepin, a lake on the Mississippi R., with shifting sands. The boat is a 25 foot sailboat. His question about towing insurance was related to that particular area. He received a lot of input, and I was wondering how he made his decision.

Ann

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by LoudMusic

I would feel bad asking for assistance - a tow is a big commitment and would ruin someone's day who was otherwise enjoying themselves. I'd rather pay a service to assist me than interrupt someone else's well planned trip.

Thanks very kind of you Loud Music.

Based on our experience, I think it's kind of fun to help other sailors, and a way to make new friends, sometimes. It's the kind of thing you can do, and just feel privately pleased with yourself, that you helped someone else.

Maybe we're different, but A64 and us, well it's (a) what you do and (b) you keep doing it because you like doing it.

I'd rather save some one the tow fees; others might rather keep the tow drivers in business. Both are okay stances.