Towing other boats

[Bigbore500r]

You were in a bigger boat and we towed you! Not that far though. LOL

Haha thanks again! I think I fell into the "to safety / within reason" category lol

 

[stephenkatsea]

I’ve towed total strangers many times. And yes, I’ve been towed also. But, isn’t it interesting that once the various towing operations got well equipped and established, the friggin’ UNITED STATES COAST GUARD will no longer tow in most situations. They’ll respond, med evac etc. But for just a tow, USCS does not do it. They tell you to call, Vessel Assist, Tow Boat US etc. IMO, Towing insurance is cheap and a good thing to have.

 

[WhatExit?]

I would always stop to help and see what the issue is. Just like with off roading, no one should get left behind. But stopping to help doesn't mean towing them forever.

 

[24 Sleekenforcer]

I only boat on Lake Powell and my longest tow was 27 miles back to the ramp I launched at and then drove to the another ramp, dropped them off at their truck, then they went back and retrieved the boat. I never passed someone that needs help . I have towed more boats in the last couple of years than ever.

 

[Rajobigguy]

I tow everyone.. don’t care where they are, I will always tow. I’ve pulled up sunk boats on multiple occasions, towed people from one end of the river to the other.. one end of the lake to the island. Don’t care.. it’s what decent people do.

When I was growing up at the river if someone arrived with a flat on the trailer the Neigbhors would change it for them before they woke up.

I get the river isn’t the same as it used to be.. but it’s only a couple Of good deeds from being what it was.

I don’t have sea tow.. never understood why anyone would… until I got on the internet.

Same here, I’ve towed/rescued many fellow boaters. I always stop when I see a hatch open and lend whatever assistance I can.
Personally, I have boat towing service and have had to use it once. I would hope that if I get in over my head someone will stop and help.

 

[RiverDave]

Ya back in the day, boats were small and more people knew how to work on their own stuff.

Would you pull a 30ft Eliminator with a K Boat? LOL

I don’t really see me running a k boat anytime soon.. for that matter I don’t really see that situation really ever happening?

 

[81Sprint]

Years ago on Mead got stuck in a microburst, 4' and bigger white caps, only time I have ever been scared on the water. My bilge pump takes a shit and now we are taking on water on our way back to the marina cause the waves are breaking over the bow on my 26'. Come upon a swamped 19' bayliner style shitbox with I shit you not about 20 people on it, dude ran out of gas a mile out of the marina. Couldn't believe it what a moron. Begged me to tow him in, but I wasn't gonna take chance and lose my boat which I had 4 passengers including kids. I called the Park Rangers and gave them the location, never heard anything else good or bad. Some people just should not be on the water

 

[Racey]

Years ago in the Needles area I towed a guy in a jet boat that ran out of gas. Later in the day I see someone else towing the very same boat. My curiosity got the best of me so I pulled up next to the guys asking what happened? We ran out of gas, seriously. I was pissed to say the least so I had to ask, how much gas did you put in that thing after I towed you earlier? Guy reply's, like $20 bucks worth. I shake my head in disbelief thinking some people just don't belong on the water...

People who won't take the time or money to put gas in their boat don't deserve an ounce of anyone elses. Mechanical issues are one thing, running out of gas is totally inexcusable.

 

[socal0487]

That's good to know , thanks for the post...

With Tow Boat US, you need to make sure if using your membership for another boat, that the owner of that boat is not on the boat. Or at least tell them they aren’t. They will deny you

 

[Riverryder]

Does tow boat us stay in the water year around in havasu??

They take the boats out in the winter here on mead I believe. I have tow boat us as A just in case.

I always help. I think it’s fun. My kids enjoy it to. They always talk about the times we have towed someone or helped them.

 

[hawgty55]

I will always tow to the nearest marina....boating is a fun time...all of it... helping people makes me feel good...same with people stuck at the dunes... I always stop to help... I've many of times towed them to the nearest marina, then took one of them to get their truck...just being on the water and doing something is fun to me... helping makes it even better.. one time,.. a big fat lady had a flat on the side of the freeway,... no body would stop to help... I had to go to the next off ramp to turn around to go help her...super cool lady,if she would have been 20 with big tits a trucker would have bought her new tires....

X2 nearest marina

 

[ka0tyk]

If I saw another boat hatch up and a flag or waving I’d cruise by and check. I think towing them to the nearest marina would be fine… towing them all the way back up to topock from the dam would be rediculous. There’s no reason telhey couldn’t tie off in a slip or have someone sit at the dock and get an Uber or a ride to their truck and come pick up their boat. I think most boaters would agree that it’s pretty grueling on your rig to tow…

But at least check and make sure people are safe. If you have to leave make sure they at least have waters.

 

[PlanB]

Does tow boat us stay in the water year around in havasu??

They take the boats out in the winter here on mead I believe. I have tow boat us as A just in case.

I always help. I think it’s fun. My kids enjoy it to. They always talk about the times we have towed someone or helped them.

They are in the water year round.

 

[RiverDave]

People who won't take the time or money to put gas in their boat don't deserve an ounce of anyone elses. Mechanical issues are one thing, running out of gas is totally inexcusable.

I ran outta gas once.. missed roadrunner by about 200’.. I was telling the guy to just tow is to the bar and we would float back to pirates later.. lol. He towed us to the fuel dock.

 

[FlatBottomGuy]

Always tow or try to help in some way...Never know when you will be on the other end of the rope.

 

[stephenkatsea]

Once towed a boat "broke down?" near Steamboat. They said they needed a tow to Sand Point. They were out of fuel. I did the tow to Sand Point. Took them off the string and put them on the hip prior to entering the marina. With them on my hip I was able to safely put them alongside the end of the fuel dock. Upon getting tied up they looked around and said, "Where are we?. This isn't where we launched from." I asked if maybe they had launched at Cattail? "Oh ya, that's the place". They wanted me to untie them and tow them over to Cattail. I explained, this is a fuel dock, just put on a little fuel and you can run over there under your own power. With this they admitted, well besides no fuel they also had mechanical problems. WTF? It was getting late. So, I towed them around to Cattail, put them alongside the dock at the launch ramp and I left. I'd had enough. They offered nothing for my efforts. Only one lady quietly said thank you. Weird bunch for sure. Just glad to get away from them.

 

[Gonefishin5555]

It seems to me that some people use the kindness of other boaters as their tow insurance. Some of them need to learn an expensive lesson.

 

[78Southwind]

Ya back in the day, boats were small and more people knew how to work on their own stuff.

Would you pull a 30ft Eliminator with a K Boat? LOL

I have towed so many boats over the years, Sea Doos, V-Drive Cruisers and big Lake Boats. The last one got me to throw in the towel. This drunk idiot was on the river just before nightfall and broke down. They were in a 24' to 26' boat and we were the only boats on the river. I go over to see if I can help and he asks me to tow him. I am thinking to myself fuck my little 18' Southwind Jet is going to have a tough time pulling this beast up river. I tell him I will tow them up to the Community Park launch ramp. I get them to the dock after what seems like forever but is probably less than an hour and these people tell me they don't have any gas money to give me. I think to myself, I didn't plan on asking so no big deal to me. However, as I am leaving they say how about you tow us to the Riverside Casino launch ramp and we will give you $40. lol... I told them to keep it they are going to need money for the taxi ride to Laughlin. What a bunch of drunk idiots...

 

[QC22]

Why does anyone think this is "hard on your rig"? The only issue I can think of is load on the actual tow point. If it is through bolted and backed properly, that's not an issue. Surely you don't think displacement speed towing is gonna hurt the driveline? If anything a little extra load is better than regular idle. I don't get this take at all.

 

[81Sprint]

People who won't take the time or money to put gas in their boat don't deserve an ounce of anyone elses. Mechanical issues are one thing, running out of gas is totally inexcusable.

Yep, and these people had launched and ran out of gas on the way OUT. The guy forgot to fill up his boat before putting in, BAD day to forget fuel

 

[mash on it]

I've pulled several off of the rock bar at Big Bend of the Colorado State Park (Bullhead Riviera area) Always driver error.
Pulled them either to the Big Bend Lagoon, or Lazy Harry's. And one pwc to BHC Community Park (Damm Rental)

The time I needed a tow, busted rocker at 8pm, I had to figure out how to get it to run on 7 cyls, smoothly, back to the ramp. The river was deserted.

Dan'l

 

[DWC]

Basic rule is to render aid & make sure they're safe. I do not collect insurance premiums so don't expect me to act like the tow insurance you don't have. I have been kinda blown away at how many people we've met on the lake with expensive boats that do not have tow insurance. Even at todays cost we're talking about the equivalent to 15gal fuel cost to assure your family a safe tow home if necessary for 12 months.

X2 Ziggy. Ours only has a couple grab handles off the swim deck. Pretty sure they’re not stout enough to tow anything anyway. I tried putting off an annual maintenance one year. Wasted a couple days at the Springs waiting for repairs. Never skipped paying sea tow or doing annual maintenance since.

 

[DWC]

I only boat on Lake Powell and my longest tow was 27 miles back to the ramp I launched at and then drove to the another ramp, dropped them off at their truck, then they went back and retrieved the boat. I never passed someone that needs help . I have towed more boats in the last couple of years than ever.

This last season seemed like the worst at Windsor. There seemed to be at least one boat that didn’t start on every trip. Boat would back down, hatch would come up and they’d pull out and take off. Lots of new boaters, older boats getting back into the rotation and maybe even a couple kill switches flipped. . Can’t beat experience and a good jump pack.

 

[28Eliminator]

People who won't take the time or money to put gas in their boat don't deserve an ounce of anyone elses. Mechanical issues are one thing, running out of gas is totally inexcusable.

Sometimes your gas gauge lies to you

 

[stephenkatsea]

Nice if you can directly stick your fuel tanks. Yes gauges can and do sometimes F up.

 

[jetur]

I tow whoever / whenever. Not sure if it's the law in AZ or not but my Dad always told me that you had to stop and tow on a waterway, if flagged down.

 

[Racey]

Sometimes your gas gauge lies to you

View attachment 1063204

I've never once in my life used a gas gauge as a bearing of fuel level in a boat. They are notoriously useless. But when you grow up at mead you always fuel to the top.

 

[spectra3279]

Ok, so you call BoatUS and you're not a member, they tow you and bill you for the tow at non-member rates. They may either deduct the membership from that tow cost if you become a member on the spot or charge you the membership in addition to the full price tow, but no way are you getting the member price on the tow before the membership kicks in (which is following day as you mentioned).

At least that was the way it was explained to me once. This thread is making me want to sign up, as I dont have it and boats have a tendency to do shit when you least expect it or at the worst possible moment.

Just camp for the night then call in the morning

 

[Looking Glass]

Why does anyone think this is "hard on your rig"? The only issue I can think of is load on the actual tow point. If it is through bolted and backed properly, that's not an issue. Surely you don't think displacement speed towing is gonna hurt the driveline? If anything a little extra load is better than regular idle. I don't get this take at all.

Pulling an Empty boat is one thing, and Pulling one full of people is another. Plus are you talking Pulling Up OR Down Current?

 

[Looking Glass]

Just camp for the night then call in the morning

Depends on how much Beer AND Who is With You!!

 

[spectra3279]

I remember back in the 70's on ky lake. We had an old Johnson surfer 19 trihull with a 307 in it. Dad towed a 40ft house boat about 10 miles to the marina. I enjoyed watching the water pile up under the bow of the house boat in our wake. Dad would tow anybody anywhere they needed to go. Kinda so do I.

Only been towed once so far. It was during one of the dam runs.

 

[Outdrive1]

Nice thing about Parker is, you tow someone to the nearest ramp on their side of the river. And give them a ride to their trailer. Parker has ramps at every park or neighborhood. Fox’s even has a ramp. Sometimes you only need a two for a couple hundred yards.

 

[81Sprint]

I got towed once....made the best of it

 

[dspracing]

we towed this jet boat for probably 3 hours behind our homemade raft built on 55 gal drums and 4-5 or so HP Johnson.

 

[Happy Smitty]

I too will race airplanes given the opportunity.

 

[QC22]

Pulling an Empty boat is one thing, and Pulling one full of people is another. Plus are you talking Pulling Up OR Down Current?

Sorry for the late reply. I don't think current matters except with the time it's gonna take to get anywhere. I tow max at around 1200 RPM. Except I actually planed once with a 14' tinny in tow... Anyway, at 1200 RPM or less, the propeller load is very low whether you've got something in tow or not. Obviously, against current, the speed over the bottom is going to be slower than going with it. The load on the driveline and tow point would be the same.

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

We were on Powell once, first time if I recall, and we simply didnt realize how big the lake was. Boat was a 21 with two 20 gallon saddle tanks, but the engine was thirsty (and it was a jet) and we ran out of gas somewhere, just not paying attention to the gauge while we took in the scenery. I think it cost like $200 in gas to get as far as we got. We flagged someone down who called some tow service. We werent members but we paid to get towed back to Wahweap. This twin outboard RIB was the service boat. We thought it was going to take forever to get back but this guy just throttles up and we're going back at like 40 mph. Took us less time to get towed back than we spent getting where ever it was we made it to. The real kicker was the tow back was like half the price of the gas it would have cost us if we just got towed to a fuel dock and gotten gas and headed back.

 

[SHOCKtheMONKEY]

Figured I throw this out one more time for anyone that didn't see it . Lol

Here's the thread where I stole the pic from.

First time I towed an airplane at the lake...

last week at Mohave. Two guys, one getting trained. They shut the motor off and couldn't restart for awhile. Towed them back to the crapper the first time and then to a beach. They thought it was vapor locked. We gave 'em some drinks and snacks while they waited for it to cool down and it...

www.riverdavesplace.com

 

[spectra3279]

Figured I throw this out one more time for anyone that didn't see it . Lol

Here's the thread where I stole the pic from.

First time I towed an airplane at the lake...

last week at Mohave. Two guys, one getting trained. They shut the motor off and couldn't restart for awhile. Towed them back to the crapper the first time and then to a beach. They thought it was vapor locked. We gave 'em some drinks and snacks while they waited for it to cool down and it...

www.riverdavesplace.com

Did tow him to the airport or the marina?

 

[HBCraig]

People who won't take the time or money to put gas in their boat don't deserve an ounce of anyone elses. Mechanical issues are one thing, running out of gas is totally inexcusable.

I did this. Towed a young couple that ran out of gas by the sandbar back to Windsor. The wife of the guy said I dropped then off on the wrong side of the dock. It took a lot to not say anything.

 

[HBCraig]

I got towed once....made the best of it
View attachment 1063211

How long have you had your Sprint? Reason I ask is this is very close to the one my brother sold.

 

[81Sprint]

How long have you had your Sprint? Reason I ask is this is very close to the one my brother sold.

I sold it about 4 years ago, it did not look like this by any means when i bought it. I dug it out of a backyard in Ventura and redid the whole thing. Miss that damn boat. Crazy thing is i had a facebook memory pop up today, I bought it nine years ago today.

 

[81Sprint]

How long have you had your Sprint? Reason I ask is this is very close to the one my brother sold.

I may be in the market if the one your brother sold is for sale! Mine is in Florida now

 

[H20 Toie]

I have towed a lot of boats over the years, not something to even think about, someone needs help you stop, well at monster storm all my good deeds came back when i parked on a sand bar, i had three boats full of people stop and help get us going,

 

[HBCraig]

I have towed a lot of boats over the years, not something to even think about, someone needs help you stop, well at monster storm all my good deeds came back when i parked on a sand bar, i had three boats full of people stop and help get us going,

There's a word for that bro..... it's called karma. You obviously racked up some good karma