Be it from running aground, engine failure, rigging damage, or whatever, sooner or later you will need a tow. The largest towing companies, TowBoatUS and SeaTow, operate almost everywhere and their distinctive orange or yellow craft are familiar most harbors. Smaller and sometimes local tow operators have mixed reputations. You can call for a tow via VHF radio or cell phone. The cost of a tow is well above $100 an hour, starting when the tow boat leaves its home dock and ending when it returns to its dock. Rates go up after sundown. Some kind of towing insurance or a prepaid towing plan is therefore a good idea.
Tow vs
salvageBesides towing, these companies also perform salvage, and it is essential to know the difference. A tow usually involves one tow boat and one tow line used in the absence of any peril to the towed boat, its crew, other boats, or the environment. The tow becomes a salvage operation when there is more than one tow boat, or one tow boat using more than one line, or use of any special equipment, or any risk of danger to the boat being towed or its crew or other boats, or risk of damaging the environment.
The cost of salvage is based on a significant percentage of the value of the boat and is often a hundred times higher than the cost of a tow. Boat owner's insurance typically covers salvage, but not towing, and the policy defines the precise difference between them. Having boat owner's insurance and towing insurance from the same problems.
Almost always, a tow operation is considered salvage if the boat is hard aground or stranded, abandoned by its crew, leaking to the point where a pump is needed, on fire, in danger of sinking, or otherwise at risk of harming other boats or the marine environment. A sailing dinghy that turns turtle, for example, is considered to have been abandoned if the crew swims away from it, making the tow boat rescue a salvage operation. A soft grounding in a busy channel might require salvage, rather than simple towing, if the tide is going out and the boat is a hazard to navigation. Use of any equipment other than a single tow line, such as flotation gear, also makes it salvage. A simple engine failure from clogged filters or running out of fuel can require salvage in bad weather.
The huge cost of salvage reflects the experience and special equipment that tow boat operators bring to the job and the risks incurred by a tow boat that attempts a salvage operation. No payment is due unless the salvage operation succeeds. There might be elements of danger to the tow boat and its crew. The tow boat assumes at least some liability for damage to other boats and the environment, including the substantial cost of cleaning up a fuel spill and wreck removal. On the other hand, many captains who asked for a simple tow, and thought that they had received no more than this, were subsequently presented with substantial bills for salvage. towing, clarify this in writing before a tow line is passed aboard. Do not accept a verbal assurance, even before witnesses, because the tow boat captain might not be authorized to give this. Do not sign a salvage form that the tow boat captain gives you. Use, instead, the form provided by your insurance company. Lacking that, try to continue without signing a form, if possible, or consider calling a different towing company, if circumstances permit.
Towing
insuranceTo prepare for the possibility that you will need a tow, start by purchasing towing insurance and verify that the insurance has acceptable limits based on your cruising range. Even so-called unlimited towing has a dollar limit, usually around $2,500. Identify tow boat docks in your cruising area and know in advance how to contact them. Inspect your boat's liability insurance policy to verify that it covers salvage up to the full value of the boat, including fuel spill clean-up and wreck removal, and with no deductible. Obtain a copy of your insurer's preferred salvage agreement and keep it on board.
Obtain a copy of your insurer's preferred salvage agreement and keep it on board. Towing another boat Before you undertake to tow another boat,
Towing
another
boatBefore you undertake to tow Towing another boat, consider first that you will become fully responsible for that boat and all aboard her the instant you pass over a line. You must have a proper towing bridle, adequate fittings for attaching it, and ample power, together with both training and practice. The bridle should float, to avoid fouling your prop, and it must have adequate strength and stretch. The two attachment points will be and must have substantial backing plates. A long tow in rough conditions is almost certainly beyond the capability of all but a specially designed tow boat. Keep a suitable knife always handy in case you must cut the tow line. Attach the tow line only where you can reach it quickly and easily. Never exceed the hull speed of the boat you are towing.
Towing
with a
dinghyWhen towing a heavy boat with an inflatable dinghy that has an outboard motor, attaching the tow line at the stern will cause the stern to drop and the bow to rise to where it will yaw back and forth in the wind. Instead pass the tow line through the bow pad eye and aft around the stern, then underwater back to the bow and aft again to the stern on the opposite side of the motor, and finally again back to the bow and make it fast, ensuring that no line can reach the prop. This forms a bridle for towing in reverse. Carrying the load back to the motor keeps the bow down and avoids yaw.