Everything you ever wanted know about BoatU.S. Towing - Question and Answer

Boat/US Magazine, March, 2002

Q: What is the BoatU.S. Towing Program?

It is a promise by the Association to provide assistance and towing services (which entails 24-Hour Dispatch, On-the-Water Towing, battery jumps, fuel deliveries, and soft ungroundings) without charge up to a Member's specified service level.

Q: What is TowBoatU.S.?

TowBoatU.S. is the nation's largest network of towing companies organized by BoatU.S. to provide you with fast, professional assistance while you're on the water. These companies have to meet specific criteria to qualify as TowBoatU.S. approved companies.

Q: What's "so special about BoatU.S. Towing Services?

The 24-hour National Dispatch Center is open and staffed all day, every day, 365 days a year with BoatU.S. employees to answer questions dispatch towers. The Center can be reached by cell phone, VHF radio via a Coast Guard relay, or the marine operator.

Q: Can I use some other towing corn company to tow my boat?

Only if dispatched by BoatU.S. through the 24-Hour Dispatch Center. BoatU.S. has a fleet of over 400 tow boats contracted and ready to go. When you call the National Dispatch Center, you will receive assistance from the closest available approved company. If there isn't one in your area, the dispatcher will help you locate other assistance.

Q: If I'm broken down at my dock, does my BoatU.S. Towing, Service still work for me?

The Towing Service is for emergency, tows when standard open water or stranded in the stranded at a restricted use dock. In addition, if your boat will not start while you are at your home dock rental dock, or a non-restricted use slip, partial coverage may be available to you. By setting up the tow through normal channels, calling our dispatch center or contacting a TowBoatU.S. company directly, BoatU.S. will provide 50% of the towing charge incurred to the closest repair facility, up to your current towing service level. TowBoatU.S. will also discount their normal prices for these tows when sheduled in advance.

Q: When The Guide doesn't list any TowBoatU.S. or other approved companies in my area, whom should I use?

When you contact the National Dispatch Center at 800-391-4869, the dispatcher can check to see if any approved towing companies have been added to your area since The Guide was published. If there are still no towers in your area, the dispatcher will use other resources to locate the assistance you need.

Q: What is the difference between Towing and Salvage?

TowBoatU.S. establishes towing/ ungrounding as "any operation not involving immediate danger to the boat or a legally protected marine environment and, requiring only one towing vessel with lines attached to the grounded boat to refloat it." Salvage includes "any operation involving immediate peril to the grounded boat, the marine environment, or special salvage equipment (pumps, airbags, dredging equipment, cranes, etc.)" For more information about the difference between Towing and Salvage, please see pages 22 & 23 or Boat US.com.

Q: Does the BoatU.S. Towing Service provide for recovery and towing of my boat should it sink?

The BoatU.S. Towing Service provides assistance should your boat suffer from a dead battery, an engine breakdown, runs out of gas, or requires a "soft" ungrounding while on the water. It is not designed for salvage operations such as a sinking or stranding. Salvage operations, including towing from the salvage site, would be paid for by a yacht or boat insurance policy.

Q: Does the BoatU.S. Towing Service apply if I am a guest on a friend's boat?

BoatU.S. provides Towing Service for any boat which the Member owns, borrows or charters. In these cases, the Member is considered the Captain and respnsible for the care and control of the boat. If the Member is a guest on a boat and the owner is also present, regardless of who is at. the helm, the owner would be responsible for having the appropriate towing service.

Q: I use my boat for charter fishing (or I deliver boats for a dealer). Can I use my Towing Service for that boat?.

The BoatU.S. Towing Service applies only to a "recreational boat owned, borrowed or chartered" by the Member. Once a boat is used for hire, for commercial purposes, or the Member is a paid captain, the boat or Member is considered commercial. In these cases, the appropriate commercial insurance should be purchased.

Q: Is it true that towing companies bill from the time they leave their dock to the time they return?

Yes. Towing companies begin charging for their service from the moment they get underway, and even though you are already safe and sound in your own slip, the clock doesn't stop until the tow boat has returned to its home dock. Remember to take that into consideration when selecting your towing service level. Please see- page 3.

Need to borrow a child's life jacket for a day? Many TowBoatU.S. companies have some available to Joan you, just give them a call!