Which tow service? Why?

[agitator]

I have a 20' Sportcraft and frequent the Gulf of Mexico usually between Steinhatchee and Mexico Beach,Fla. to 40 miles offshore. Several emergency tow services are available in this area? Which seem to be best and why? This is new to me and I value your experience.

 

[cc lancer]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

Sea Tow, Sea Tow, Sea Tow, I have been with them for going on 10 years now. They know what the are doing, courteous, and my experience is when they get the call, they are on the way to you. The cheapest insurance you can buy.

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

actually, towboat us is cheaper.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

Maybe someone else will know the particulars ... I think I recently saw somewhere where the towing service associated with Boat US was assumed by whatever tow service is marketed thru West Marine. Maybe I missed something?

 

[gsbodine]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

The West Marine around here has (since they opened AFAIK) partnered with TowBoat/US, which is also who BoatUS endorses and/or partners with. Not sure if that's the case everywhere.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

If you are thinking of signing up for a tow service, check your insurance first. Because you may be reimbursed for towing fees and service calls by your boat insurance. State Farm covers towing and on-water service fees. It also covers towing expenses of the boat while on a trailer if your vehicle breaks down and you don't want to leave the boat on the side of the road. Insurance for my small boat is $104 a year.

 

[chadchurchill]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

I agree with Mark42, check your insurance. I also have State Farm and they will cover up to $500 for towing. I had to be towed 12 miles by Seatow and it cost $400. I had to put it on my credit card, but two weeks later I had a $400 check from State Farm. No deductible and my rates didn't even go up.

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

west marine owns boaut/us. they both offer towboat/us. boaters world offers seatow.<br /><br />i have towboat/us and have never used it( thankfully)<br /><br />i only pay 69 a year, but i only get 500 worth of "help" per incident, unlimited is 100 a year as apposed to seatows 119 a year for unlimited.<br /><br />each one has its limitations on where and when they will/can go.<br /><br />your best bet is to get as much information from the companies and then make your decision on that.<br /><br />hope his helps.<br /><br />mike

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

Boat US also has a trailer club available for only $10 per year to cover any breakdowns with your trailer.You cant beat that.They also cover YOU and any boat that YOU are navigating.Charlie

 

[DeltaTow]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

JUST TO CLEAR UP ONE POINT.<br />WESTMARINE DOES NOT OWN BOAT U.S.<br />Some time ago they purchased the Boat US retail stores, and do continue to operate them as Boat US stores but they are in fact owned by West Marine.<br />Point Nmbr 2 in November Boat US purchased a membership towing Co. called Vessel Assist who was basicaly on th west coast<br /> they are using what was the west coast Vessel Assist towing fleet to do the towing, thus on the west coast you get towed bt vessel assist for both Boat US and Vessel assist. one again this is causing a lot of confusion to the boater<br />and actually is not in the best intrest of the boater.

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

WESTMARINE DOES NOT OWN BOAT U.S

but they are in fact owned by West Marine

HUH...... that cleared up nothing......

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

Originally posted by phatmanmike:<br />

WESTMARINE DOES NOT OWN BOAT U.S

but they are in fact owned by West Marine

HUH...... that cleared up nothing......

I think what deltatow meant was that Westmarine bought the 'Boat US' retail outlets (buildings) but not the company. I could be wrong, rare, but possible <br /><br />Aldo

 

[DeltaTow]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

West Marine did purchase the RETAIL operation of the Company Boat US and do infact own and operate the retail stores as well as the catalog sales.<br />TowBoatUS is another division of Boat US. Both have agreed to promote the others business. I will admit that it does cause a lot of confusion.<br />as I said before there was another membertship towing Co. that was basically on the west coast,<br />that Boat US recently purchased, when they made this purchase they agreed to use the existing vessel assist towing fleet as thier towers.<br />ended up causing more confusion. I can not speak for the retail business end however I do not feel that the way that the towing end was handled is in the best intrest of the boater, there has been changes made and will probably be more.

 

[agitator]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

Thanks for all the ideas and info.. I'll check my insurance and go from there.

 

[DeltaTow]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

Its always best to find out what area your Tow service covers and how many TowBoats they have.All the Towing svcs are supposed to handle members first, BUT a non member pays on the spot<br />and they pay at a prem as a insentive to get them to join. if your tow service is really skimpy on vessels in your boating area you may wait a long time for svc. A kit of things to find out about before joining ang particular group.<br />Tom

 

[swist]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

Isn't it the case the the towing services are simply agents for independent contractors? It would almost have to be in more sparsely populated areas where you couldn't possibly cover a large area with a dedicated tow fleet.<br /><br />So whether you call Boat/US or Seatow is it not possible the same tower will respond?<br /><br />This is really important to understand in places like Maine - when the fee starts when the tower leaves his dock we could be talking many hours.

 

[islandboat]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

For a reasonable fee most boat insurance companies will include a rider for tow service. I also boat in the Gulf of Mexico and we have had several cases were Sea Tow refused to tow boaters in because they were more than 40 miles offshore. The Coast Guard was called in to assist by the families of the boaters.

 

[NYMINUTE]

Re: Which tow service? Why?

I spent enough at both them, they own me.