Towed in a stranded boat yesterday

[captainhook]

After a not-so-great launch due to a lot of wind and current and not getting out until about 2 and a half hours later than we wanted to, we had a nice ride around the river yesterday. The jellyfish were out in full force so I first went south towards the Chesapeake Bay but the chop was getting to be a bit much for the kids, so I turned around and did some sight seeing up north while two of them slept. As I'm turning around to head back towards the launch, I see a couple of guys off to the side of the river a bit with an oar in the water. Now it is not an uncommon sight at all around here to see things like this with people fishing and crabbing, so I continued on. A couple of minutes later, I thought to myself, that wasn't a fishing boat so obviously they weren't crabbing and typically you don't use an oar, let's turn around and make sure they were okay. I wouldn't have been able to sleep last night if I didn't stop and they were taking on water or something. As I get closer, one guy is still rowing and the other one starts waving at me. Not a "hi!" wave, a "I need some help" wave. Turns out they did have engine problems and needed a tow and had to borrow one of my kids' buckets to bail water.

So I get out the two dock lines and tie them together, then realize they are too thick to fit around the stern connector, but fortunately I had a ski rope that has a really thick side to it. I tied all of this together, and connected it to the stern, then fired up the engines. The other boater tied to the front of his boat, and the rope was in the water. Due to the current and wind, our boats kept getting flipped around and as I'm watching the rope in the water before I hit the throttles, I thought, "hmm, that rope looks really deep down there" so I quickly cut off both engines. I went back to the swim platform and sure enough, one of the ropes is wrapped around the drive shaft and wedged into the impeller. I thought for sure I was going to have to cut the rope, which would've ended my chances of towing anyone safely let alone our day on the water, but after twenty minutes and some use of the ingenious clean out plugs (you listening @chess? Get those fixed ASAP ), I was able to get the rope free and tow them in safely. The other boater said he had a couple of jet skis and was thoroughly impressed as he had no idea it was a jet boat.

That was my third time using the clean out plugs, and first time sucking up a rope. When I was a kid, a buddy of mine sucked up an anchor rope with his Waverunner VXR and it took what seemed like hours to cut it free. Of course we had to flip the ski over and sit on the hull upside down to get the rope out. I was really glad to have the clean out plugs or that would've ended our day on the water too.

 

[Julian]

You did a good deed and ended up sucking up a rope in the process...that's not fair! Well...at least you earned some trophy points!

 

[captainhook]

Yeah one of the guys said something like that. I was just glad I didn't have to destroy my rope or get towed myself! He offered to go inside (his house was near the river) and get me some money but I said nope, just make sure you help us if you see us stuck out here!

 

[Gym]

Nice job @captainhook. Need more boaters like you on the water. I've had to tow a few people. I always put a line tender on the swim platform with strict instructions to keep a slack line from going under the stern.

 

[itsdgm]

Glad it all worked out @captainhook nice of you to check up on them for sure.

 

[Bill D]

I had to tow in a stranded boat last weekend too. The guy was swimming it in while his family was sitting on board like nothing strange was happening. It didn't look right, so we stopped and asked if they needed help. He looked wiped out. They were only about 200 yards from the launch.

If it were me, I would be sitting on board while the two boys he had were swimming.

 

[Bruce]

Towed in by a pirate with jets!!!!!

 

[buckbuck]

Never thought of it that way @Bruce. If I had been in trouble I would have declined his help and waited for another.

 

[Jay Petzold]

Have towed someone the past 3 years last one was with the new boat this year with only 5 hours on it, a lot to pull with the engines not broken in but can't leave anyone stranded!

 

[Glassman]

Good job

Always be aware of your boats limits though. Sometimes, if it were a larger, heavier vessel, the best thing to do is call for help and stay with the vessel in distress. Don't put yourself in danger unnecessarily. I've seen bad situations go to worse in a heartbeat.

 

[bumpy]

I have gotten into the habit of tying the boat that I am towing to the side of mine with fenders, although turning radii get huge I feel I have more control than when towing from the stern.

 

[Gym]

I have gotten into the habit of tying the boat that I am towing to the side of mine with fenders, although turning radii get huge I feel I have more control than when towing from the stern.

That makes it easier for them to pass you a beer while under tow.

 

[captainhook]

Thanks guys. I am very aware of towing larger crafts than mine as I rode personal watercraft for many years and had to tow boats with them as well. I simply put the boat in forward and didn't even give it any throttle except for a minute or two. The boat was probably a 21 or 23' Wellcraft with a small cabin. He certainly weighed more than I did but the MR1s handled it with ease. Even still, no need to put a strain on anything unnecessarily. Towing him at idle sure beats the hell outta rowing to shore! I'm always one to be overly cautious. Yesterday I bought a lawnmower and a trailer and met the guy halfway. He loaded it back on the trailer after the test drive and had towed it all the way there without any straps because the parking brake was on. He said he "never used straps and does this everyday with his landscaping business" but I wasn't about to drag it home unstrapped for 35 miles even though he did it about the same distance. He probably thought I was nuts as I was triple checking everything on the trailer and putting two straps on.

 

[JTC1016]

I towed stranded boats in both the weekend of 4th of July and the weekend before that. They were both on different lakes. The first was a 17' bowrider so no issues there. They were only a few hundred yards from the launch. But the second one was probably about a 28 or 30' cuddy. They were out on Lake Michigan with two children so I towed them at no wake speed through the channel to the inland lake and then had them radio the coast guard to finish the rest if the tow back to the ramp. I'm counting on these getting banked through karma in case I ever need a tow.

 

[Matt Phillips]

I'm glad everything worked out all right for all involved.

It's always good to be a good samaritan and help out other boaters in need. A couple of points to remember when giving a tow though. First, when doing so, you should never do so in a matter that will be unsafe for your boat and crew. As a general rule, stop to render aid but not so much so that there's now two stranded boats or people get injured.

Second, once you attach a line to another boat and tow them, you can be liable for any damages/injuries to both you, your crew, their crew, or even their boat. That's a big liability that may not be covered by your insurance.

Last year while returning to the marina at night after the fireworks show on the lake, there was a boat stranded about 50' out of the channel into the marina. Note that as soon as you're out of the channel, you're in 15" of water on a calm sandy beach. They had obviously run aground and they wanted me to come over and give them tow. I declined that as I would have just put my boat on the bottom. I did however, contact the coast guard who dispatched sea tow out to help them.

 

[Jebinok]

pictures or it never happend

 

[Jay Petzold]

I'm glad everything worked out all right for all involved.

It's always good to be a good samaritan and help out other boaters in need. A couple of points to remember when giving a tow though. First, when doing so, you should never do so in a matter that will be unsafe for your boat and crew. As a general rule, stop to render aid but not so much so that there's now two stranded boats or people get injured.

Second, once you attach a line to another boat and tow them, you can be liable for any damages/injuries to both you, your crew, their crew, or even their boat. That's a big liability that may not be covered by your insurance.

Last year while returning to the marina at night after the fireworks show on the lake, there was a boat stranded about 50' out of the channel into the marina. Note that as soon as you're out of the channel, you're in 15" of water on a calm sandy beach. They had obviously run aground and they wanted me to come over and give them tow. I declined that as I would have just put my boat on the bottom. I did however, contact the coast guard who dispatched sea tow out to help them.

Never Even thought about the liability issue, I only towed on lakes I know very well, boats I have towed were always smaller, and shore is a swimmable distance, off shore is a lot different, either way record them saying you're not liable for damages could save your ass

 

[Speedling]

I have a long rope.
Hooked onto a tie down hook, through the towed boats eye and back to the other sides tie down hook.
No wake mode back.

 

[Gym]

I'm glad everything worked out all right for all involved.

It's always good to be a good samaritan and help out other boaters in need. A couple of points to remember when giving a tow though. First, when doing so, you should never do so in a matter that will be unsafe for your boat and crew. As a general rule, stop to render aid but not so much so that there's now two stranded boats or people get injured.

Second, once you attach a line to another boat and tow them, you can be liable for any damages/injuries to both you, your crew, their crew, or even their boat. That's a big liability that may not be covered by your insurance.

Last year while returning to the marina at night after the fireworks show on the lake, there was a boat stranded about 50' out of the channel into the marina. Note that as soon as you're out of the channel, you're in 15" of water on a calm sandy beach. They had obviously run aground and they wanted me to come over and give them tow. I declined that as I would have just put my boat on the bottom. I did however, contact the coast guard who dispatched sea tow out to help them.

All 50 states have a "good samaritan" law which holds the person blameless for injury resulting in their attempted good deed. This doesn't extend to your insurance company's practice of trying to avoid any claim possible. I totally agree with @Matt Phillips in not putting your boat and passengers at unessary risk but if I see others in peril my parameters will change instantly. If I see somebody inconvenienced, and I know I can help, I will.

Do we have a legal responsibility to render aid in the event of accident or injury? Under public act 58 of 1995, YES. Do we have a moral responsibility to render some sort of aid in ALL circumstances, YES. I will always put my comfort on hold and sometimes MY safety if I can render assistance. That's just how I roll.