Towboat.us / Seatow coverage question

[JimD]

Thank you for the replies. I called NH Mobile Marine Services and learned that they have one boat on Winni, one on Squam and another on a trailer for other water bodies. I also have a friend who has had good experiences with towboatus in Mass. where I live. The gentleman at NH Mobile Marine also told me that towboatus now offers a "freshwater only" option.

Their unlimited towing on freshwater anywhere is the US was only $34 with a $19 membership fee. I added the trailer towing service for $10 for a $63 total. I also learned that I could add my wife without additional cost.

Hopefully we will never need the service, but if we do I'll post how it works out on here.

[Weekend Pundit]

Originally Posted by JimD

Hopefully we will never need the service, but if we do I'll post how it works out on here.

I can speak from personal experience that TowBoatUS has great service.

A couple of summers ago my son, a good friend of ours, and I had headed out from Smith Cove to give my son a lesson in piloting our boat. We had spent about an hour out between Dockham Shore and Governor's Island when his lesson ended. We came off plane, swapped positions at the helm, and then I proceeded to advance the throttle...and went nowhere fast. The engine revs went up but the boat didn't move. I shut down the engine, raised the stern drive, peeked over the transom and found we'd lost our screw.

We dropped anchor, picked up the marine VHF handheld, and called TowBoatUS on channel 16. They answered quickly, I explained our predicament and our need for a tow, gave them our exact position, and they were on their way.

About 20 minutes later the familiar red boat appeared, crossing under the Governor's Island bridge, and made bee line to our boat. A few minutes later we were under way. It took about another 15 minutes to get back to Smith Cove and the tow captain got us back to our slip at Fay's with little trouble. A few minutes dealing with the paperwork, and we were done.

That would have easily been a $350 tow. But with the Boat Us membership it cost us nothing. Our membership fee more than paid for itself with that one tow.

It's definitely worth it!

[Dave M]

I'm also interested in purchasing some towing service in case of emergency. I pulled this from a Q&A on BoatUS. In reading SeaTow info it seems SeaTow is a better deal. It may be more in cost but it covers everything including your home dock. One cost covers everything. Seems BoatUS will only cover50%. Depending on where your nearest repair center is, it can cost some bucks. Who determines what the price will be, may be some haggling.
Am I reading this right.

Also you get a 15% discount on cost at SeaTow if you belong to AAA.

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

The Towing Service is for tows due to breakdowns at sea or 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 TowBoatUS company directly, BoatUS will provide 50% of the towing charge incurred to the closest repair facility, up to your current towing service level. Of course, pre-existing conditions are not provided for at all.