Q: What is the BoatU.S. Towing Program?
A: The Association provides assistance and towing services (which includes 24-Hour Dispatch, ON-the-Water Towing, battery jumps, fuel deliveries, and soft ungroundings) up to a Member's specified service level.
Q: What are TowBoatU.S. and VESSEL ASSIST?
A: TowBoatU.S. is the fleet of assistance vessels on the Atlantic, Gulf, Great Lakes and Inland waterways; VESSEL ASSIST is the Pacific fleet. Combined, they form the nation's largest network of towing companies to provide you with fast, professional assistance while you're on the water.
Q: What's so special about BoatU.S. Towing Services?
A: BoatU.S. has two 24-hour National Dispatch Centers, one on the Atlantic coast and another on the Pacific coast which are open and staffed all day, every day, 365 days a year with BoatU.S. employees to answer questions and dispatch towers. The Centers can be reached by cell phone, VHF radio via a Coast Guard relay, or the marine operator.
Q: Can I use some other towing company to tow my boat?
A: Only if dispatched by BoatU.S. through the 24-hour Dispatch Center. BoatU.S. has a fleet of over 500 towboats 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?
A: The Towing Service is for tows when stranded in the open water or stranded at a restricted use dock. In addition, if your boat will not start while you are at your home dock or a non-restricted use slip, partial payment may be available to you. By setting up the tow through normal channels, calling our dispatch center or contacting a BoatU.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 at the time of breakdown. The program does not provide for conditions that pre-date your BoatU.S. Membership or Towing Service.
Q: When The Guide doesn't list any approved BoatU.S. or other approved companies in my area, whom should I use?
A: 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 and put you in touch with them directly.
Q: What is the difference between Towing and Salvage?
A: BoatU.S. establishes towing/ungrounding as "any operation not involving immediate danger or peril to the boat or a legally protected marine environment." Salvage includes "any operation involving immediate peril to the grounded boat, the marine environment, or the use of special salvage equipment (pumps, airbags, dredging equipment, cranes, etc)."
Q: Does the BoatU.S. Towing Service provides for recovery and towing of my boat should it sink?
A: The BoatU.S. Towing Service provides assistance should your boat suffer from a dead batter, an engine breakdown, run out of gas, or require a "soft" ungrounding while on the water. It is not designed for salvage operation such as a sinking or stranding. Salvage operations, including towing from the salvage site, would be provided 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?
A: 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 responsible 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?
A: 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 towing service should be purchased.
Q: Is it true that towing companies bill from the time they leave their dock to the time they return?
A: 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 towboat has returned to its home dock. Remember to take that into consideration when selecting your towing service level.
Copyright 2005 TowBoatU.S. All Rights Reserved.
