Re: Fellow boater wouldn't help tow me in
I have towed many people. But some get on your nerves. It gets under my skin when you go to help someone in a poorly maintained boat that should not even be on the water and was a breakdown waiting to happen or those that get upset because you won't tow them to the launch were they launched instead of the closest one. Maybe this is why others are not willing to help. Boating since 1963 and I have never needed a tow (knock on wood), but have done repairs while on the water to get going again. One repair involved using a shoelace and another electrical tape.
But at least you were prepared in having electrical tape and some tools.
The type of boater that has always amazed me is the guy that's miles from shore, in a well used boat, in poor shape and has no tools, no ability to fix anything, and knew all along that the motor was failing or had a dead cylinder.
I ran across two guys a few months back, broke down 3 miles out, no tools, no clue, trying to get back in with a 28lb thrust freshwater trolling motor and losing ground. I came along side in my much older aluminum boat, asked what the problem was, and the reply was that the water pump had failed and the motor quit. I asked if it had given any symptoms, they said that it hadn't been pumping for the last few times out but they figured it would be fine.
I asked if he had just gotten the boat and he said he had bought it new in 1977. I asked how old the motor was, he said he had not idea, it was the third motor on that boat, the last one did the same thing.
He had never done any maintenance, didn't believe in it. I offered to tow him back to the dock or at least out of the bay, but they were hesitant, when I told him he'd most likely end up out there all night, possibly in the shipping lane with the outgoing tide, he finally let me drag him back in. I was headed in anyhow, and back at the dock I gave his motor a quick once over and was shocked at the condition of the motor let alone the boat itself. The motor was all but falling off, the wires were rotted so bad that even brushing them knocked off chunks of insulation and wire, the hood was held on with a black bungee cord and the steering cable was rigged in a way that prevented left turns, (the steer tube was missing about an inch of thread, and the cable was clamped in place with a piece of scrap steel and several hose clamps.
This was a boat that they felt was worthy of an overnight fishing trip miles from shore. There was no radio, (there was a radio but no antenna), no cell phones, the only rope was more or less rotted clothes line, and the boat appeared to leak pretty bad as it had 5 bilge pumps running at all times and four deep cycle batteries sitting out in the middle of the floor.
I didn't feel safe just walking on it at the dock, the bow eye was loose, most likely didn't have a backing plate left, and all of the cleats were damaged or so badly corroded that they were bound to break.
I pulled him back using a spare rope I carry, I attached it to the bow eye on his boat, (no choice since it was the only thing that I felt wouldn't immediately snap off), and to both of my rear transom tie down eyes. I pulled him in at about 12 knots, stopping about 500' up stream from the dock and disconnected allowing him to drift into the dock slowly. My boat was a bit lighter and smaller than his, so I didn't want to get on the down side of his drift, and the docks there are well padded.
The first thing I did was to get my boat on the trailer and out of the way, it took me about 5 minutes in all. When I noticed them fighting with the boat on the ramp I parked and walked back to see what the problem was, they had the trailer backed in only to the edge of the water, none of the trailer was wet, the one guy was attempting to hoist the 24' boat up onto the trailer from that point, the bow eye was about level with the rear cross member and the cable had about 3 tons of strain on it and nothing was moving. When I suggested backing the trailer in further, they said this is how they've done it for years, all is fine. After he all but twisted the winch handle off, he finally backed in a few more feet, at this point nearly pushing the boat sideways behind the trailer. Now the trailer was in the water enough to wet the rear set of tires, nothing else, the rear roller assemblies are still a good foot above the water. This time, he's got the bow against the frame itself, off center about a foot and at a 45 degree angle. The boat is listing over and isn't even thinking about coming up on the trailer. Now they then back the trailer in, this time so far the trucks back tires are wet, there's no sign of the trailer and the boat is not drifting around on the way too long cable length, and now is over the side guide bunks. The second guy finally gets the cable in, after falling into the cold water up to his waist now, and gets the boat back behind the trailer, he gets the boat to start climbing the rollers, then which him standing on the trailer, the boat about 2 foot onto the rear rollers, signals the driver to move up, he does, but so far that the stern is now almost for certain on the ramp. He proceeds to fight with the winch and drag the boat onto the trailer. It's sitting well off center but on the trailer. He then goes right to the drain plug and proceeds to let out about 40 gallons of water or more. He climbs in the boat, runs the bilge pump, lets out two live wells and dumps two ice chests full of water and ice on the deck, again letting the bilge pumps run, which are still pumping out a steady stream of water out of several outlets.
I noticed that the bottom of the boat was all patched and was painted white with some ugly yellow streaks here and there. I asked what yellowed the paint like that and he said that the patch was leaking so he coated those spots with Gluvit, on the outside.
I guess since the patches didn't work, the next best thing was to invest in more bilge pumps and some extra batteries, and of course, an electric trolling motor.
It's a real eye opener when you get a close look at some of the boats that others deem seaworthy, that thing was a mess, it had no business on the water, but if I hadn't towed them in, and I later read about two guys that were lost or drowned, I'd feel responsible someway. If they go back out like that, it's not my problem. I made it clear to both of them that certain things I saw just weren't safe but I doubt is made much difference.
I don't think I'd go out with any sort of known leak, let alone with a boat that needs multiple bilge pumps and batteries to just stay afloat.
I also can't picture thinking that an electric transom mount trolling motor hung over the bow rail with a tiny plastic prop would ever get me home in a 20+ foot boat against any current, let alone an outgoing tide.
The bottom line is that anything can break down, even new boats can break down, but being out in a run down, leaky boat without the personal knowledge or even common sense to make sure even the most basic items are in order is just asking for a disaster.
If you take a close look at the majority of older boats at many marinas, you will no doubt see more than half have some sort of reinforced transom, several layers of plywood with carpet and numerous patches. Most people either just don't realize the dangers or don't care.
