First Tow, and other misadventures

[FastFission]

We just got back from an interesting day on the reservoir. Sorry about no 'on-the-water" pictures, but I left my phone in the truck again.

Coming back down the reservoir, we saw some folks waving frantically. We went over to have a look and found a family of seven in a 16 foot trihull with a dead motor. They'd had someone work on it a few weeks ago, but it gave up the ghost and they'd been sitting there watching people pass by for about 45 minutes when we showed up. I've read enough on i-boats that I was a bit worried about towing since I really didn't have the right rig. We went ahead and rigged our tow harness for the tube to the stern cleats, backed in close, and got my long dock line over to them (about 30' of 3/8 yacht braid). They just tied it to their bow cleat. We kept it down to just off idle, which gave us maybe 4-5 knots, and towed them back to the ramp. The part that really worried me was bringing both boats alongside the ramp, but that actually went smoothly. It was a surprise how large a turning circle we had with the tow.

Back at the dock, I managed to lose the Admiral overboard again... She got halfway onto the dock and got nervous, unfortunately with one foot on the dock and one on the boat. Naturally, that pushed the boat away from the dock and down she went. I'm REALLY glad she has a sense of humor about these things. I have pointed out to her that she needs to make a bold hop over to the dock. This is exactly what happened the first time I took her out for a boat ride. It did entertain the kids.

Finally, we got a "new" tackle box on our way to the dock. The sea (reservoir) does sometimes giveth..

 

[markheck1]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

Kudos for helping out, man!!!

You really shouldn't be hopping to the dock, tie it up first, I know it's a pain in the arse, but that's how people get hurt......

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

Kudos for helping out, man!!!

You really shouldn't be hopping to the dock, tie it up first, I know it's a pain in the arse, but that's how people get hurt......

+1!

 

[southkogs]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

Kudos for helping out, man!!!

You really shouldn't be hopping to the dock, tie it up first, I know it's a pain in the arse, but that's how people get hurt......

+2 ... my admiral Wouldn't be quite so good humored about going overboard

 

[emoney]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

Kudos for offering aid to a stranded fellow boater. Having said that.......(snicker)....never, ever allow the Admiral to hit the drink. They each have a "limit" to these such things and you never know when you're going to hit it. And sometimes, it's very subtle like, "Why don't you just take the kids and I'll stay home and (fill in the blank)". Next thing you know, the boat's for sale and you're wondering what the heck happened. Tie that boat off before you allow her to go ashore. Takes a few extra seconds but could salvage a lifetime of boating enjoyment.

 

[spdracr39]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

Due to the title of this thread I'm going to assume it is to be expanded upon. I was towed in the other day and I think it was the helpful fellows first time to tow. He pulled in my 21' bowrider with his pontoon with no issue... well until time to dock. he pulled straight to the dock and stopped. I frantically hung over the front to keep from cramming into his boat. When I pushed off the back of his rig and unhooked from the cleat he had tied a knot in the rope and couldn't get it loose. While they were trying a huge bizarre gust of wind came up. I was trying to help him with the knot and hadn't tie up yet. My rider grabbed the sign post on the end of the dock and held on with all he had. Just as we got the knot out the wind caught his pontoon and onto the rocks it went. He immediately baled into the water and hand pushed the boat off the rocks while yelling to his crew PUT THE MOTOR UP. They weren't sure how but someone finally got it up and he pushed out. Another wind gust and he was blowing back into us again. I had sent my help to get the truck and I was trying to hold my boat against the dock while keeping his away so he could board and motor out. As he moved away I managed to get turned backwards on the dock and could not let go to tie up. As I held on with all my strength the truck appeared and backed down the ramp. It took both of us to turn the boat around in this crazy wind and get it on the trailer but we managed. As soon as we pulled out the wind stopped. It was very entertaining and really took the edge off the breakdown. I hope their boat wasn't too scarred up because I really appreciated the help. I did try to give him some fuel money before the wind came up and he declined.

Having said all that what is the proper method to tow a boat to the dock? I thought maybe stop out of the no wake and tie up to the side of the boat so you have a little control but I don't know if that is the best way. Also I think it would have been beneficial to discuss the plan of action before we got underway.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

Discussing it before hand is the best thing to do indeed. Not every situation will be the same.

BTW, a pleasure boater can't accept money for towing a boat. By accepting monetary payment, you become a commercial entity according to the Coast Guard, and you have to be licensed, insured, yada yada yada.

 

[etracer68]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

As far as docking, I mounted cleats mid ship, and we run the stern, and bow lines through the cleat. Once were close enough to the dock, we just loop the lines over a dock cleat, or post. Pull the boat up closer with the lines, then Joanne will get out. By that time, I have turned the motor off,and trimmed up, and can help her secure the boat. Joanne has a knee, that can go out without warning, jumping from the boat is out of the question. Also you have good control of the boat with a line mid ship, and boat fenders work well there also.

 

[FastFission]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

As far as docking, I mounted cleats mid ship, and we run the stern, and bow lines through the cleat. Once were close enough to the dock, we just loop the lines over a dock cleat, or post. Pull the boat up closer with the lines, then Joanne will get out. By that time, I have turned the motor off,and trimmed up, and can help her secure the boat. Joanne has a knee, that can go out without warning, jumping from the boat is out of the question. Also you have good control of the boat with a line mid ship, and boat fenders work well there also.

I guess I've been doing it wrong. When I learned way back when, I always just hopped over and got the lines around a cleat quickly. Especially with my wife's grandfather, who tended to coast up to the dock a bit too fast.
I used to single hand a 22 foot sailboat, but with the tiller I could steer and still reach the dock cleats pretty easily.
We just have cleats fore and aft with the cuddy, no real place for a midships line. I do have a long bow line, and I suppose we could loop that to a cleat from the cockpit. Would it be better to do that, or just tie at the stern? Using the bow line, I could at least use that line as a spring and hold us against the dock with a little power. I do normally try to land on the windward side of the dock, which helps.

I'd love to hear ideas on how to do this properly. I'm still learning how to deal with powerboats, so constructive advice is much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[FastFission]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

Kudos for offering aid to a stranded fellow boater. Having said that.......(snicker)....never, ever allow the Admiral to hit the drink. They each have a "limit" to these such things and you never know when you're going to hit it. And sometimes, it's very subtle like, "Why don't you just take the kids and I'll stay home and (fill in the blank)". Next thing you know, the boat's for sale and you're wondering what the heck happened. Tie that boat off before you allow her to go ashore. Takes a few extra seconds but could salvage a lifetime of boating enjoyment.

I'm starting to realize that we need a better method of docking. That's a bit reason I like this board. It always seems that someone has a better way of doing things.

 

[FastFission]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

The dock we used is about 300 feet long, and the wind was onto the dock, so all we did was bring them close alongside. We had enough room to dock the whole shebang.

I think if we'd needed to get onto a shorter dock, we'd have either needed to re-rig as a side tie, or just pulled in close and dropped the tow when they were close enough for them to paddle a few feet. I'm not sure how to do a proper side tie, but we probably would have figured it out. The key to me seemed to be keeping the speed down. We were towing close enough that we could talk back and forth pretty easily.

As it was, I was kind of winging it. I wasn't familiar with the dock we used, so I made a slow pass just outside the no-wake zone to scope out the situation, then swung around and landed them on the dock.

I think taking the wind into account was pretty important as well. From sailing, I'm used to planning any approach to take advantage of the wind, even if I have to wait for the right dock. That did help, and we could have used the other side of the dock if the wind had been different. The dock layouts at the reservoir are pretty nice, and we could have dropped them on a long windward dock pretty much no matter where the wind was.

I don't claim to be any expert in all this. I think if the situation were more challenging (high winds, big waves, larger boat, etc), I would probably not try to tow. I certainly would have at least given them a ride back to the dock where they could get some help. There's no sea-tow or anything like that in this area, so that's not an option.

Due to the title of this thread I'm going to assume it is to be expanded upon. I was towed in the other day and I think it was the helpful fellows first time to tow. He pulled in my 21' bowrider with his pontoon with no issue... well until time to dock. he pulled straight to the dock and stopped. I frantically hung over the front to keep from cramming into his boat. When I pushed off the back of his rig and unhooked from the cleat he had tied a knot in the rope and couldn't get it loose. While they were trying a huge bizarre gust of wind came up. I was trying to help him with the knot and hadn't tie up yet. My rider grabbed the sign post on the end of the dock and held on with all he had. Just as we got the knot out the wind caught his pontoon and onto the rocks it went. He immediately baled into the water and hand pushed the boat off the rocks while yelling to his crew PUT THE MOTOR UP. They weren't sure how but someone finally got it up and he pushed out. Another wind gust and he was blowing back into us again. I had sent my help to get the truck and I was trying to hold my boat against the dock while keeping his away so he could board and motor out. As he moved away I managed to get turned backwards on the dock and could not let go to tie up. As I held on with all my strength the truck appeared and backed down the ramp. It took both of us to turn the boat around in this crazy wind and get it on the trailer but we managed. As soon as we pulled out the wind stopped. It was very entertaining and really took the edge off the breakdown. I hope their boat wasn't too scarred up because I really appreciated the help. I did try to give him some fuel money before the wind came up and he declined.

Having said all that what is the proper method to tow a boat to the dock? I thought maybe stop out of the no wake and tie up to the side of the boat so you have a little control but I don't know if that is the best way. Also I think it would have been beneficial to discuss the plan of action before we got underway.

 

[oregoncruiser]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

Discussing it before hand is the best thing to do indeed. Not every situation will be the same.

BTW, a pleasure boater can't accept money for towing a boat. By accepting monetary payment, you become a commercial entity according to the Coast Guard, and you have to be licensed, insured, yada yada yada.

OMG!!! glad to know that, don't want the coast gaurd after me for that beer I took as compensation for backing a trailer in the water last Saturday!! Give me a break!!

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

Everyone I have ever towed (and it's been many) has offered money, and I have to tell them that it's against the law for me to accept it. I will however accept a beer or soda, as that is okay.

 

[Vankaye]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

FastFission, Here's a suggestion to keep your lovely admiral dry: Get yourself a nice lightweight aluminum boat-hook and hand it to her as you are approaching the dock, have her stay in the boat and put a hook on the cleat from her dry comfortable seat while you hop on the dock and tie everything ship-shape. Also, taking an extra minute to come into the dock nice and slow should give you plenty of
time to get everything in order.
My admiral of 20 years loves to jump up on the bow of the boat like she's in charge of docking. I have to ask her to please sit down and stay in the boat nearly every time! (i may need to hide our boat hook!)

 

[SDSeville]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

I had the pleasure of a 7 mile tow from Vessel Assist last week. When we got close to the Marina, he stopped and hooked up a side tow to get me to the dock. It went very smooth, but I guess it should since he does that every day.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

Depending on the dock situation, I've brought towed boats in different ways. If there's enough room I'll slowly motor by the dock and let them drift up to it. Once they have the boat tied up, I untie the tow line. If it's a straight shot in I'll slooowly motor up to the dock and tie off my boat, then pull their boat to the dock with the tow line. Doing everything slow is the important part, in-out, in-out, of gear if needed.

The side-tie idea sounds interesting but I would be worried about scratching up my boat......

 

[SDSeville]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

The side-tie idea sounds interesting but I would be worried about scratching up my boat......

Vessel Assist had bumpers the size of beach balls all the way down the side of their boat. Not a single scratch. You can see one of the bumpers in this picture right behind my son (who was thinking our week on the lake was over). Luckily the guys in the iboats engine forum had me back on the water in no time.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

Vessel Assist had bumpers the size of beach balls all the way down the side of their boat.

Oh yes, I was pretty sure the professional tow boats were rigged up like that.

I was talking about me (or another non-professional) towing in someone else. I wouldn't want to try a side-tie without a lot of bumpers in between my boat and the other.

 

[SDSeville]

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

Oh yes, I was pretty sure the professional tow boats were rigged up like that.

I was talking about me (or another non-professional) towing in someone else. I wouldn't want to try a side-tie without a lot of bumpers in between my boat and the other.

True. It could be a mess without the proper set-up.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: First Tow, and other misadventures

Fastfission, you towed him correctly. Way to go.

Once you get near the destination, shorten the line; I often put it on a stern cleat rather than center. Towing along side is a good method. But no one here can say what to do; too many variables starting with 2 boats' size, then dock config, skills, hull design, dock design.

As for your admiral, maybe she'll learn but I doubt it. Mine does that: takes a step/makes a move and stops, looses balance, repeats. Also stands with knees locked and bends from the waste. Those of us with sea legs know you plan your steps, keep moving, bend at the knees and stay low, and avoid stepping over rails.

Boat hooks make the boating world a better place. All boats need one.

Speedracer, pontoons are hell for towing and sounds like you got towed by a guy who was a boat owner, not a boater. Direct approach, no stropping you, bad knots, no planning for his own vessel, jumping overboard onto rocks; inept crew--he wrote the "don't do this" book. Better he cut you loose a few yards out and you paddle. Which is why you carry a paddle. Also to fend off if you come in too fast. Also for the DH who tells you to call seatow when you're a few yards away from the dock.

When you get to a dock where any conditions are happening, have a tied-off libne ready and wrap it somewhere immediately. Then plan the rest of the process. Hanging on with hands -->fingers--> fingertips-->fingernails--> splash is not good.


Towing is easy. Landing is not. Like flying I guess