Towing

[sub2010ss]

Another day of boating and another lesson to learn. I came across another boat today, dead in the water. I noticed the engine hatch open and a guy was waving. So of course I wave back. His wave seemed more of a I need help so I slowed down and came around. Sure enough he had thrown a belt and needed a tow. First time towing or being towed for me. Come to find out the belt was in fine shape so I offered to put it back on for him. When I took a look, his raw water pump had pushed the bearing out the front of the housing so the belt was a no go. Towed him into dock and thanked him for the new experience. A few things I learned today:
1. When you're flagging someone down for help, use two arms.
2. How to tow.
3. Boat owners are either rich or capable, he must have been rich. I suppose you could be rich and capable as well!

 

[keninaz]

I towed in a jet ski with two passengers on it from a larger lake the other day. I could hardly see the woman waving. They said they had been there sometime.

 

[mr 88]

Next time tell the lady to take off her bikini top and wave that,it will get peoples attention !

 

[sub2010ss]

That would have much more of an attention getter that's for certain. Today was another adventurous day. Got to see a guy launch his boat without the drain plug in. Started going down in a hurry. He was smart enough to drive around and pull her back up onto the trailer. But it was damn close to coming over.

 

[ziggy]

First time towing or being towed for me.

good job imho. good karma. keep helpin foks out. you'll need help some day and it'll come back .it's the thing to do, helpin folks that are hosed. when yer on the water and hosed in any way, yer in a bad way. i've towed and been towed.....

 

[sub2010ss]

Exactly my thought. I've heard nothing but good things about the boating family. If I'm on the water I'm not there to be in a rush to be anywhere anyways.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Yes, towing is good karma and paying it forward. But remember that when you are towing you assume liability for any accidents unless good samaritan laws apply in your locality.

So, tow slowly with adequate equipment and remember that ALL persons in the towed boat are required to wear PFDs while under tow.

 

[dwco5051]

Had a breakdown in the state boat a few years ago and made a radio call to the marina operator to come bring us in. As soon as he passed the no wake buoys he started laying on his horn and made a big sweeping turn to get us to our dock just to be certain that everybody in the area was aware of our problem.

The next week he is towing one of his rental canoes behind a jet ski to move it around to where it belonged and it took a nose dive under the pier. Just happened to be there with my camera and the next day an enlargement of the picture showing him and his mechanic trying to remove a canoe with about two thirds of it sticking out at about a 60 degree angle from under the dock appeared on the park bulletin board. You know what they say about Karma.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Him blowing the horn and making a wide turn would have been a prudent safety measure since he was towing a boat......

Not sure how publicly displaying a pic of his problem was paying him back for safely towing you in.

 

[dwco5051]

Him blowing the horn and making a wide turn would have been a prudent safety measure since he was towing a boat......

Not sure how publicly displaying a pic of his problem was paying him back for safely towing you in.

You have to know the guy who is also a good friend. His wide turn was so he could sweep by the other docks were all the dock rats hang out. Also he was standing at the time and waving at the people and pointing back towards us to make sure everyone could see our condition.

Maybe he was just getting even for the summer before when one of the guys stopped by on his way back from the shore with a cooler full of blues and we talked a stranger into taking one up to marina and tell him he had just caught in the lake and could he tell what kind of fish it was. He is a top notch mechanic but doesn't really know squat about fishing.

 

[JimS123]

Where I come from an orange emergency flag is a requirement. If you're waving that in your hand there can be no confusion.

 

[smokeonthewater]

OH! ...... Makes much more sense now!!!!!

You no longer sound like a ......... Uh..... Well so anyhow ;-)

 

[UncleWillie]

I towed a guy in off of Lake Erie last year.
There were 4 people in the boat and 2 of them were sitting at the bow and waving kind of nonchalantly.
As we went by, we waved at them to be polite, but they kept on waving just as casually as before.
At first we thought they were just acting stupid or were a bit drunk.
Then we noticed one of the crew was working on the engine and they were within 100 yards of being on the rocks.

When we approached to help they stated that they had been flagging down people for a half hour and 5 other boats had passed them by.
I could understand why. If you need help, stand up and wave by repeatedly crossing both arms over your head and dropping them to your side. It won't be confused for the casual waving you see all day on the water. Or, break out the Orange flag or the Flares!
And by all means, if you are drifting into the rocks, Drop the anchor before attempting to fix the motor!
It all worked out well, but I still believe they were at least somewhat impaired.

 

[Brian 26]

1. When you're flagging someone down for help, use two arms.

It's mind boggeling how some people can not figure that out. I've heard the story many times too "been waving for a long time, people just wave back"