Have you Had to be towed back!

Steelerguy · Addict Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 518

Well I know a couple of us have older boats, Have you had to be towed back this season?

Why where you towed back easy fix or costly fix?

Did you buck up and give the persone who towed you some dough?

IF someone flags you down are likely to give them a tow back to the dock?

As for me luckly, Knock on wood we have 5 successfull outings.. And hopefully Another one tonight..

Bowen · Posted: Jun 30, 2004 5:09 am Post subject:

Not this seasion b/c my family sold our boat, but I've had to be pulled back alot. We would offer the people who towed us some dough but most of the time they wouldn't take it. Yes, If I got flagged down I would tow someone in w/o even thinking about it. I've been towed so much that I feel obligated to do it.
Oh yeah...Where did you get that Avatar...b/c I want it.

ShawnB · Outlaw Joined: 07 Aug 2003 Posts: 105 City: N. Attleboro

I have been pulled back once because the starter died in the old boat. We have such a small lake that it only took about 5 minutes. We have towed quite a few boats as well. I just consider it good karma to help another boater in need.

NAW · Posted: Jun 30, 2004 5:46 am Post subject:

The only time I've been pulled back is when I get in my buddy's X-Star. Had to get towed twice.

I pulled back a bayliner the other day. Just some kids with one chick who were learning to ride. Ran outta gas or something. I figured I'd at least get a gratuitous flashing from the chick, but no dice. Rolling Eyes

Steelerguy · Addict Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 518

We got towed back 3 times last yr.
1. overheated ... put the impeller in wrong.
2. distributer cap cracked. = new plugs and cap
3. Fly wheel / presure plate broke. 100 bucks and 4 hrs of our time.

So far the boat is running like a top. I do however have a draw on the batter. My alterantor got sent out and when it came back it charges... but has a draw when turned off....

I found that avatar and used it instantly. I must give credit when do.. Its not mine... I saw it on another forum and stoled it....... Keep in mind you can link your avatar to anything on the web. You just cant upload anything bigger than 6kb
This one is 30kb so Its linked.

leslisa · Posted: Jun 30, 2004 6:57 am Post subject:

Well I know a couple of us have older boats, Have you had to be towed back this season? Yes, 2 weekends ago. Steering cable snapped.

Why where you towed back easy fix or costly fix? - pretty easy fix. Hubby's working on it now. Steering when out weekend before last.

Did you buck up and give the persone who towed you some dough? - Unfortunately no, they took off right after we were at the dock and the money was in the truck.

IF someone flags you down are likely to give them a tow back to the dock? - Yes, I have done so in the past and would again. It's good karma.

Lisa

salmon_tacos · Posted: Jun 30, 2004 7:03 am Post subject: Re: Have you Had to be towed back!

RampageWake · Posted: Jun 30, 2004 7:44 am Post subject:

salmon_tacos,

I believe the law states a vessel in distress, not merely a vessel that is disabled, and you do not have to if it will put your crew or vessel in danger.

I always offer a tow. I have towed 2-3 people in, and I have been towed in once. As for $$, I will not accept any for towing someone in, it is kind of a courtesy. I offered when we got towed, and it was declined as well, but I wouldn't refuse a gratitous flashing Laughing

JR · Soul Rider Joined: 14 Dec 2003 Posts: 473 City: ATX

Either way, if you ever see a vessel in distress, it IS good Karma and basically just the right thing to do to offer them a hand.

I had to be towed in this spring after sucking trash into my water intake, causing my motor to get hot. Gotta say, being towed sucked. Was extremely grateful that a fellow boater (fisherman if you can believe it) stopped and offered assistance. Gave him a few beers during the tow and offered to give him $40 bucks for his time. He declined, took another beer and went his way.

A few days later, I was out and had to return the favor to a boat that had engine trouble.

I was taught to ALWAYS offer assistance to any boat on the water who needs help. You never know when it may be YOU that needs some help.

wakeskier · Addict Joined: 16 Mar 2004 Posts: 593 City: Leominster, MA

Been towed in once when I had the I/O, luckily we were less than 1/2 mile from the launch, so it wasn't too bad. Offered money, but they refused.

Ended up being a wiring problem, was fixed within and hour and we were back out there.

If I'm flagged down, I will offer a tow of course

darty · Addict Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 522 City: Lexington

i got towed a couple of times a few years ago...
1-ran out of gas
2-ran out of gas (unfortunately on the same day as 1)

I offered to top their boats off w/ gas (one was a tiny runabout the other a little ski boat) but they both refused

I've towed about 3 ppl and all offered the $...but there's no way i could accept it

NVSAirWarrior · Posted: Jun 30, 2004 9:45 am Post subject:

I've been towed in only once with the current ride. It was the maiden "Ride" day with all the buddies. We were on our way back in at the end of the day and got to within 1/2 mile of the marina and ran out of gas. We thought the gas gauge had to be wrong because we couldn't believe we went thru all 38 gals that day, but we did.
I too offer at every opportunity to help. My old Malibu needed to be towed in often before I found the problem, and was very thankfull each time. What goes around comes around.

tommyadrian5 · Addict Joined: 16 Sep 2003 Posts: 907

Got towed about 100 yards to a gas dock the other day, alternator cable had came loose and battery had run down. Guages went off, but engine was running, so i turned the engine off the see if the guages reset but the engine didn't start back up. Got towed to the gas dock, tightened that bolt holding the power cable to the alternator, got a booster pack, and was off on my way. Guy that helped me was way cool, same goes for the kids at the gas dock.

lcap · Ladies Man Joined: 13 Nov 2003 Posts: 10973 City: Homeless

I have towed others (including PWC's) never know when you may need help. Last year it paid off---I needed towed.

The guys that towed me lived in my community so I found out what their choice of beer was and left a case of frosty ones in a new cooler on their doorstep.

Swass · Guest

Only once. My battery was dead.

King of the Tigers · Posted: Jun 30, 2004 1:05 pm Post subject:

Once because I ran out of gas. I was extremely grateful to the old folks that picked us up. I'd already talked to 2 boats and 2 PWCs all of whom said they couldn't help.

I'd tow anybody in a minute.

Styk33 · Posted: Jun 30, 2004 2:19 pm Post subject:

I have been towed in a few times. Once on my friends four winns. He cracked the block somehow.

I had to be towed in my second time out in my boat I just bought. It was middle of November and the guy before me screwed up the impellar install and the boat got hot. Luckily there was a bass contest going on and a fishman pulled us in. I offered money and beer, but they said no. Just needed to put in a new impellar ($26). I carry a spare in the boat, but when it was new, I did not have one.

dizzyj · Soul Rider Joined: 18 Feb 2003 Posts: 485 City: Austin, Tx

I've gotten towed back twice. Once with a burned up tranny, the other was a simple fuse (not simple when you dont have one on board).

I tried to pay it back last weeked by towing a moomba that was having engine trouble, but my little old '82 couldnt handle it. I started overheating. I did try to flag down the other boats for them and get somone to help.

blaize · Newbie Joined: 24 Apr 2003 Posts: 48 City: Palm Springs

All right so it was me, my girlfriend, my buddy, and his girlfriend, and we were all out on the Delta in a 2000 Malibu LSV. We launched out of Discovery bay and rode in Victoria for most of the day.

We had gotten dual batteries put in with our stereo and would run the boat off battery #1 while battery #2 got a trickle charge; that way we always had a backup.

At around 4pm we beached our boat at the end of Grant Line canal (south Delta) and just relaxed while listening to music. Nobody really noticed when the stereo cut out, but when we eventually tried to start the boat, we realized battery #1 was dead. No biggie, I would just flip the battery switch to "all" and it would start right up. Uhhh... no. Apparently battery #2 wasn't getting charged and therefore was dead as a doornail. We didn't realize this until around 7pm, and by that time we weren't sure if any more boats were going to drive by.

I called 411 to get Vessel Assist, and was about to pay them $400 to come and jump the boat when we finally saw an I/O with a tower come by and flagged them down. It was two guys and a kid who were very helpful. They didn't have jumper cables, but offered to tow us back to the Tracy Oasis marina where we could at least call AAA or something. About 20 minutes into the tow it got dark and they sped up a little to get back faster. That turned out to be a bad idea, because the next thing we know their engine dies. Totally dead…wouldn’t even start to turn over

So here we are, our two boats tied together, drifting down the Delta in the middle of the night. One boat has a dead battery and the other has a dead engine. The current took us right past the entrance to the marina, and we were totally helpless to do anything about it. Eventually, we took out the tool kit and removed the battery from their boat and so we could temporarily install it in ours. In a total role reversal, we then towed them into the marina.

So we finally pull up to the dock, and I figured that by then battery #2 would have enough of a charge to get us started. It didn't, because apparently the alternator was totally shot. By now it's probably 10:30 and we're all cold, tired, and hungry. So we bought their charged battery off them for $80 (all the cash we had) and gave them our dead battery.

We thanked them as much as we could and started heading back to Discovery Bay, which is a good 20 minute boat ride from the Tracy Oasis. I drove the whole way at full throttle, which probably isn't the best idea at 11pm, but I didn't care at that point.

Anyway, we made it back in one piece and traded the Malibu in for a SAN two weeks later.

So yeah, that's my crazy tow-in story.

pimp559 · Newbie Joined: 18 Mar 2004 Posts: 49

We knocked the safety pull switch off 2 weekends ago and boat wouldn't start. I felt like a dumb ass when I saw the switch to the wrist strap hanging there the next day. The bad thing was there were 6 people in the boat that didn't notice it either. Cool peeps pulled us in and wouldn't except $. We will definetly help others out if we can. You just never know when its gonna be you.

bradb · Outlaw Joined: 09 Jan 2004 Posts: 204 City: Parksville

pimp559,
Don't feel so bad... I was at the lake last week waiting for my crew to show up so I figured I'd pump up the fat sacks and get everything ready. When the sack was full I went to turn off the accessory switch for the cig lighter plug, but hit the ignition button instead.
I had 7 people waiting half an hour while I ripped the boat and dash apart to check fuses, etc... Finally someone said, "Are you sure there isn't a button or somthing that you need to have pressed for it to start!"
OOPS!
B

pooser · Wakeboarder.com Freak Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 4738

boat karma is crazy stuff. always give a tow to someone in need unless your in the middle of a set and the water is real nice and then when your done go back and check and see if they still need assistance. ive been towed back a couple times i think once in our boat and once in another boat within the last couple seasons but none this season.

liquidcat · Outlaw Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Posts: 173 City: Boca Raton

This has been my worst experience yet. Last night.
Rudder broke off.
We got cought in some real shallow water / low tide and hit something kinda ugly. I guess I'm lucky it didnt rip the fiberglass for the base.

Sat in the water for about 2 hours before BOATUS towing showed up.
The worst was that some boats passed by while showing distress signal.

Another time right across from the marina ran outta gas and no one to be seen. Thats when I learned to always fill your tank and do not trust your gauges.

A few weeks ago a fisherman fell off his raft and didnt have his lanyard on or a lifejacket . This man was doing donuts holding on for life.
We managed to help him out.

Im always keeping my eyes open to see if I can help.
Good Karma

Chad H · Posted: Jun 30, 2004 7:08 pm Post subject:

We had to tow someone in when their rope broke. But just took him to his boat. We haven't been towed in but with our fishing boat we have a trolling motor Razz

Grace B. · Posted: Jun 30, 2004 7:27 pm Post subject:

I had to be towed in in our 2001 Air Nautique, like a few months after we got it. But that was because I was being dumb and didn't realize the reason the boat wouldn't start was because it wasn't in neutral! We will tow people if they are from close by, but our cabin is on the opposite end of the boat ramp so if someone needed to be towed back to the boat ramp we might do it, its depends on the situation.

CenturionDad · Soul Rider Joined: 28 Oct 2003 Posts: 277 City: So Cal

Haven't needed a tow yet, so far the worst thing was unloading the boat from the trailer and the wrist strap wasn't in, the engine would crank but wouldn't start. I felt like an ass when we figured it out.
Last year at San Antonio we saw a guy fall off his wave runner and catch his 'jewel sack' on the handle bar. another boat took him to the dock. We drained the water out of the hull and towed it back to the camp ground for him, the guy was in serious pain and needed some help.

onthewater · Posted: Jun 30, 2004 7:43 pm Post subject:

Towed in once, impeller and ballast resistor shot.

I Always offer a tow. Probably have done atleast one for the last 5 summers. Even swam a pontoon off the beach and started it for two old ladies.

DiyGuy · Soul Rider Joined: 26 Dec 2003 Posts: 460

With over 180 hours on our BU, not a single solitary problem one. Never been towed in any of 6 or 7 boats I have ever owned. Was always able to limp back in, or fix it on the spot.

Worst was an I/O that caught a stump and broke off 1 blade of an aluminum prop. Shook like crazy for the 2 mile ride back to the dock, but we made it! A lot to be said for the Cobra outdrive, or I suppose anyone could do it....just went really slow, listened very carefully, and a little luck helped to.

gobeer net · Outlaw Joined: 11 Jun 2004 Posts: 116 City: Fort Smith

Got towed in earlier this year. We were across the lake and no one had been paying attention to the Gas Gauge. Finally I came in from boarding and noticed it was bouncing from 1/4 to E so we decided to head back. We ran out of gas maybe 100 yards from the dock. It was sad how we were soooo close, yet so far. Got pulled back by a 50hp on the back of a loaded down flat bottom boat.

2 weeks ago heading back in to trailer the boat I saw a family of 10 on a brand new boat(first time out). They claimed they were low on oil but i figure they were out of gas as their dip stick read fine. The guy wouldnt' believe that his gas guage might be slightly inaccurate on his brand new boat (it read 1/4 tank and they had ONLY been out for 10 hours). Anways I towed him in. I ended up towing him over half the length of the lake because I misunder stood him for saying he put in at the next boat ramp (meaning 9 boat ramps down). He offered 10 bucks and I turned it down, but then he offered again and looked as if he would be offended if I didn't take it. I have this weird habit of working for beer, so I took the 10, went in the marine and bought 10 bucks worth of beer and felt better Smile

.

While on the topic, what speed do you tow someone in. Is it worth trying to force it, or doyou just get it moving and chill till you get there? I noticed that 2k rpm or 4krpm I never broke 10mph.

BigDeal · Soul Rider Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 477 City: Orlando

To date (knock wood!) I've never had to be towed in in my '98 Moomba. I have towed in several other folks though and will always offer should the need arise. As several other folks have mentioned, it's just good Karma. I always like to think that we boarders and skiers all stick together when someone's in need.

A funny little memory. The last guy I towed back to the launch ramp was styling around in a year old SANTE that had mysteriously died. I don't know what made him more upset, having his boat die, or being towed back into a packed launch area by a Moomba! Embarassed

It was no big deal to me, but he couldn't wait to get his boat untied from mine and get me on my way. Very Happy