Friday night excitement.....

I have to say , first I aplaud you for responding to the scene and accessing the situation. That's what most of us would have done, and I actually thought the sailboaters where going to end up on your boat. I'm glad that they are safe and sound but personally I consider myself a pretty good operator of my boat, but have no idea how to tow another boat into a harbor, I don't know how to make up a bridal etc.... Maybe this comes with more boating experience I don't know.. But great job by you and your crew, I don't know where you learn these methods? If others could post some tips it might help us novice operators in a cases just like this. Thanks guys in advance!!!
 
I'm sort of in an interesting position when it comes to ropes. I have ran my own licensed and insured tree company for the last 2 years. So, I know how to use ropes and how to tie many knots.

Saying that, I would not be afraid to row a boat. But I am good at reading ropes and dealing with load distribution. I recommend every boater learn a few basic knots for situations like these. Learn how to tie square knots, boline knots, running boline knots, half hitches, monkeys fists, etc... They can literally save you or someone else's lifeand are actually quite easy. It's amazing what you can make a rope do in am emergency.

~Will Courtier~

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I'm with Mr. Webster on this one, it is the law on the water to monitor Vhf 16 and respond to a mayday call when you are the closest vessel to the emergency and to contact the USCG if the emergency vessel cannot,and to maintain communication with them and follow instructions from the USCG, and rescue people in need. Beyond that I believe it could result in liability the way things are today, and I would remain on the scene until the appropriate authorities arrived and took control of the situation. But to tow another vessel that was swamped, I would decline.
 
I get the whole thing about helping your fellow boater. As a kid, I crewed for my Dad on his Coast Guard Auxiliary patrols and rescues. We towed in many boats but that was as an arm of the coast guard. First and foremost is the safety of the crew on the distressed vessel. Get them on your boat dry and warm then decide the ne t course of action. If the boat is safe but just disabled, help them get vessel assist to bring them in with the appropriate equipment and training. I personally know someone with a 400DB that had a cleat pull off and went right through his transom.

GFC has a great heart and is well planned in his rescue effort but as Frank mentioned, you need the proper insurance to cover you when towing someone. A sailboat turned "turtle" is not a boat I would ever consider towing. We had to rescue one many years ago and we brought the crew safely on board then told the CG where to find the boat. Snap their mast off and you may receive an invoice from the owner or their insurance company.
 
HUMPH said:
GFC has a great heart and is well planned in his rescue effort but as Frank mentioned, you need the proper insurance to cover you when towing someone. A sailboat turned "turtle" is not a boat I would ever consider towing. We had to rescue one many years ago and we brought the crew safely on board then told the CG where to find the boat. Snap their mast off and you may receive an invoice from the owner or their insurance company.
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I would be inclined to agree with the comments above about not towing a sailboat that had turned turtle. My first thoughts on a 15' sailboat that was upside down would be to right it. I had a 16' Hobie Cat for many years and we turned turtle a few times with it. Once it's upright it would be an easy tow with one person on it to maintain steerage and the rest of the passengers on my boat safe and warm.

The disabled boats I've towed were never swamped, just disabled. Swamped power boats tend to float with the bow poking out of the water and the stern hanging below. I probably wouldn't tow one of those. I'd fasten a fender to the bow eye with about a 30' line so if the boat sank it could be found and recovered. We don't have a commercial tow service in our area, and the USCG is a bit slow to respond, so that's why I don't hesitate to tow a disabled boat.

As to the liability question...for years I've carried a large umbrella liability policy that would cover things like being sued for towing. They're cheap. If you are concerned about liability it might not be a bad idea to talk with your insurance carrier about a policy like that.
 
Here is the question I probably didn't make clear in my earlier post:

The passengers had been removed and were safe. That means there was no danger to anyone on the boat. The vessel was sunk and posed a hazard to navigation. It is the USCG's mission to protect life and waterway safety, so why should they ask a recreational boater in a private boat to remove the hazard to navigation by assuming the responsibility for towing the disabled boat?

The CG normally does not tow boats unless they are in danger of sinking. Perhaps the guy running the CG boat took his instructions to literally, but I think it was the CG's job to either to the boat or to arrange a commercial tower to handle it then stayed on scene until the hazard to navigation was cleared.

Don't get me wrong. I'll help most anyone anytime. I have picked up occupants of swamped/sinking boats and and have towed disabled boats away from danger, but towing them home incurs a liability I am not going to assume, so I wait with the boat and passengers until the FWC, USCG or a commercial tow operator arrives.

As far as relying upon an umbrella liability policy is concerned, I got mine out and read it........it specifically excludes any commercial activity. You might eventually get your carrier to pay a claim for damage you do in towing a vessel, but it looks to me like it would be toe-hold for and adjuster to deny a claim.
 
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Frank, I agree with you that, had the sailboat sunk I wouldn't have towed it The OP didn't say it had sunk, just that it had turned turtle, meaning the mast was pointing down. That would be a difficult one to assess and with only the info the OP gave us, I likely would have passed on taking it under tow.

Maybe I'm too naïve or optimistic but I don't see the towing of a disabled vehicle or vessel as a commercial activity unless there was some agreement prior to the tow of being paid for it. When we do our charity cruises we are covered by our policy because we don't get any payment of any kind for food, fuel, time, etc.
 
I have sailed small boats for years, the first attempt should be to right it. I am kind of surprised the guys on either of the two sailboats did not attempt that. Towing a turtled sailboat (assuming the sails are also still up) would be a chore. But righting it should not be that difficult. I did notice from the pic that the center board was not showing , so it must have fallen down under the boat. A small sailboat can be righted with one hand on the center board and leaning over the side to proved some leverage. but it has to be righted because the mast will hit the bottom of the marina, a 15 foot sailboat will have at least a 18 foot mast, and few marina's are that deep.

If I could not right it , I would not tow it.
 
fwebster said:
Here is the question I probably didn't make clear in my earlier post:

The passengers had been removed and were safe. That means there was no danger to anyone on the boat. The vessel was sunk and posed a hazard to navigation. It is the USCG's mission to protect life and waterway safety, so why should they ask a recreational boater in a private boat to remove the hazard to navigation by assuming the responsibility for towing the disabled boat?

The CG normally does not tow boats unless they are in danger of sinking. Perhaps the guy running the CG boat took his instructions to literally, but I think it was the CG's job to either to the boat or to arrange a commercial tower to handle it then stayed on scene until the hazard to navigation was cleared.

Don't get me wrong. I'll help most anyone anytime. I have picked up occupants of swamped/sinking boats and and have towed disabled boats away from danger, but towing them home incurs a liability I am not going to assume, so I wait with the boat and passengers until the FWC, USCG or a commercial tow operator arrives.

As far as relying upon an umbrella liability policy is concerned, I got mine out and read it........it specifically excludes any commercial activity. You might eventually get your carrier to pay a claim for damage you do in towing a vessel, but it looks to me like it would be toe-hold for and adjuster to deny a claim.
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We have to agree with Frank here 100%. Plus we mentioned this to our son who's an officer in the USCG, albeit not a boat guy, but he told us that as far a he knows the USCG don't generally ask recreational boaters to tow distressed boats! It's custom and practice for them to generally stay with the vessel until a salvage/tow arrives and he thought it an extremly unusual request that could have had a more than very different outcome had anything gone awry, especially for the USCG guys who suggested it!
 
Thanks for all the perspectives. This was exactly what I was hoping I would receive - you have all given me a great deal to think about. I do not think I will be as willing to help (Beyond responding and making sure no lives are in danger) next time. In the heat of the moment I never thought of the liability issues.

They had tried to right the the sailboat several times unsuccessfully. I saw the people in the water try a final time as I was pulling up and then they gave up and climbed on board the second sailboat and then the USCG took them aboard their boat when they showed up. USCG showed up within 3-5 minutes of when I arrived.

I took the USCG request to tow it in as more of a command. I thought I had to to comply with his request. I will not be so eager next time.

Finally my crew consisted of several very well trained, professional theatrical rigging personnel. They know how to properly tie loads and properly attach and safely tie knots. Maybe not correct nautical knots but they can safely rig fly loads in any venue. Of all my friends I was glad they were with me. They do have some boating experience but are also very capable and safety minded. Before we did anything we discussed the action plan, roles and we all put on PFD's... and one was prepared to cut the rope if there were any major issues.
 
I actually envy that your first thought was to do what you felt was right and that you weren't steered by the capitalist protocol (financial bottom line comes first) that we've all been trained to follow. So my hat's off to you for good intentions and for leveraging the skills and knowledge of your crew to minimize risk.
 
You did fine Steve! We've towed in quite a few boats on our river over the years. PA law is everyone on the towed boat must be wearing a PFD or the tow boat operator will be fined. Just an FYI that did not apply to what you did. Glad there are people like you out there! We monitor our radio but most boats do not have VHF on our river. I've gotten cell phone calls to come get friends when they break down.....always glad to go get them. Just another good reason to be on the water, Mike.
 
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