[Top-Water]

Kudos to you for your good deed helping those folks out, as mentioned any tow that gets the disabled boat to a destination safely, with no damage, is a success.

A couple of things to consider from experience rescuing some folks on Winn many years ago and a few other tows over the years.

Some time ago a few days after ice out in the mid nineties while bass fishing I noticed a boat that seemed to be acting strangely about a mile or so from where I was initially. I wasn't close to them but something just didn't seem right, at first I thought they 'might" be fishing as well, they were pretty much the only other boat out there and seemed low in the water. When I decided to move to a new fishing spot I was curious as to just what they were doing and headed pretty much straight for them, as I got closer it was very clear something was wrong. They had hit a rock and were sinking. The only thing keeping them afloat was the built in flotation in the hull.

After an initial assessment that everybody (4 people) were ok and some assurance that I would help them out, a couple of things to consider. First I made sure and insisted they all put on their life jackets and get into my boat and if they did not have them I would lend them my extras pretty much a no brainier on this one. With the (passenger) weight out of their boat it was floating upright and level and did not appear to be going down. I offered to help them get back to shore and tow the boat back to the launch. In the back off my mind I thought this boat might sink. See my admitted mistake below.

Keep in mind this was just before the abundant use of cell phones so we had no communication with the shore. I did mange to get them and their boat safely back to shore, but not exactly as planed and in retrospect would have done differently today if (I/we) could have called shore.

So I guess the first thing nowadays is to call marine patrol if you can to let them know you are helping someone just about everyone has them now and there is pretty much good coverage around the lake these days. 20-25 years ago it was a little different.

The next thing that happened you only learn in retrospect is time and weather conditions. What seemed like a simple easy favor in calm water at the time took forever to accomplish. We ended up not making it back to the ramp for a couple of reasons. Even though I kept my boat in top notch condition when fishing in tournaments in those days and had it all in good working order meaning nothing was left to chance for the upcoming season I was was surprised to learn some limitations that a 150 hp outboard motor has. A few minutes into the tow I noticed that my boat was beginning to get hot buy putting a load on it without any speed to keep the water pump somewhat pressurized. Had to slow down from maybe 8-10 miles per hour to 3-6 miles per hour numerous times. Keep in mid this boat being towed was full of water and a really dead heavy load. Probably would not have not been an issue if it was a 4 cycle inboard and different water intake. So I guess the lesson learned is know what your own boat is capable of doing.

Next thing that changed was the weather. What started out as an easy slow tow on flat water changed to a steady blow making it hard to navigate. It was not a crazy windy day but the wind was just enough to make it hard to keep a steady course. Something to keep in mind. Not to mention it started to rain at a pretty decent rate and (they) were not prepared for that and luckily I had a some extra clothes and a spare (summer) rain suit that they divided up among themselves.

The tow rope: I always keep a very good one in the boat. I have towed a number of folks over the years so I never leave the ramp with out one for my own benefit, (race boats always need a tow once in while but that's another story) But here is where I messed up. When I tied up the two boats together I did not pay attention to the knot I used and just wanted to get the two boats connected together. Initially thinking that separating the boats after the tow would be a non-issue changed. Despite the reassurances of my newly found passengers that they were ok I could easily see all of them were getting cold and needed to get them to shore soon and make an attempt to save there boat if possible. Only a few days after ice out no one had their docks or boats in. I manged to find one on Governors Island, as we got close (folks whom ever they were) came out to help from shore as we made a slow powered drift towards the only open dock I could find. The mistake: I could not get the tow line disconnected from my boat (when I needed to very quickly) to toss it to the folks on shore. Had to go back out a bit from shore a few times to compensate for the wind blowing us in to the rocks and ended up cutting the line at the knot. For me I was fortunate enough to also have the benefit of an electric trolling motor to get the boat really close to the the dock, but could easily envision the rope getting wrapped up in the propeller and having two disabled boats. I guess the lesson learned is plan this in advance especially if something changes. It just added so..so much extra time to finally getting them on shore in less than favorable conditions. Not to mention if things really went wrong and the towed boat started to sink, would it have pulled me down with it.

This was a little different neighborly tow in comparison too the few I have done in the past where it was a boat out of fuel or just a broken down motor. Obviously if we had communication with shore (I/We) could have done things differently, but I guess the lessons learned would be to really really think everything out in advance. Especially if you are willing to offer a long distance tow and the possibility exists that the weather might change.

Kudos to any one who helps out any disabled boater. I have been on the other end of this story a few times back in the old days of fast boats.

One other thing that makes a big difference that did not apply to the above story is if the boat you are helping is just a simple tow and no one is leaving the disabled boat and everything seems safe and a little more applicable to bow riders and pontoon boats. Consider (when possible) asking that as many people that can sit towards the back of the boat to raise the bow up a bit and to ask them to position the steering straight . It makes a big difference if the bow of the boat being towed is not plowing through the water or towing at an angle. It makes it lot easier on the boat doing the tow.