Sea-Tow, Vessil Assist, Towboat US

[work2fish]

I have a SeaTow membership and am fairly happy with them. The towing coverage helped out one night when a tire went flat and I had no spare. A flatbed wrecker picked up trailer, boat and brought it right to my house. I was promptly reimbursed for the towing.

I would not recommend Vessel Assist. I helped a boater who had a VA membership on the water last weekend who was trying to contact Vessel Assist on the radio. His engine had quit and he needed a tow. Vessel Assist never responded to our repeated hails on 16 even afer he used my cell phone to call the Vessel Assist 800 #. His 87 yr old father was tiring quickly in the sun so I towed them to the nearest public ramps and let him use my cell again to call for a ride for his dad.

Several calls to Vessel Assist never produced a single boat or hail on 16.

[dryfus4]

Say No to the Yellow and YES to TOW BOAT US

[landlubber]

vessel assist not a major player around here, so just can't comment.

i recommend you monitor VHF for a couple of weekends, see which outfit gets more biz, responds quciker, fewer cusswords from irate policyholders, etc.

i've never had to use any towing service. but do have sea tow, and might switch to towboat us for renewal.

salvage policy: towboat us, hands down (read both their contracts and you'll agree -- plus, do a search on this board about salvage issues w/ sea tow). but, you can avoid most problems by asking outright BEFORE services are rendered whether it will be a tow or salvage operation (soft vs. hard grounding, "imminent danger," etc).

towing distance: sea tow wins. not issue w/ me, however, as i'm a boating home boy.

dispute resolution: boat us seems to be much more consumer-friendly, per their contract.

coverage issues (boat v. person is covered, etc.): for reasons mentioned, sea tow seems to win (but i THINK you can upgrade level of service w/ boat us to match that of sea tow's).

number of boats/response time: seems a tie down here, maybe slight sea tow slight edge.

misc: sea tow. my kids like the yellow boats better than the red ones

[tarnold]

Coralreefer and Preoccupation,

I've seen a SeaTow boat docked across from landing at OIB, so I think one of their guys lives there. At any rate, I talked last night with a charter capt who runs out of OIB and asked who he recommended. SeaTow w/o hesitation. He said the next closest service is Little River or Southport.
Tommy

Sea Pro 235 CC w/200 hp Evinrude

[Keyskid]

Both of these services operate through Franchisee's, so your service will only be as good as the local guy. What can be a great operator in one area, may such in another, due to different personnel. I have Boat US (Towboat US) and have only used it once, but it was worth it. They did a great job in really adverse weather conditions, but again this is the Franchisee in Islamarada. Your experiences could be completely different.

"Everyone should believe in something. I believe I will go fishing" --- Henry David Thoreau
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