Getting Towed In - Etiquette etc?

[lenten]

i towed in a 60 foot scottish fishing boat which was on sea trials with lots of caterpillar engineers on board----in the pub that night i mentioned that i was surprised no one had walked over to my berth and thanked me ---but was told the boats skipper expected me to walk over to them and ask for their insurance company to make a salvage claim---i was told that a 2 mile tow in reasonable weather would be worth a 1/4 to 1/2 % of the boats value----i didn t claim---i believe that if you do get towed in you can have a salvage claim made against you and if you can t agree a price then an admiralty court will set a % based on the amount of risk to the boat

 

[onesea]

I have helped out here on there and if ever offered money I replied, buy me a beer sometime.

...As it approached it put on searchlights and we were dazzled and couldn't see it properly but it approached close and someone on deck was swinging a line which I got ready to try to catch. At this point we saw 'another' lifeboat approaching at even higher speed, and quickly realised that the first 'lifeboat' wasn't one at all, but a fishing boat, presumably trying its luck after hearing the radio traffic. We made it clear we weren't accepting its line and it beat a hasty retreat as the real lifeboat arrived. Could have been an expensive mistake, and we didn't even consider ourselves in danger!

That is kind of naughty...

i towed in a 60 foot scottish fishing boat which was on sea trials with lots of caterpillar engineers on board----in the pub that night i mentioned that i was surprised no one had walked over to my berth and thanked me ---but was told the boats skipper expected me to walk over to them and ask for their insurance company to make a salvage claim---i was told that a 2 mile tow in reasonable weather would be worth a 1/4 to 1/2 % of the boats value----i didn t claim---i believe that if you do get towed in you can have a salvage claim made against you and if you can t agree a price then an admiralty court will set a % based on the amount of risk to the boat

Probably why allot of boats that help out find fish,wine or Whisky on-board later, that way there is less danger of salvage demands being placed.

What would happen if you find yourself requiring a tow you pass over with your tow line a bottle of wine whisky or whatever.

Then you could claim it was agreed down payment and not a "salvage job" if they tried it on later?

 

[chewi]

It hasn't happened to me, but I've always wondered.
What is the situation if you can't start the engine when you get back to the mouth of the river (as it is in my case), don't fancy testing your sailing skills by trying to sail back to your marina berth, so get on the radio and cadge a half mile tow?
Obviously, you owe the guy a pint (to say the least), but is there an unofficial protocol, or (much more serious, if you happen to be towed in by a rotter), are you potentially placing yourself at the mercy of the salvage laws etc?
If some decent chap responds to your request, and offers to help, you don't want to start negotiating contracts whilst bobbing about, so how would it/does it work in practice?
Thanks.
TJL

For GJW customers it won't matter, you probably wouldn't be insured either towing or being towed... "No towing or being towed except where customary or in emergency" or something similar as I recall. I wonder how they would interpret those for a real incident.

 

[jwilson]

It hasn't happened to me, but I've always wondered.
What is the situation if you can't start the engine when you get back to the mouth of the river (as it is in my case), don't fancy testing your sailing skills by trying to sail back to your marina berth, so get on the radio and cadge a half mile tow?
Obviously, you owe the guy a pint (to say the least), but is there an unofficial protocol, or (much more serious, if you happen to be towed in by a rotter), are you potentially placing yourself at the mercy of the salvage laws etc?
If some decent chap responds to your request, and offers to help, you don't want to start negotiating contracts whilst bobbing about, so how would it/does it work in practice?
Thanks.
TJL

Excluding safety boat type work, in my own boat I have towed:-

1979 Fastnet racer who put up red flares in the edge of Portland Race, tired, frightened, engine dead (but rig OK). fairly rough, could well have been a salvage claim but didn't.

Two out of fuel speedboats in benign conditions. One had triple 175 hp engines - towed with ancient 7 hp Volvo.

60 ft ketch with dead engine, flat calm conditions.

Again excluding racing, where towing engineless boats is common, in my own boat I have been towed once by our passing club launch, when I ran out of fuel in a flat calm. At that point it occurred to me that it must have been several years since I put any diesel in the boat's tank. A 7 hp Volvo MD1 engine doesn't use much when normally just used to get in and out of harbour.

 

[prv]

if one vessel is in real peril, it's actually the duty of any nearby skipper who can help, to do so - not for reward, but to comply with this obligation in the circumstances.

Sure, but that doesn't preclude him also making a claim for salvage afterwards. In a commercial situation (one small coaster rescuing another, say) I'd fully expect him to do so, and don't think there's anything unreasonable about it. That's the situation the rules were written for.

Obviously that's not the way it ought to happen in leisure sailing - except perhaps in very extreme circumstances.

Pete

 

[Sandyman]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiralty_law#Salvage_and_treasure_salvage

 

[Rigger Mortice]

If, perish the thought, I am towed into port who pays? Me, or my insurance company?

If it's the insurance company I may rethink all the times I've towed people in! Over the years I've "rescued" at least one boat each season.

 

[Cardo]

If, perish the thought, I am towed into port who pays? Me, or my insurance company?

If it's the insurance company I may rethink all the times I've towed people in! Over the years I've "rescued" at least one boat each season.

My insurance covers reasonable salvage costs if required. I'd prefer not to have to resort to that, though.

We towed a small motorboat whose engines had overheated when I was doing my day skipper. Never considered we could actually charge him for it. The instructor was bought a beer and we were all thanked. I didn't expect anything more than that.

I do feel that leisure boaters towing other leisure boaters should be done out of kindness and karma. I do find it rather off to hear about commercial vessels trying to dupe people into taking a tow so they can then turn around and supply a large invoice. I understand this happens a lot in Spain?

 

[Rigger Mortice]

My insurance covers reasonable salvage costs if required. I'd prefer not to have to resort to that, though.

We towed a small motorboat whose engines had overheated when I was doing my day skipper. Never considered we could actually charge him for it. The instructor was bought a beer and we were all thanked. I didn't expect anything more than that.

I do feel that leisure boaters towing other leisure boaters should be done out of kindness and karma. I do find it rather off to hear about commercial vessels trying to dupe people into taking a tow so they can then turn around and supply a large invoice. I understand this happens a lot in Spain?

I agree wholeheartedly!
Just in case anybody didn't realise, my earlier comments were very much tongue in cheek.

 

[Dabhand]

Have towed in several boats over the years, always received thanks and in one instance a £5 note arrived in the post - it was a long time ago when a fiver was worth something.
Towed in once when we couldn't start the engine, a Stuart Turner which turned out to be suffering from a blocked exhaust. We attracted the attention of a tripper boat travelling from Dartmouth to Torquay which towed us the six miles back. This was back in the days when I shared the boat with a couple of mates.
The boat very conveniently had a bar so the journey back was occupied with a couple of beers.
We in turn gave the skipper a bottle of whisky.

 

[simon barefoot]

We towed in a few boats, once we were called out of the pub by some people also drinking there who had noticed that their yacht had sailed up over its own anchor, severed the rope and was now a mile or so offshore. We took them out on our fishing boat and saw them back to the anchorage where they deployed their spare and took down their cockpit cover. We went back to the pub. So did they, sat down with their partners and didn't so much as look in our direction again!
A few days later I saw a rope on the surface at slack water low tide, picked it up and hauled in a nice 35lb CQR.

 

[fireball]

We've picked up a boat with engine problems - we offered the tow - I wouldn't expect any reward having offered the tow anyway - but they did come and find us with a couple of bottles (having already said thanks when we passed the tow over to harbour staff) - as someone else said - the skipper has probably got enough going on without worrying about fees for a tow ...

I suppose it could be a different matter if it was a tow well out of my way and requiring considerable time/fuel or inconvenience - but if it is saving a life/vessel rather than just a convenience tow ... unless I've offered it in advance of course!