Everything You Ever Wanted
to Know About BoatUS Towing
Q: What does the service level
on my Membership Card mean?
Q: What does "Unlimited"
mean?
Q: What
is the BoatUS Towing Program?
Q: What
is TowBoatUS?
Q: Is
my BoatUS Towing Service valid wherever I
boat?
Q: What's
so special about BoatUS Towing Dispatch?
Q: Can
I use some other towing company to tow my
boat?
Q: If
I'm broken down at my dock, does my BoatUS
Towing Service still work for me?
Q: When
the Guide doesn't list any TowBoatUS or other
approved companies in my area, whom should
I use?
Q: What is
the difference between Towing and Salvage?
Q: Does
the BoatUS Towing Service provide for recovery
and towing of my boat should it sink?
Q: Does
the BoatUS Towing Service apply if I am a
guest on a friend's boat?
Q: I
use my boat for charter fishing and diving
(or I deliver boats for a dealer). Can I use
my BoatUS Towing Service for that boat?
Q: Is
it true that towing companies bill from the
time they leave their dock to the time they
return?
Q: What does the service level on my Membership
Card mean?
This amount represents the amount
that BoatUS will pay for provided services.
It is NOT a deductible.
You are responsible for all charges in excess
of your chosen service level.
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Q: What
does "Unlimited" mean?
If you require service within a
BoatUS Towing Service Area and are towed within
that area, we will pay an "Unlimited"
amount for provided for services as listed
in the BoatUS On-Water Towing Service Agreement. Outside
this area, services are provided up to $2,500
for the Unlimited card.
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Q: What
is the BoatUS Towing Program?
It
is a promise by the Association to provide
excellent Member satisfaction, assistance
and towing services (which entails 24-Hour
Dispatch, On-the-Water Towing, battery jumps,
fuel deliveries, and soft ungroundings) without
charge up to a Member's specified service
level. We are a dues paying Membership Association
and not a retail mailing list.
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Q: What
is TowBoatUS?
TowBoatUS
is the nation's largest network of towing
companies organized by BoatUS to provide you
with fast, professional assistance while you're
on the water. These companies have to meet
specific criteria to qualify as TowBoatUS
approved companies. Over 225 ports are staffed
24/7.
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Q: Is
my BoatUS Towing Service valid wherever
I boat?
Yes.
BoatUS Towing Service follows you and your
boat. No matter where your homeport
is or where you keep your boat, if you're
within a TowBoatUS service area, BoatUS
will provide for towing service up to your
selected service level. Even if you
are boating in an area that does not support
a TowBoatUS Service Provider, BoatUS will
reimburse your commercial towing service
up to your service level, $2,500 for Unlimited,
when authorized by the BoatUS 24-hour dispatch
center.
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Q: What's
so special about BoatUS Towing Dispatch?
The
24-hour National Dispatch Center is open and
staffed all day, every day, 365 days a year
with BoatUS employees to answer questions
and dispatch towers. The Center can be reached
by cell phone, VHF radio or via a Coast Guard
relay. BoatUS has the largest recreational
boat and trailer dispatch center nationwide.
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Q: Can
I use some other towing company to tow my
boat?
Yes,
when outside the country and within the U.S.
if dispatched by BoatUS through the 24-Hour
Dispatch Center. BoatUS has a fleet of over
500 tow boats contracted and ready to go.
When you call the National Dispatch Center,
you will receive assistance from the closest
available approved company. If there isn't
one in your area, the dispatcher will help
you locate other assistance. There are little
to no major boating areas without TowBoatUS.
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Q: If
I'm broken down at my dock, does my BoatUS
Towing Service still work for me?
The
Towing Service is for tows due to breakdowns
at sea or at a restricted use dock. In addition,
if your boat will not start while you are
at your home dock, rental dock, or a non-restricted
use slip, partial coverage may be available
to you. By setting up the tow through normal
channels, calling our dispatch center or contacting
a TowBoatUS company directly, BoatUS will
provide 50% of the towing charge incurred
to the closest repair facility, up to your
current towing service level. Of course, pre-existing
conditions are not provided for at all.
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Q: When
the Guide doesn't list any TowBoatUS or
other approved companies in my area, whom
should I use?
When
you contact the National Dispatch Center at
800-391-4869, the dispatcher can check to
see if any approved towing companies have
been added to your area since The Guide was
published. If there are still no towers in
your area, the dispatcher will use other resources
to locate the assistance you need in local
marinas and commercial towing services. Outside
the country tows are reimbursed by BoatUS.
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Q: What is the difference
between Towing and Salvage?
BoatUS
establishes Towing-Ungrounding as "any
operation not involving immediate peril to
the boat or to a legally protected marine
environment and requiring only one towing
vessel with lines attached to the grounded
boat to refloat it or to the disabled boat
to tow it." Salvage includes "any
operation involving immediate peril to the
boat, the marine environment or the use of
special salvage equipment (pumps, airbags,
dredging equipment, cranes, etc.)"
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Q: Does
the BoatUS Towing Service provide for recovery
and towing of my boat should it sink?
The
BoatUS Towing Service provides assistance
should your boat suffer from a dead battery,
an engine breakdown, runs out of gas, or requires
a "soft" ungrounding while on the
water. It is not designed for salvage operations
such as a sinking or stranding. Salvage operations,
including towing from the salvage site, would
be paid for by a yacht or boat insurance policy,
such as BoatUS Marine
Insurance.
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Q: Does
the BoatUS Towing Service apply if I am
a guest on a friend's boat?
Every
BoatUS towing level provides Towing Service
for any boat which the Member owns, borrows,
or charters. In these cases, the Member is
considered the Captain and responsible for
the care and control of the boat. If the Member
is a guest on a boat and the owner is also
present, regardless of who is at the helm,
the owner would be responsible for having
the appropriate towing service, not the guest
member on board.
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Q: I
use my boat for charter fishing and diving
(or I deliver boats for a dealer). Can I
use my BoatUS Towing Service for that boat?
The
BoatUS Towing Service applies only to a "recreational
boat owned, borrowed or chartered" by
the Member. Once a boat is used for hire,
for commercial purposes, or the Member is
a paid captain, the boat or Member is considered
commercial. In these cases, the appropriate
commercial towing insurance should be purchased
as a rider to their policy.
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Q: Is
it true that towing companies bill from
the time they leave their dock to the time
they return?
Yes.
Towing companies begin charging for their
service from the moment they get underway.
Even after you are already safe and sound
in your own slip, the clock doesn't stop until
the tow boat has returned to its home dock.
Remember to take that into consideration when
selecting your towing service level. Our fleet
is the only to be universally paid for their
time. So they are dedicated to get up at 2am
in the morning to service you!
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