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How to tow another boat

I would not use the ski tow bar, I think I would use the points on the stern that I strap it to the trailer with.
 
I have been wondering this myself.
 
I'm not sure if a cleat would be the best? That's what I always used on my old fiberglass boat, was always towing somebody in!
 
mattb said:
I would not use the ski tow bar, I think I would use the points on the stern that I strap it to the trailer with.
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The eyelets on the back of the boat are too close to the motor; they would really rub the motor and leave a mark.  I have towed people a couple of times, and what I did was create a bridle about 40' long.  I tied one end to each of the stern cleats,  then tied the tow rope to the bridle.  That gave me enough room to be able to make turns without the lines hitting my motor.
 
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My previous Benny (a 2010 22' RLi) had a pop up ski pylon and I once used it to tow home a broken down boat (smaller than my boat).


I later learned that Bennington specifically states the ski towing accessories are NOT to be used for towing other vessels.
 
A long time back Bennington stated that you shouldn't use the eyelets on the back of the toons for towing tubes, and that you should use the u-bolts by the motor. They then corrected themselves and said only tow bars or ski pylons for tubes.


Now for towing a boat, it specifically says NOT to use the tow bar or pylon. I definitely wouldn't use the cleats as they are probably the least secure out of all mentioned. I believe the best option would be the u-bolts with a bridle. As for rubbing on the motor, well I don't think you are doing any high speed whipping turns while towing in the boat,  so it should track pretty much right behind you. Probably be a good idea if the inoperable vessel trimmed the motor up out of the water, or at least made sure it was straight to keep it from wandering. 


Just my opinion. 
 
BulldogsCadillac said:
A long time back Bennington stated that you shouldn't use the eyelets on the back of the toons for towing tubes, and that you should use the u-bolts by the motor. They then corrected themselves and said only tow bars or ski pylons for tubes.


Now for towing a boat, it specifically says NOT to use the tow bar or pylon. I definitely wouldn't use the cleats as they are probably the least secure out of all mentioned. I believe the best option would be the u-bolts with a bridle. As for rubbing on the motor, well I don't think you are doing any high speed whipping turns while towing in the boat,  so it should track pretty much right behind you. Probably be a good idea if the inoperable vessel trimmed the motor up out of the water, or at least made sure it was straight to keep it from wandering. 


Just my opinion. 
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OK, Team Bennington. We're calling on you for the correct answer to this question. Since we're going into the boating season and odds are that we'll come across broken down boaters.


Also, what should we tie off to if our boat needs a pull? 


Thanks
 
1Blderbob said:
OK, Team Bennington. We're calling on you for the correct answer to this question. Since we're going into the boating season and odds are that we'll come across broken down boaters.


Also, what should we tie off to if our boat needs a pull? 


Thanks
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Carl towed us last year and we used the eyelet on the center tube. Same one you use to secure your boat to the trailer strap.........


We have towed boats from the bracket that holds our ski pylon (right above the outdrive in the pic) and it has worked well........../monthly_2017_04/large.image.jpeg.19ee1aa8dda35cbf84d6591bca5dfc45.jpeg
 
I remember doing some research on this. As I recall the suggestion was opposing cleats. Rear port on the tow and front starboard on the disabled. Or the opposite. The theory was to reduce the change of a rear-end collision. Could be remembering wrong.


Will be interested in TB's response.


Happy Memorial Day everyone.
 
I've been thinking on this one . Can't really think of a good way to tow another boat. Maybe don't and let the next guy do the towing. Interesting question though !
 
ILLINOIS AVE said:
I've been thinking on this one . Can't really think of a good way to tow another boat. Maybe don't and let the next guy do the towing. Interesting question though !
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tcpip95 said:
The eyelets on the back of the boat are too close to the motor; they would really rub the motor and leave a mark.  I have towed people a couple of times, and what I did was create a bridle about 40' long.  I tied one end to each of the stern cleats,  then tied the tow rope to the bridle.  That gave me enough room to be able to make turns without the lines hitting my motor.
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I'm not for that plan. You should NEVER leave a fellow boater stranded. If I'm not mistaken,that's a maritime rule.


As for the towing of another boat,I'm in total agreement with tcpip.
 
ILLINOIS AVE said:
I've been thinking on this one . Can't really think of a good way to tow another boat. Maybe don't and let the next guy do the towing. Interesting question though !
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There are a lot of factors that go into whether to tow another boat or not.  What are the weather and sea conditions?  What is the weight and draft of the boat you're towing?  How strong are the lines?  How long are the lines?  How big of a motor do you have?  Is the vehicle being towed in any danger,  or is this simply a courtesy that you're extending them (i.e. they're right along the shore, but they're 5 miles from the boat ramp; not in danger, just inconvenient)?


Another war story.....


We're out with some guests and have beached the boat for the afternoon.  A couple of young girls (13 years old) come up and told us their boat had broken down, and could we please tow them?  I walk down the beach and talk to the father of the girls, and he says he forgot to put his plugs in, so he flooded the engine compartment and can't start the boat.  He asked me if I could "tow him to the bridge" - which is about 1 mile away.  I asked him if he had SeaTow or TowBoatUS.  He said no.  OK, I look at his boat, and I can tow this for a mile.


So I get him all rigged up to tow and away we go.  We go until we get to the inlet where the bridge is, and I start turning in.  He starts hollering at me "where are you going?".  I yell back to him "to the bridge".  He says "not this bridge, the Sanibel Bridge" - which is about 10 miles away. 


I tell him that my boat and motor cannot possibly tow him that far, but I've got him in a safe inlet in protected waters about 3' deep with plenty of people and boat traffic around.  As I'm cutting him loose (by the way, the guy never even said "Thanks"), his wife says "Great.... now we gotta find some other idiot to tow us".


No good deed goes unpunished I guess.


My unlimited TowBoatUS is $157 per year.  This guy has his wife and two kids on board and won't spend that?


Crazy.
 
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Vikingstaff said:
So what I am hearing is it would not be cool to just loan them an oar and say paddle hard?   :wacko:
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Nah, you probably won't get the oar back!  :D
 
tcpip95 said:
There are a lot of factors that go into whether to tow another boat or not.  What are the weather and sea conditions?  What is the weight and draft of the boat you're towing?  How strong are the lines?  How long are the lines?  How big of a motor do you have?  Is the vehicle being towed in any danger,  or is this simply a courtesy that you're extending them (i.e. they're right along the shore, but they're 5 miles from the boat ramp; not in danger, just inconvenient)?


Another war story.....


We're out with some guests and have beached the boat for the afternoon.  A couple of young girls (13 years old) come up and told us their boat had broken down, and could we please tow them?  I walk down the beach and talk to the father of the girls, and he says he forgot to put his plugs in, so he flooded the engine compartment and can't start the boat.  He asked me if I could "tow him to the bridge" - which is about 1 mile away.  I asked him if he had SeaTow or TowBoatUS.  He said no.  OK, I look at his boat, and I can tow this for a mile.


So I get him all rigged up to tow and away we go.  We go until we get to the inlet where the bridge is, and I start turning in.  He starts hollering at me "where are you going?".  I yell back to him "to the bridge".  He says "not this bridge, the Sanibel Bridge" - which is about 10 miles away. 


I tell him that my boat and motor cannot possibly tow him that far, but I've got him in a safe inlet in protected waters about 3' deep with plenty of people and boat traffic around.  As I'm cutting him loose (by the way, the guy never even said "Thanks"), his wife says "Great.... now we gotta find some other idiot to tow us".


No good deed goes unpunished I guess.


My unlimited TowBoatUS is $157 per year.  This guy has his wife and two kids on board and won't spend that?


Crazy.
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We had a similar situation where our boat had 4 hours on it and this guy wanted me to tow him back down a shallow canal on our lake. I've never been down there and will never go down there due to the conditions. I said I would get them to the entrance and that was the best I could do. They didn't have an oar and were using their hands as oars. They weren't happy but hey, I could have left you to hand paddle across the entire lake!
 
What boat owner takes a boat out onto the open water without at least one paddle/oar (more is better so you can share the fun...).  Perhaps these folks should not be boat owners.  If it is not a maritime law to help a distressed boater, it is at least good karma...  In the past 20 years with a couple different boats, I have towed folks multiple times, I have been towed multiple times, and I have had to use my paddles multiple times.  It is going to happen!!!
 
I've never come across the situation of someone needing a tow yet so not sure what I'll do.  Our lake has a "Tow R US"  boat -- I carry their number in my phone..... is it wrong just to hand someone their number as long as they aren't in any danger? Yes, it'll cost them some money... welcome to boating!!
 
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