What if there is no Boat Towing Services
During sailing by motor around the Lakes when on the somewhere you can see a someone standing on the dinghy that moved his arms over his head in the clear intent to ask for help. I pulled up and in a few minutes I reached the large dinghy with the man and his crew of wife and son on board. The engine had stopped and they had been waiting for some time for someone to see them and tow them in port.
A lucky operation. Because the owner of the dinghy was also the owner of an excellent restaurant in the largest of the Egadi Islands which repaid by offering us an excellent dinner. Picking up a boat at sea is not a frequent occurrence, but now that the summer is bringing more people to the sea, the chances of coming across someone who needs help increase exponentially. In this area the differences and nuances are infinite. Towing or towing, rescue or recovery? Are there any fees for those who tow and how much are they? Who pays for it if damage is caused during recovery or towing?
In this article we want to deal only with the towing technique. Clarifying some basic questions though. In the face of human life in danger at sea, anyone is required to intervene but is not required to attempt the recovery or rescue of the boat. If you do it, but only for the recovery of the boat and not for the rescue of people, you are entitled to compensation on the amount agreed upon but which on average does not exceed 10% of the value of the recovered boat. Those who intervene in assistance launch the lines for the trailer, and the captain of the broken boat, when he accepts them, is as if he was signing a contract, agreeing to pay the agreed fee once the lake Norman boat towing is safely in port.
But how do you make a trailer? In the meantime, it has to be determined whether it is possible to do so. The choice is influenced by the size of the boats as well as the weather conditions. If the one to be towed is much bigger, not only will it be difficult to move it, but for those who tow, it will be very difficult to steer. Established that the proportions between the two boats allow us to recover, the first question to be addressed is the docking. Usually towers pass upwind for the simple fact that it is much easier to throw a rope with the wind in favor. If the wind is cool though, pay attention to the leeway.
Then you approach it slowly upwind , throw the rope on board the broken down boat, and carry on with the bow in the wind so as to remain as maneuvers as possible. Once you have passed the line, you will spin quickly on board the tug boat, making sure that it does not go into the propeller.
But who assumes the burden of the trailer, where should he fix the rope? The ideal would be to something very robust in the bow of the propeller, such as the base of the mast on a sailboat. In many cases, however, this is not possible or complicates the maneuvers of those in the cockpit. So one possibility is to fix it to the mooring bollard on the stern. In this case, however, it is much better to distribute the load on both bollards using a rope of the same thickness as the cable used for towing. With this second peak you create a V called “bridle”. So we secure the two ends of the V to the two bollards with two gasses, and in the center of the V we make an eight-knot in order to create a ring in which to make a gas with the towing cable.
Once we have passed the top of the broken boat, we must tension it as slowly as possible and then accelerate trying to keep the cable taut. What is the ideal cable length? At least forty meters, so that in case of decelerations there is room for the towed boat to dispose of the crossing. On board the towed boat, the rope must be secured to a solid point such as the mooring bollard in the bow or, in the case of two bollards, making a V as described above.
It is also possible to intervene with a boat or a tender to tow a broken boat. In these cases, the most effective technique is to push by resting the bow of the tender on the stern of the boat, securing it with a very short time. You can also try to pull, but in this case, the rope must be fixed in the bow of the tender. In all cases, it is essential that there is understanding and communication between the helmsman of the towing boat and the towed boat, so that the second follows the maneuvers at the helm of the first, facilitating the maintenance of the route.
Barry Lachey is a Professional Editor at Zobuz. Previously He has also worked for Moxly Sports and Network Resources “Joe Joe.” He is a graduate of the Kings College at the University of Thames Valley London. You can reach Barry via email or by phone.
