# Grounded boat in Corpus behind Pita Island



## Hobiecat (Jun 21, 2006)

Anybody know a tow service that give assistance to a grounded boat in shallow water? TowBoat says I am out of the channel. Duh
I need to move about 20' to deeper water

Already tried the anchor to creep out


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## Ex Boat Capt. Carp (Jul 19, 2011)

Hopefully someone will stop and give you a hand. Other than that keep on trying to get out, good luck.


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## bayskout (Oct 25, 2006)

So TowBoat can't help?
Down in port I/spi, the Cpt carries a kayak, lots & lots of rope, & big winch to get to stuck boats that r 2 shallow for his boat. 20ft ain't nothing. 
When's high tide?


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## capt. david (Dec 29, 2004)

sea tow corpus.


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## JustBilling (Mar 19, 2012)

I feel for you. We did some maintanence on our boat earlier this year and had a faulty Raycor leak and sucked air in the fuel line. Long story short, wind was blowing and while trying to get back under way we blew against the shallows at the edge of the intracoastal. If it would have been the other motor, we would have been fine. Unfortunately, we could only wedge ourselves further into the sand with the motor that was still operable. We were about 200yards from marker 37. $900+ later, the (not gonna mention what company) guy pulled us a total of 15ft so our bow was headed into the wind again and limped in on one engine. If I was down there right now I would come help you as best I could. Hope all works out. BTW, we made that journey in the boat in my avatar one time to fuel up, never gonna happen again. Don't know if that was what you were doing, but we go to PA now. I understand the guy can charge what he wants, it was how he went about it and the 15 minute attempt to tie off to us and the "oh yeah" we are in a small craft advisory right now so I need to charge you $150 extra.


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## acoastalbender (Jul 16, 2011)

capt. david said:


> sea tow corpus.


X2



JustBilling said:


> I feel for you. We did some maintanence on our boat earlier this year and had a faulty Raycor leak and sucked air in the fuel line. Long story short, wind was blowing and while trying to get back under way we blew against the shallows at the edge of the intracoastal. If it would have been the other motor, we would have been fine. Unfortunately, we could only wedge ourselves further into the sand with the motor that was still operable. We were about 200yards from marker 37. $900+ later, the (not gonna mention what company) guy pulled us a total of 15ft so our bow was headed into the wind again and limped in on one engine. If I was down there right now I would come help you as best I could. Hope all works out. BTW, we made that journey in the boat in my avatar one time to fuel up, never gonna happen again. Don't know if that was what you were doing, but we go to PA now. I understand the guy can charge what he wants, it was how he went about it and the 15 minute attempt to tie off to us and the "oh yeah" we are in a small craft advisory right now so I need to charge you $150 extra.


This is spooky, dam near same happened to me within pizzing distance. Took all of 15 minutes to get me back in the channel in winds gusting to 30k's. All it cost me was showing him my SeaTow card which was $150...that card sure saved me a bunch of trouble and cash...

.


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## JustBilling (Mar 19, 2012)

acoastalbender said:


> X2
> 
> This is spooky, dam near same happened to me within pizzing distance. Took all of 15 minutes to get me back in the channel in winds gusting to 30k's. All it cost me was showing him my SeaTow card which was $150...that card sure saved me a bunch of trouble and cash...
> 
> .


Our insurance covered MOST of it, but I agree with your choice of having the membership. Easy insurance and people should sign up for one of the area's services.

Again, he could have charged us whatever he wanted....we were in need, he wasn't. I am not going to go into details and "bash" the guy on a public forum (the reason for not posting the company involved) because I think that is Chicken [email protected]@ to do. Just saying, if the original 2-300 quoted on the phone would have stuck, that would be fine. For the resulting $900, I would have inconvenienced some friends to come help out and paid them a more reasonable fee.

The wind was nowhere near 30kts, overcast was the only thing negative I could say about the weather that day. We just got in a screwed up position for the predicament we were in and did not want to chance ruining a prop trying to dig out. Basically, we needed our bow pointed windward and we were on our way. I will go into detail on the whole situation if anyone wants to PM me, but will not talk trash on a public forum.


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## gator409 (Sep 15, 2004)

see your point but other hand if a man is going to have the (fill in the blank) to take advantage and price gouge you. then i would have reason to call him on it in public. make sure his $600 increase cost him $600 reputation.



JustBilling said:


> Our insurance covered MOST of it, but I agree with your choice of having the membership. Easy insurance and people should sign up for one of the area's services.
> 
> Again, he could have charged us whatever he wanted....we were in need, he wasn't. I am not going to go into details and "bash" the guy on a public forum (the reason for not posting the company involved) because I think that is Chicken [email protected]@ to do. Just saying, if the original 2-300 quoted on the phone would have stuck, that would be fine. For the resulting $900, I would have inconvenienced some friends to come help out and paid them a more reasonable fee.
> 
> The wind was nowhere near 30kts, overcast was the only thing negative I could say about the weather that day. We just got in a screwed up position for the predicament we were in and did not want to chance ruining a prop trying to dig out. Basically, we needed our bow pointed windward and we were on our way. I will go into detail on the whole situation if anyone wants to PM me, but will not talk trash on a public forum.


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## smooth move (Dec 10, 2007)

happened to a friend of mine, he had to get a airboat to pull him out, luckily his insurance covered all but the deductible.


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## Capt. Billy (Mar 6, 2010)

smooth move said:


> happened to a friend of mine, he had to get a airboat to pull him out, luckily his insurance covered all but the deductible.


No deductibles or limits as a member of a towing company. Being a member also prevents any unwarranted charges or disagreement over charges. Sign and go....


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## Captain Hough (Jan 10, 2010)

Not sure what he charges, but I am sure it wouldn't be $900. Call my friend Ronnie Waters for shallow water rescues...he uses an airboat. 361-219-4761


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## Bull Red (Mar 17, 2010)

I guess I am beating these boat towing companies out of some real money every time I stop to help someone. I figure what comes around, goes around. People have helped me out in the past and I like to pay it forward. If more people had that attitude we wouldn't need all these tow boats.


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## 2slick (Dec 5, 2008)

Bull Red said:


> I guess I am beating these boat towing companies out of some real money every time I stop to help someone. I figure what comes around, goes around. People have helped me out in the past and I like to pay it forward. If more people had that attitude we wouldn't need all these tow boats.


I am a Sea Tow (Corpus) member. I will help anyone on the water as long as I don't put myself in danger's way. I would also accept help if I were close to the landing.(I don't want someone who launched in AP towing me to Rockport and screwing up their day.) I just like the piece of mind of knowing when I'm 20 miles away from where I launched, I can call Sea Tow to come assist me....it's worth the price to me.


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## Sounding_7th (Dec 20, 2011)

So Hobie...how did things work out?

Me and a buddy used to run his dad's pathfinder in that area all the time in high school, and it sure does get shallow quick...we learned that the hard way....nice spot to fish in the morning though with those tailing reds!!! hope everything came out alright and that your wallet isn't too much smaller from a tow.


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## Bull Red (Mar 17, 2010)

SlickWillie said:


> I am a Sea Tow (Corpus) member. I will help anyone on the water as long as I don't put myself in danger's way. I would also accept help if I were close to the landing.(I don't want someone who launched in AP towing me to Rockport and screwing up their day.) I just like the piece of mind of knowing when I'm 20 miles away from where I launched, I can call Sea Tow to come assist me....it's worth the price to me.


I never said they don't provide a valuable service. I only said that if I see a fellow boater in need I will try to help them and I appreciate people that help me when I need it.


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## Capt. Billy (Mar 6, 2010)

Bull Red said:


> I guess I am beating these boat towing companies out of some real money every time I stop to help someone. I figure what comes around, goes around. People have helped me out in the past and I like to pay it forward. If more people had that attitude we wouldn't need all these tow boats.


Your not beating us out of money, don't forget there are bigger boats than those that go on trailers that need to be towed too. Can you unground a 61ft Viking or tow a 68ft Jefferson Trawler into its slip? Thank you for being a Good Samaritan.


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## Hobiecat (Jun 21, 2006)

*Grounding Update*

Update-
I posted this morning when I got back to Houston but somehow it didn't go through.
First off, I am a member of SeaTow. They were my second call since I have several duck hunting buddies. SeaTow asked if I was a member and for my position. After SeaTow reviewed my position he told me that I was outside of a navigatable channel and they could not provide assistance. I was told further that their vessel requires a minimum of 3' draft for approach. He also told me that I needed a recovery or salvage operation and that was not covered by SeaTow. I contacted an airboat operator who came from Port A and was on site within an hour. Within no more than 10 minutes including attachment of a tow line I was back in business. The air boat Captain told me that if I had been a member of another tow operation that I would have just signed a invoice that would have been billed and paid for by the OTHER tow assistance operation with no out of pocket expense to me. 
Needless to say let my experience help those boater who have not selected a tow service provider. If you have already made a selection I hope your experience is better than mine when you need the assistance. I called and gave my scenario to the OTHER provider as a what if situation. They immediately said that " if we can't assist you we will hire a service to provide the necessary help"
Anybody want to guess who my NEW tow service provider IS?
It's sure not SEABLOW!!
My rant is now over.


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## slabnabbin (May 25, 2010)

WOW!


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## Capt. Billy (Mar 6, 2010)

Hobiecat said:


> Update-
> I posted this morning when I got back to Houston but somehow it didn't go through.
> First off, I am a member of SeaTow. They were my second call since I have several duck hunting buddies. SeaTow asked if I was a member and for my position. After SeaTow reviewed my position he told me that I was outside of a navigatable channel and they could not provide assistance. I was told further that their vessel requires a minimum of 3' draft for approach. He also told me that I needed a recovery or salvage operation and that was not covered by SeaTow. I contacted an airboat operator who came from Port A and was on site within an hour. Within no more than 10 minutes including attachment of a tow line I was back in business. The air boat Captain told me that if I had been a member of another tow operation that I would have just signed a invoice that would have been billed and paid for by the OTHER tow assistance operation with no out of pocket expense to me.
> Needless to say let my experience help those boater who have not selected a tow service provider. If you have already made a selection I hope your experience is better than mine when you need the assistance. I called and gave my scenario to the OTHER provider as a what if situation. They immediately said that " if we can't assist you we will hire a service to provide the necessary help"
> ...


I am sorry this happened to you, but don't forget we Sea Tow and the other company are all independently owned and operated. We share the same names, but billing and operations are handled differently. We really try to provide a good service.

SEABLOW is new one to me. That's funny...


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## Hobiecat (Jun 21, 2006)

Capt Billy I have heard nothing but great things about you and your operation. I in no way meant any deragatory comments about anyone other than those I dealt directly with, SeaTow in Corpus. I even gave them the benefit of the doubt and called the 800 number to confirm what their policy was. I was given he same answer as the local operator provided. 

Thank you for the service you provide and hopefuly some of those lacking your level of professionalism will take note and step up their service commitment.


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## J.T. Barely (Jan 28, 2012)

slabnabbin said:


> WOW!


X2 on the Wow. Sorry about your bad experience, but thanks for sharing.


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## Life Aquatic (Oct 24, 2006)

Just an FYI, a buddy hit an unmarked pipe while running between Pita Island and the power station. I don't run thru there any more, but will drift it.


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## Sounding_7th (Dec 20, 2011)

Hey Hobie....glad to hear all is well!!


Sorry things went south for you, my buddy and I were just about to launch to go meet up with you seeing that it's my day off...but what do you know? Engine wouldn't start

Glad you are safe and sound, sir, Captain Billy I'm sure is a great guy.

Only thing I can say about that is "don't let one sour apple ruin the rest"

Tight Lines to you, sir....


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## 2slick (Dec 5, 2008)

I will be contacting Seatow in Corpus to get their response to this thread. I don't need to throw money in the wind or have a false sense of security. Thanks for the follow up post.


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## JED (Nov 14, 2004)

Hobiecat said:


> Update-
> I posted this morning when I got back to Houston but somehow it didn't go through.
> First off, I am a member of SeaTow. They were my second call since I have several duck hunting buddies. SeaTow asked if I was a member and for my position. After SeaTow reviewed my position he told me that I was outside of a navigatable channel and they could not provide assistance. I was told further that their vessel requires a minimum of 3' draft for approach. He also told me that I needed a recovery or salvage operation and that was not covered by SeaTow. I contacted an airboat operator who came from Port A and was on site within an hour. Within no more than 10 minutes including attachment of a tow line I was back in business. The air boat Captain told me that if I had been a member of another tow operation that I would have just signed a invoice that would have been billed and paid for by the OTHER tow assistance operation with no out of pocket expense to me.
> Needless to say let my experience help those boater who have not selected a tow service provider. If you have already made a selection I hope your experience is better than mine when you need the assistance. I called and gave my scenario to the OTHER provider as a what if situation. They immediately said that " if we can't assist you we will hire a service to provide the necessary help"
> ...


Last year I was with a buddy running around the boat hole in the ULM. We were in his RFL and he chose to run a slough between two spoils. So he didn't make it (panicked/accelerated) and ran hard aground. We worked at it but in the end had to call Sea Tow. He wasn't a member and we were about 150' away from a navigable channel. $900 later his boat was free....
Something stinks here..if they wont attempt to un-ground a paid member who is 20' from a channel, but will for a boater that is 5-6 times the distance from a channel, hard aground and who is helpless and at their mercy ?!? 
Needless to say if Seablow is committing virtual piracy/extortion, as it seems they are, then they just lost another customer.


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## Newbomb Turk (Sep 16, 2005)

Hobiecat said:


> Update-
> I posted this morning when I got back to Houston but somehow it didn't go through.
> First off, I am a member of SeaTow. They were my second call since I have several duck hunting buddies. SeaTow asked if I was a member and for my position. After SeaTow reviewed my position he told me that I was outside of a navigatable channel and they could not provide assistance. I was told further that their vessel requires a minimum of 3' draft for approach. He also told me that I needed a recovery or salvage operation and that was not covered by SeaTow. I contacted an airboat operator who came from Port A and was on site within an hour. Within no more than 10 minutes including attachment of a tow line I was back in business. The air boat Captain told me that if I had been a member of another tow operation that I would have just signed a invoice that would have been billed and paid for by the OTHER tow assistance operation with no out of pocket expense to me.
> Needless to say let my experience help those boater who have not selected a tow service provider. If you have already made a selection I hope your experience is better than mine when you need the assistance. I called and gave my scenario to the OTHER provider as a what if situation. They immediately said that " if we can't assist you we will hire a service to provide the necessary help"
> ...


You know, at the boats shows in Corpus when these folks (Sea Tow) show up to sign members they sure do sing a different tune on what they'll do for you just to get your signature. Thanks for posting your story. I will check with the other guys too.


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## hch3 (Jul 15, 2010)

Last march we launched at bird island and ran to maggies hole on the other side of the landcut and broke a prop shaft at noon on a new boat and motor
called seatow on radio they came from marker 37 towed us back to bird island
2 1/2 hours from the time he hooked up to us to bird island
FREEEEEE
i was amember my buddy wasnt so they honored my membership and it wasnt my boat

must be new owners b/c them guys were great checking are status every 15 minutes:brew2:


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Hobiecat said:


> Update-
> I posted this morning when I got back to Houston but somehow it didn't go through.
> First off, I am a member of SeaTow. They were my second call since I have several duck hunting buddies. SeaTow asked if I was a member and for my position. After SeaTow reviewed my position he told me that I was outside of a navigatable channel and they could not provide assistance. I was told further that their vessel requires a minimum of 3' draft for approach. He also told me that I needed a recovery or salvage operation and that was not covered by SeaTow. I contacted an airboat operator who came from Port A and was on site within an hour. Within no more than 10 minutes including attachment of a tow line I was back in business. The air boat Captain told me that if I had been a member of another tow operation that I would have just signed a invoice that would have been billed and paid for by the OTHER tow assistance operation with no out of pocket expense to me.
> Needless to say let my experience help those boater who have not selected a tow service provider. If you have already made a selection I hope your experience is better than mine when you need the assistance. I called and gave my scenario to the OTHER provider as a what if situation. They immediately said that " if we can't assist you we will hire a service to provide the necessary help"
> ...


I was under the impression that if SeaTow could not get to you they would pay someone who could. If it was to shallow for there boat they should pay the airboat invoice that did come to your help. Sounds like I may need to take a closer look also. Do not think I will ever ground in a navigatable channel and when I break down in a navigatable channel I will let myself drift out of it to keep from getting ran over.

thanks for posting your experience


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## Capt. Billy (Mar 6, 2010)

Jolly Roger said:


> I was under the impression that if SeaTow could not get to you they would pay someone who could. If it was to shallow for there boat they should pay the airboat invoice that did come to your help. Sounds like I may need to take a closer look also. Do not think I will ever ground in a navigatable channel and when I break down in a navigatable channel I will let myself drift out of it to keep from getting ran over.
> 
> thanks for posting your experience


You are right we will pay up to $5000 per incident to someone that can help.

I don't know anything about the incident with the airboat vs. a salvage, but something about it doesn't add up.


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## [email protected] (Dec 11, 2008)

Most of the people that cuss and shoot the bird at the airboat captains seam to forget that they are the only ones at times that can get you out of an aground situation. Been there done that, and have been the captain of the airboat.


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## capt. david (Dec 29, 2004)

i will say this that i have never seen or witnessed capt. billy take advatage of a situation or person. in fact if anything he goes way beyond sometimes imo! lol i am not on a boat that much anymore but still answer the phone and answer questions on our memberships. i know nothing about the operation in CC.


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## Captwk (Mar 21, 2006)

Hobiecat said:


> Update-
> I posted this morning when I got back to Houston but somehow it didn't go through.
> First off, I am a member of SeaTow. They were my second call since I have several duck hunting buddies. SeaTow asked if I was a member and for my position. After SeaTow reviewed my position he told me that I was outside of a navigatable channel and they could not provide assistance. I was told further that their vessel requires a minimum of 3' draft for approach. He also told me that I needed a recovery or salvage operation and that was not covered by SeaTow. I contacted an airboat operator who came from Port A and was on site within an hour. Within no more than 10 minutes including attachment of a tow line I was back in business. The air boat Captain told me that if I had been a member of another tow operation that I would have just signed a invoice that would have been billed and paid for by the OTHER tow assistance operation with no out of pocket expense to me.
> Needless to say let my experience help those boater who have not selected a tow service provider. If you have already made a selection I hope your experience is better than mine when you need the assistance. I called and gave my scenario to the OTHER provider as a what if situation. They immediately said that " if we can't assist you we will hire a service to provide the necessary help"
> ...


I don't blame you for ranting. I understand that one of the local towing company only operates one boat in that area? Wonder if that's why they couldn't help you. If all they run is a boat that needs 3' of draft in Corpus area that's a problem. Where the water is both deep and shallow one would think they would operate several boats, a shallow and deep water boat. Can I ask how long of a tow line the airboat had to run? And how far away was there 3' of water from your grounded location? I know most SeaTow boats carry long towing ropes.


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## fishing-guru (Feb 2, 2011)

A few years ago I went fishing with my uncle behind SLP in the flats when a seadoo jet boat flew 30mph onto a sanbar. The boat stopped and tilted on its side. Wasted 3-4hrs to get him back in the water. Thanks to him the biggest thing we caught was a 13in. whiting.


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## Captwk (Mar 21, 2006)

After 35 plus years on the water, being on all types of vessels, towing, freight, liquid cargo etc. Here are some questions I would ask:

1 - Ask to see or get all the information on the towing companies fleet. This will help you decide if they are going to be able to service your needs.

2 - If it's in the shallows or flats ask if they have a vessel capable to servicing those areas, or one large enough to go offshore.

3 - How many vessels are in service at any given time. Having a fleet where only one boat operates is not providing the service you are paying for. I would make it a point to go see the fleet in person. 

I have dealt with commercial towing companies claiming they have numerous tugs, all with bollard pull ratings of 7000hp or 9000hp or more. When they show up to the job location and we ask for documents to verify these ratings, its here where the numbers get fuzzy. While most companies provide these documents you would be surprised how many fudge their ratings just to get the job. I know I'm comparing apples to oranges here but the fact is you are paying for a service. Get what you pay for.

I understand being aground in inches of water is a tuff recovery. But having equipment that can handle these situations would be a must in the shallow water environments of Corpus. Only having vessels that require 3' of draft is great for offshore or in the main channels. If this is where you boat mostly buy a service that covers these areas. But buying one and thinking it covers you in the shallows or flats, you see what happened. Sorry for your bad luck Hobie. There are good towing companies out there. Don't let one bad apple ruin the good ones.


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## Capt Jason (Jun 5, 2012)

*Let's make sure we have all the facts!*

Everyone seems to be bashing the operations of Corpus Christi. I am a Capt for the towing company in question, and know for a fact that we do bend over backwards for members and non-members. The facts concerning the situation at pita island have been distorted. The customer was 1 mile from any water deeper than 1-2 ft. with no navigable channel and oh, yes let's not forget behind an island. Please let's make sure you have all the facts before coming to any conclusions.


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## Capt Jason (Jun 5, 2012)

*Airboat*

Has anyone asked how Hobie cat got the number for the airboat contractor in the first place? We gave it to him and monitored the whole situation and followed up with him to make sure he was taken care of. I'ts amazing that we did everything we could to make sure that Mr. Hobie cat got back to the dock safely and this is our reward. Oh by the way, the other company doesn't have an airboat either. In my experience, there are very few calls in a years time that would require the specific use of an airboat. We handle 99% of our calls with satisfied customers with the equipment that we have. Which is by the way more than one towboat.


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Capt Jason said:


> Everyone seems to be bashing the operations of Corpus Christi. I am a Capt for the towing company in question, and know for a fact that we do bend over backwards for members and non-members. The facts concerning the situation at pita island have been distorted. The customer was 1 mile from any water deeper than 1-2 ft. with no navigable channel and oh, yes let's not forget behind an island. Please let's make sure you have all the facts before coming to any conclusions.


I would expect you to contact the Air boat for him, and for Sea Tow to pay for the Air boat services. When paying for Towing insurance should get more then a phone directory.


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## Captwk (Mar 21, 2006)

I did ask Hobie to explain the details. He hasn't responded yet. I didn't know which company it was. Boating friends from San Antonio/Canyon Lake area heard about this and passed it on to me.


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Captwk said:


> I did ask Hobie to explain the details. He hasn't responded yet. I didn't know which company it was. Boating friends from San Antonio/Canyon Lake area heard about this and passed it on to me.


Might want to read all the post in this thread. He explained all the details, and named the towing company.


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## Captwk (Mar 21, 2006)

My post here was only to help boaters make a educated decision when buying a service.


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Captwk said:


> My post here was only to help boaters make a educated decision when buying a service.


Not hard in this case. He was a paying member of Sea Tow. Needed help from Sea Tow, all they did was give him a phone number to someone else.

I am a paying member of Sea Tow, have been for several years. Can only hope the people running sea tow in my area do not operate the same as the Sea Tow that left one of there members high and dry.


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## Capt. Billy (Mar 6, 2010)

Jolly Roger said:


> Not hard in this case. He was a paying member of Sea Tow. Needed help from Sea Tow, all they did was give him a phone number to someone else.
> 
> I am a paying member of Sea Tow, have been for several years. Can only hope the people running sea tow in my area do not operate the same as the Sea Tow that left one of there members high and dry.


I have been trying to stay away from this thread, but Jolly you know I'll come get you. I think I have twice if I'm not mistaken.

In a case like the guy aground we would use our 24ft Skiff with 1200ft of rope and if I can't get you out with ours we call the airboat(haven't had to since I bought the Skiff). Not uncommon in other areas especially Sea Tow New Orleans or Sea Tow Central Florida who uses Prodrives. Again we are all different owners with different operations, but we share the same name. Its the same for all tow services, billing and salvage are handled completely different from one area to another. It really should be consistent and transparent, but whose to say what someones services are worth. They are only worth what a buyer is willing to pay. All I can say is when dealing with any tow service is read and ask alot of questions. If you don't like the charges call someone else.


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Capt. Billy said:


> I have been trying to stay away from this thread, but Jolly you know I'll come get you. I think I have twice if I'm not mistaken.
> 
> In a case like the guy aground we would use our 24ft Skiff with 1200ft of rope and if I can't get you out with ours we call the airboat. Not uncommon in other areas especially Sea Tow New Orleans or Sea Tow Central Florida who uses Prodrives. Again we are all different owners with different operations, but we share the same name. Its the same for all tow services, billing and salvage are handled completely different from one area to another. It really should be consistent and transparent, but one against many is not great odds.


You came an got me once, and I thank you for that. Saved me a lot of headache and having to rig up some kind of steering device.

I have seen you going far and beyond to help people, and I have complete faith your actions would have been different if the OP had you to call. Nothing I said was meant toward you, I should have done a better job of pointing that out. Have nothing but praise for how you conduct yourself and Sea Tow in Galveston.


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## stammster - temporary (Jul 20, 2009)

My Progressive insurance policy include $2000 towing service for $30 per year. With this, I see no real reason for selecting a towing service. I'll call, and whoever tells me they can get there first gets the work...and Progressive can sort it out later. Seems like a win-win.


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## Capt Jason (Jun 5, 2012)

*Membership Program*



Jolly Roger said:


> I would expect you to contact the Air boat for him, and for Sea Tow to pay for the Air boat services. When paying for Towing insurance should get more then a phone directory.


I have to correct you here. Neither us nor our competion provide towing insurance as you say. We provide member benefits. Sea Tow membership benefits include: Unlimited free towing, fuel drops, prop disentanglement non-diver, soft ungroundings, multiple area towing, and dock-to-dock towing for any vessel the member owns, rents, leases, or borrows. These services are all free and unlimited to Sea Tow member's with no time or distance limits. This is all in our Membership agreement in plain English with no fine print which can be viewed on our websit (www.seatow.com). The key word here is "membership". Services outside of our covered member benefits can be claimed under the vessels marine insurance policy. Sea Tow membership does not equal vessel insurance. Sea Tow Services International does however offer a marine insurance policy under our Sea Insure program. This is not the same as our membership program. Again, all information can be viewed on our website. I hope this helps clearify some confusion or misconceptions.


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## stdreb27 (Aug 15, 2011)

Hobiecat said:


> Update-
> I posted this morning when I got back to Houston but somehow it didn't go through.
> First off, I am a member of SeaTow. They were my second call since I have several duck hunting buddies. SeaTow asked if I was a member and for my position. After SeaTow reviewed my position he told me that I was outside of a navigatable channel and they could not provide assistance. I was told further that their vessel requires a minimum of 3' draft for approach. He also told me that I needed a recovery or salvage operation and that was not covered by SeaTow. I contacted an airboat operator who came from Port A and was on site within an hour. Within no more than 10 minutes including attachment of a tow line I was back in business. The air boat Captain told me that if I had been a member of another tow operation that I would have just signed a invoice that would have been billed and paid for by the OTHER tow assistance operation with no out of pocket expense to me.
> Needless to say let my experience help those boater who have not selected a tow service provider. If you have already made a selection I hope your experience is better than mine when you need the assistance. I called and gave my scenario to the OTHER provider as a what if situation. They immediately said that " if we can't assist you we will hire a service to provide the necessary help"
> ...


Lol, even if you hadnt said corpus, I would have known exactly where you were at...

People who swear by the glory of the mom and pop, have never lived in corpus.


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## Guest (Jun 20, 2012)

Sea tow, and others, are simply prepaid salvors who have contracted away some of their maritime legal rights in return for membership dues.


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## Capt. Billy (Mar 6, 2010)

RipTide said:


> Sea tow, and others, are simply prepaid salvors who have contracted away some of their maritime legal rights in return for membership dues.


Very interesting comment. I would like to hear more....

I don't quite understand why I have to keep reading stuff like this. If you where to buy a new car/truck and you went to one dealership who treated you unfair and the salesman was rude. Then you go to another selling the same brand and treats you fair and reasonable enough for you to purchase it. Would you then get on the internet and start saying the brand of the car you bought is a POS? No, your going to talk about the specific dealer representing that brand.

Thanks for bashing mine and others livelihoods on an open forum.


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## Guest (Jun 21, 2012)

It's not a bash. It's an accurate legal characterization. 

I was responding to the person who compared sea tow to insurance. Although it is not insurance per SE, it is smart to have it. Also, if you (sea tow) render assistance to a non member, do you not have a lien on their vessel in the amount of your services, i.e. a salvor's lien? Could you also, if you chose to, have that vessel arrested and sold to satisfy that lien? The answer is yes. You are a prepaid salvor who does not have those rights against members of sea tow. On the other hand, you have a contractual obligation to render aid to those customers and not put a lien on their vessel (although I bet you could if your services exceeded a certain limit.). 

The benefit of having a service like sea tow is that they actually have insurance in case they damage your property or injure someone in the act of providing assistance. Some Joe blow who stops and is a nice guy probably does not. As I am sure you and your dad know about the maritime good-Samaritan doctrine, I dont need to go any further. I probably should have said more in my original post, but didn't.

Brgds


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## micklitz (Apr 1, 2011)

RipTide said:


> It's not a bash. It's an accurate legal characterization.
> 
> I was responding to the person who compared sea tow to insurance. Although it is not insurance per SE, it is smart to have it. Also, if you (sea tow) render assistance to a non member, do you not have a lien on their vessel in the amount of your services, i.e. a salvor's lien? Could you also, if you chose to, have that vessel arrested and sold to satisfy that lien? The answer is yes. You are a prepaid salvor who does not have those rights against members of sea tow. On the other hand, you have a contractual obligation to render aid to those customers and not put a lien on their vessel (although I bet you could if your services exceeded a certain limit.).
> 
> ...


I never knew this.

Is this accurate?


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## Guest (Jun 21, 2012)

Actually, if the Capt of the rescue boat decides the boat is in peril and you are a member of sea tow, they can ask you to sign a Lloyds salvage form or US Salvage form that gives them a lien even if you are a member. This is all on their site. I am surprised they didn't make the guy who got stuck behind the island do this, because it was obviously more than just a soft grounding.

The problem is with unscrupulous Captains who determine that everything is salvage and hold the boater hostage until they sign the salvage form. More common in larger more valuable yachts, because the risk of damage is greater.

Btw, I wasn't bashing sea tow, you are always better off having someone who has equipment and knowledge help than someone who does not. I don't know if I would want to be near that 1200' line under tension though, no matter who is at the conn of the rescue boat.


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## Capt. Billy (Mar 6, 2010)

It sounds like you have done some research on Admiralty Laws and Salvage, but I can tell you from hearing other companies experiences trying to claim Salvage in the state of Texas or Texas waters is not worth it. Even more I agree with you that what is called salvage by other companies like mine are not. Mostly what we do is called a recovery billed out with what time and materials we use to do the recovery. Needless to say that is why most insurance companies now call on us. Within my business we use these determining factors and those factors have never come into play in our two and half years of operation. 

1) The boat must be in immediate peril. 
2) The efforts to save the boat and crew must be entirely voluntary.
3) Life, environment, and property saving efforts must be successful.
4) The degree of risk weighs heavily in the reward amount of an attempted salvage.


Also our towline is a specific line designed for what we do, that is if the towing company chooses to use it. The line will not snap back and has very little stretch. We broke one twice the other night pulling a 66ft boat off the side of ICW and it falls straight down. You also want to be very careful with anyone trying to unground your vessel and they are using anything metal for attachment.


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## Justin_Time (Jan 29, 2008)

Capt Jason said:


> Has anyone asked how Hobie cat got the number for the airboat contractor in the first place? We gave it to him and monitored the whole situation and followed up with him to make sure he was taken care of. I'ts amazing that we did everything we could to make sure that Mr. Hobie cat got back to the dock safely and this is our reward. Oh by the way, the other company doesn't have an airboat either. In my experience, there are very few calls in a years time that would require the specific use of an airboat. We handle 99% of our calls with satisfied customers with the equipment that we have. Which is by the way more than one towboat.


According to Capt. David, they pay up to 5K per incident regardless of who does the work. Why didn't you pay the airboat operator in this situation? Just curious....


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