Towing or being towed on the water

[Tips Up]

As I get older I get more cautious and am better prepared for the unexpected.
Knock wood... I have never had to be towed or had to tow another boat off the water.

Being towed. My thoughts are in a situation where I need to be towed I would use my halibut bow to stern line which is always hooked up on my boat. Front is connected to D ring and back is easy for me to untie and pass to another boat if required.
Is this a good thought?

Towing. I should keep enough rope on board to build a quick bridle and extra rope to add length if required.
How much rope? What type of rope?

Being a smaller boat I don't want extra clutter but thinking I can put a kit up under the bow storage for piece of mind.

I do recognize the risks involved in towing and best to call a professional service but when time does not allow or no service near by I want to be prepared.

Anyone with experience here?

Thanks!

 

[agentaqua]

Well, for short distances & calmish water - one can get away with small gear/rope. For longer distances (say 2+nm) and/or rougher waters (+4 ft swells) & larger/heavier boats (over ~2000lbs) - a bit more planning & equipment is required.

I would recommend to everyone that has a larger boat that they may anchor up for the nite verses pulling it up - to get oneself a long (+200 ft) and thicker (+1/2" - 3/4" best) line that can double as either a tow line and/or a beach line - and keep it coiled & ready onboard - along with a smaller stern anchor. Any construction will do - but I like braided nylon - it is easy to use - unlike poly.

Some boats have decent enuff cleats/tow bars for towing another boat behind them- some do not. Most boats have inadequate cleats on the bow for being towed long distances in heavy seas.

So both on the front end of the boat being towed; and on the back end of the boat towing - you will need some kind of a bridle. The bridle on the towed boat typically spreads the load to 3 cleats on the bow - and maybe even around the hull. The bridle on the towing boat is typically used to keep the engines from damage and allow the tow boat to increase speed (to often 4-7 kts) & allow turning ability w/o jamming the engines up.

Sometimes you have to figure out a temporary tow to 1st get a boat off a beach or out of heavy waves and into a cove or around a point before you can fine-tune and adjust the bridles & tow line for the longer tow back to port.

If you do a Google search - you should find pics/diagrams of the situations & bridles I described.

 

[CIVANO]

this is old and the link is no longer there. It influenced me to order a tow rope that fits in a 5 gallon bucket. I have towed twice and loaned it on the water twice. I scanned it and attached below. The 5 gallon bucket has a tight lid on it and I have just pitched the bucket overboard and the borrowing tow boat nets it and brings it in.

 

[Max123]

Couple of notes based on my experience towing a few pleasure craft on Pitt Lake (mostly my FIL, who can't seem to keep his carbs clean), and being towed once myself. Advice is for freshwater with waves less than 2ft and winds less than 15mph. Keep a good knife on you - I have a Petzl climbers knife which can be opened with one hand and is basically designed for cutting ropes in an emergency.

1) There was a previous post about towing speed. You tow at hull speed for the vessel under tow. That means, if your boat is 30' long and you are towing someone with a 14ft boat, your hull speed is double the little boat behind you. Boats become unstable if they are towed at great than hull speed. Take it slow

2) Making up a tow bridle on the water is kind of wishful thinking for most of us - unless you are an ex-longshoreman and a wizard with knots. Just buy a cheap tow bridle for towing tubes/inflatables (not the ones with the centring pulley). Also you can buy a heavy duty inflatable tow rope (60ft- floating line, or buy two and link them together for 120ft). Don't buy waterski hardware - the ropes/harness for tubing are rated for a much higher load. I looked on amazon and the whole setup is about cost $75. When you tow, clip it to the transom D rings. Throw the whole setup, including a few heavy duty carabiners/shackles in a locker - its also great to have as a shore line if needed.

A 60ft tow rope is too short for towing anything beyond a small pleasure boat for a short distance. That said, I'd be unwilling to tow anything more than a few km and definitely nothing bigger than me.

One question to anyone else out there: for the vessel being towed, do you guys prefer to clip it to the D ring on the bow (used for your trailer winch strap), or tie it to the bow cleat with a hitch. The advantage of the hitch is that it can be easily untied if needed, but its higher up which may not be ideal for tow stability. I've done it both ways, but not sure which one is right.

 

[agentaqua]

1) There was a previous post about towing speed. You tow at hull speed for the vessel under tow. That means, if your boat is 30' long and you are towing someone with a 14ft boat, your hull speed is double the little boat behind you. Boats become unstable if they are towed at great than hull speed. Take it slow

Wrt towing planning boats - you likely will only be able to tow @ 4-7 kts - not enuff to pull it up on plane behind you. Things get dicey even @ 7kts. Slow is all you can do.

2) Making up a tow bridle on the water is kind of wishful thinking for most of us - unless you are an ex-longshoreman and a wizard with knots. Just buy a cheap tow bridle for towing tubes/inflatables (not the ones with the centring pulley). Also you can buy a heavy duty inflatable tow rope (60ft- floating line, or buy two and link them together for 120ft). Don't buy waterski hardware - the ropes/harness for tubing are rated for a much higher load. I looked on amazon and the whole setup is about cost $75. When you tow, clip it to the transom D rings. Throw the whole setup, including a few heavy duty carabiners/shackles in a locker - its also great to have as a shore line if needed.

Well, a good idea to have a bridle already made-up - agreed. But no - it's not hard to adapt a line into a bridle, neither. Easiest if you have some extra hardware like an extra shackle - but you can still make an eye in the main tow rope that is 10-20ft behind you engines and tie that end to one cleat - & then run another different (mooring?) line to that loop from the yet unattached tow cleat. It you loop/double up that line back to the cleat - you can ease it out until it equals the length of the main line and snugg it up when starting the tow and it keeps the tow centered behind you.

One question to anyone else out there: for the vessel being towed, do you guys prefer to clip it to the D ring on the bow (used for your trailer winch strap), or tie it to the bow cleat with a hitch. The advantage of the hitch is that it can be easily untied if needed, but its higher up which may not be ideal for tow stability. I've done it both ways, but not sure which one is right.

The lower the better - always. But... you may have limited options and are instead forced to use the one high on the bow because not everyone has a D ring - or it is too rough to clip on the D ring on the bow. Towing from the deck on top of the bow will drive the bow down into the waves - if that is the case. But maybe tow the boat 1st into a sheltered cover or around a point and get reset towing from the D ring, if that is the case.

 

[Tips Up]

The lower the better - always. But... you may have limited options and are instead forced to use the one high on the bow because not everyone has a D ring - or it is too rough to clip on the D ring on the bow. Towing from the deck on top of the bow will drive the bow down into the waves - if that is the case. But maybe tow the boat 1st into a sheltered cover or around a point and get reset towing from the D ring, if that is the case.

This is why I was thinking my Bow to Stern line would work best. It is already connect to the bow D ring. The other end is on a back cleat and easy to access. With my 17 ft DE, climbing to the bow is not a great option while on the water.
So D Ring works well?

Also being the smaller boat it is more likely to be towed than to tow someone unless it was extreme situation and short term until a more suited vessel can assist. But I don't want to be the guy needing a tow and having to ask to borrow some rope from the vessel kind enough to help me so I want to be prepared.

 

[agentaqua]

This is why I was thinking my Bow to Stern line would work best. It is already connect to the bow D ring. The other end is on a back cleat and easy to access. With my 17 ft DE, climbing to the bow is not a great option while on the water.
So D Ring works well?

Also being the smaller boat it is more likely to be towed than to tow someone unless it was extreme situation and short term until a more suited vessel can assist. But I don't want to be the guy needing a tow and having to ask to borrow some rope from the vessel kind enough to help me so I want to be prepared.

Excellent prep & thread, TU. Assuming your boat is in good shape & the D ring attachment to the hull - the D ring should be built to withstand ~ ~double the overall weight of your boat. But as always - start off towing slow and gradually work up to a safe speed. Not slam down the throttle from the tow boat as soon as you are hooked-up. As you creep-up in speed - you will get to a point where you both will say: "Ya, that's enuff" - typically somewhere between 4-7 kts.

Ongoing radio communication is key and critical - both before, during and at the end of the tow. Sometimes you have to tow out and around a rough patch of water or a point before you can get back to calmer & safer waters. At the end of the tow - most find it easiest to reposition the tow alongside in order to dock the disabled boat.

 

[CIVANO]

In medium and bigger swells getting the tow and towed on step with each other is a challange.

 

[agentaqua]

In medium and bigger swells getting the tow and towed on step with each other is a challange.

that's when/where a longer tow line comes in- along with changing speed and/or tow direction.