Shopping for a tow/membership before I inevitably “test” a sandbar at low tide. Between BoatUS and Sea Tow, which one actually shows up before your snacks run out, and under what real-world conditions? Not looking for brochure poetry-give me the gritty, prop-fouled truth.
If you’ve used either (or both), can you weigh in on these specifics:
- Response time reality check: noon on a sunny Saturday vs midnight on a Tuesday in November. Actual minutes from call to line on cleat?
- Ungrounding vs towing vs “surprise, that’s salvage”: where did they draw the line, and what did it cost you after “membership included” turned into “second mortgage included”?
- Coverage weirdness: inland lakes, Great Lakes, ICW shoals, Keys weekends, Bahamas side trips. Any “you’re two boat lengths outside our box, good luck” moments?
- Sail vs power quirks: deep keel soft-grounding treatment, props wrapped in salad, outboard dead-as-a-doornail. Do they actually help troubleshoot or just hook and go?
- Towing destination semantics: your preferred yard vs “nearest safe harbor.” Who decides what’s “safe,” and did you get overruled?
- Weather and dark o’clock policies: small craft advisories, dense fog, sketchy inlets. Any refusals or big delays because Neptune was grumpy?
- App/comm reliability: does the app work with 0.3 bars and a prayer? Can you coordinate via text, DSC, or satellite messenger? Do they actively track your position or call you like a clingy ex every five minutes?
- Holiday weekend triage: did you get bumped behind the pontoon parade? Any priority differences between the two?
- Membership fine print: waiting periods, pre-existing “oops,” trailer assist usefulness, family/guest coverage, multiple-boat situations (does coverage follow the member or the hull?), pro-rated cancellations.
- Money-is-a-construct questions: annual price hikes, hidden fees, nighttime surcharges, “soft ungrounding” limits, and whether bundling with BoatUS insurance or West Marine perks has ever offset anything in reality.
- Local captain quality: professionalism, gear, willingness to bring fuel/spares/jump packs, and whether they know the local sandbars better than an osprey.
- Cooperation with USCG and marinas: do they coordinate nicely or play jurisdiction dodgeball? Any marina partnerships that translated into actual priority?
- Oddball scenarios: stuck anchor/windlass failure help, diver availability for line/weed on props, super skinny water extractions, bar crossing escorts.
If you had to pick one for each use case, which would you choose and why?
- Day-boater who occasionally pretends the fuel gauge is a suggestion
- Offshore fisherman 20-40 miles out who swears “the forecast said 1-2 feet”
- Great Loop slowpoke who treats every shoal like a meet-and-greet
- Sailboat with a deep fin keel and a magnetic attraction to uncharted “features”
Receipts welcome: ETAs, screenshots, invoices (redacted), membership tier used, and what you’d do differently next season. Help me choose a card to swipe before I have to learn admiralty law in a no-wake zone.