The Boat Choices of TowBoatUS Captains

Travel enough by boat, and you’ll notice that commercial fishermen in a geographic region have similar boats that are well-suited to targeted species, fishing methods, and local waters. Head down the coast 100 miles, though, and those boats change, sometimes markedly.

TowBoatUS captains all target the same catch—broken-down boaters needing a battery jump, extra fuel, a nudge from a sandbar, or a tow home. Their methods are standardized as well, yet their boats are often quite different. I asked three TowBoatUS operators, in three very different environments, why they chose specific boats and features. Their answers have value to every boater and just might influence your next boat purchase. 

Skinny Water: 24-foot Zodiac Hurricane 733 RIB

An “old conch”—a moniker taken by multigenerational fishermen in the Florida Keys and southwest Florida—once told me: “There’s plenty of water in those bays; it’s just real, real thin.” Commercial trap and net fleets in that region are built for shallow-water operation, while many recreational boats are designed to stay within notoriously narrow, shifty, long channels cut through the flats.

It’s no surprise, then, that Capt. Todd Dillman, who provides ­TowBoatUS services in the shallow bays near Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands, chose his Zodiac RIB (rigid-hull inflatable boat) partly for its draft. “It zips around in just under a foot of water on plane, but it has no problem towing a 60-foot boat,” Dillman says. Maneuverability is also key. “We have a lot of small, tight canals, and it turns on a dime.”

Fuel capacity covers the 70-mile trip south to Cape Sable, plus the tow back. “Even with 150 ­gallons of fuel down in the belly, it still drafts less than a foot, and it definitely helps the ride adding that weight down low.” The RIB’s V-bottom and buoyancy collar take the edge off the frequent wintertime 4- to 6-foot short chop. In fact, Dillman prefers the ride of the Zodiac’s air-filled tubes versus the hybrid foam-and-air collar of his other boat, a 27-foot Dauntless from SeaArk Marine. “The foam offers better protection from nails and things,” he says, “but air tubes definitely provide more shock absorbency to smooth out the ride.”

RIB tubes encroach on interior volume and storage space, but the Zodiac carries an anchor, salvage gear, and dewatering pumps in a custom-built box in the bow; ­battery jumper packs within the center console; plus safety equipment, lines, and dive gear in the large aft leaning post.

Big Water: 32-foot Silverships AM800 With Hybrid Foam-and-Air Collar

“In the summer, when the bluefin are biting, some fishing boats fish 100 miles offshore,” says Capt. Mike Del Grande, whose home port is Long Beach, California. Currents that attract fish also make seas turbulent. “I have to have a boat that can go 100 miles offshore comfortably, but have the speed and agility to do short tows as well,” he says.

His Silver Ships deep-V hull, with its D-shaped foam-and-air hybrid buoyancy collar, offers the seakindliness of a RIB while maintaining the hull’s 8-foot working width. Twin 300 hp outboards reach 53 mph. “That boat gets us to the calls fast, and does it safely,” he says, and he finds the thick, hand-welded aluminum hull “virtually indestructible.”

Even with 200 gallons of fuel aboard, the buoyancy collar sits above the waterline. Soft foam with nonmarring rub strakes eliminates fenders, while a 4-inch-diameter air tube stiffens the foam and adds buoyancy. “The foam is 6 inches thick in places. I can put that collar up against anything, and we’re not going to lose air.”

This is Del Grande’s second Silver Ships, which is wider than his first by a foot. “Those 100-mile tows are longer than 12 hours, so we need two people, legally,” he says. That extra beam accommodates a larger pilothouse, with room for a bunk and large beanbag chair for rest, while Shoxs air-suspension seats mitigate fatigue and prevent injuries. “It keeps us working longer during the day, and also later in life.” The forward-canting windshield reduces nighttime glare from dash lights and minimizes ­windshield spray.

 A 16,000-gallon-per-hour gas-powered dewatering pump is plumbed into a 25-foot intake hose that extends from the stern, and a winch atop the bow towing bitts snugs side-tow lines. Perhaps the boat’s most interesting feature, though, is a 40-gallon livewell, which is a great addition to help the crew pass the downtime. “The guys are able to fish [offshore] and listen to the radio,” Del Grande explains. “If we get a call offshore, having that bait tank cuts response time in half.”

Fresh Water: 25-foot Boston Whaler Frontier

Lake Texoma, north of Dallas on the border of Texas and Oklahoma, ranks among the largest reservoirs in the US. Dozens of boat ramps and 4,000 marina slips ensure that TowBoatUS owner Capt. Mike Tucker catches assistance calls year-round. “It might be 110-degree days in the summer or 17 degrees in the winter,” he says, so his fleet is split between center-console and pilothouse boats. “With the pilothouse, you lose visibility and flexibility, but having the protection makes a big difference from November through February. 

“Boston Whalers are tough as nails and can handle the chop,” Tucker continues. “They’re foam-filled and unsinkable. The fiberglass is really strong. We know that when we are putting a boat in a precarious place, we can trust it.” His Frontier’s large aft deck is particularly helpful. “It gives us working room for dealing with towing hawsers or for hauling equipment out to a salvage job.” 

Lake Texoma adds first-­responder duties to Tucker’s TowBoatUS fleet. “There is no Coast Guard presence on the lake,” he says. “There are seven different [law-enforcement] agencies, and most don’t have vessels in the water all the time. Anytime there is a sinking or fire or search-and-rescue, we are activated by the wardens, the game officers, or the sheriff.” His boats have firefighting pumps, hoses and nozzles, and that extra deck space accommodates local firefighters. “In a marina fire, with multiple vessels burning, we’re pulling boats out and taking them to shore so they don’t sink in deep water.” Captains are also trained and boats equipped to ­administer advanced first-aid.

Tucker rounds out his fleet with a 19-foot Boston Whaler Justice, which can be trailered anywhere along the 30 miles of Lake Texoma and launched even at really tight boat ramps.

Center-Console vs. Pilothouse

In southwest Florida, Dillman prefers center-consoles. “Lines are really accessible. We can get a boat started in a slip and untie it quickly,” he says. Weather protection isn’t paramount. “In the afternoon thunderstorms, we get a little wet in that sideways rain for an hour or two, but then it’s back to sunny and hot for the rest of the day.”

Off Southern California, all three of Del Grande’s boats offer hard protection from chilly seawater and cold nights. “It can be glassy and beautiful in the morning, then in the afternoon, it might be blowing 20 knots out of the west, with 3- to 5-foot seas,” he says. “Being able to close that windward-side door hugely contributes to crew morale. No one likes being wet and cold.”

With both pilothouse and center-console boats, Tucker says that it’s really mission-based. “The center-console offers a ­360-degree platform where I can get all around the boat, with good visibility all the way around, and a ­T-top provides shade and protection from the weather,” he explains. A pilothouse, on the other hand, adds protection from cold and also thunderstorms in Tornado Alley. “It can be beautiful, sunny and warm, and then 20 minutes later, it’s blowing 50 and dumping rain,” he adds.

Read Next: Rendering Aid: How to Safely Tow Other Boats

Electronics

Off Long Beach, Del Grande chose twin 12-inch Garmin displays, in part for the dual-radar function. “That gives me two different distances—one at 2 miles and one at a half-mile, so I know I’m seeing everything.” He also relies on Garmin’s bottom sounder as well as the side-scan feature. Gyrostabilized FLIR helps at night. “When we’re in the middle of a bunch of radar spots, we do a 360 with the FLIR,” he says, to identify his target. “That saves us a lot of time.”

Communications comes through two Icom marine VHF radios, two radios for commercial offshore single-sideband ­traffic, and a fifth that monitors area ­police, lifeguard, and firefighter frequencies. “When someone calls 911, and our local area emergency responders get there and determine it’s a non-emergency, [that’s when] they call us,” he says. “By monitoring those channels, we can respond right away.”

Tucker prefers Raymarine, in part for the search-and-rescue ­patterns built into their plotters, which help in his first-responder role. “We run either two 9-inch or one 12-inch screen for the plotter and sonar,” he reveals. “The 3D ­sonar is best for what we do. It gives a clearer picture of a sunken vessel or a lost motor.”

Two Standard Horizon VHFs provide communication mostly within his fleet, with integrated hailers handling short-range communication. “Nobody uses VHF here anymore. It’s all cellphone,” he says, even though boaters should really have at least a handheld on board at all times. Tucker’s boats also carry radios specifically for firefighting.

In southwest Florida, Dillman’s captains rely on Garmin plotters and sounders, along with a pair of Icom VHF radios.

Engines and Controls

“Twins have more torque for pulling,” Tucker says. “Maneuverability comes into play getting large boats into tight places, putting a boat on a trailer, or pushing it into a slip.” ­­Four-blade stainless-steel props bite the water better to enhance pulling power and maneuverability.

“When we’re towing, our fuel-burn rate is better with two ­motors at lower rpm,” Dillman adds, but he particularly appreciates his twin 150 hp Suzuki ­outboard’s digital controls. “It’s very easy to go in and out of gear and throttle up a bit with one hand. They’re easier to rig, and there are no
adjustment issues,” he says.

Tucker is switching from ­Tohatsu to Suzuki outboards, also largely for their electronic controls. “Shift and throttle cables get harder to control over time. We change them out every two years, at most. Digital controls ­eliminate that point of failure.”

Del Grande opted for twin 300 hp Mercury outboards mounted on the boat’s transom bracket. “I like the Suzuki outboards, but they are V-6s. The SeaPro Mercury V-8 Verado is designed for commercial applications. They’re basically detuned, maxing out at 5,200 rpm. A lot of the components are stainless, not aluminum. I’m converting all of our boats over the next few years.”

The wider transom on his newest Silver Ships spaces those engines about 6 inches farther apart. This, combined with Mercury’s 1.75-to-1 gear ratio, improves handling. “Even with the outboards as far aft as they are, the boat spins on a dime.” Mercury’s electronic controls simplified adding a shift-and-throttle control near the aft towing bitts.

From Santa Catalina Island to the shoals of southwest Florida, stranded boats require similar assistance. What’s interesting is how local towing operators choose boats and features for conditions they face, not recent boat-show trends. Perhaps that’s a lesson for recreational boaters as well.

The post The Boat Choices of TowBoatUS Captains appeared first on Boating Mag.

Source: https://www.boatingmag.com/boats/the-boat-choices-of-towboatus-captains/