{"id":11846,"date":"2016-09-08T08:48:03","date_gmt":"2016-09-08T12:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/raritaneng.com\/?p=11846"},"modified":"2016-09-08T08:48:03","modified_gmt":"2016-09-08T12:48:03","slug":"marine-heads-analysts-make-towing-your-boat-safely-look-easy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raritaneng.com\/blog\/marine-heads-analysts-make-towing-your-boat-safely-look-easy\/","title":{"rendered":"Marine Heads Analysts Make Towing Your Boat Safely Look Easy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OPX6PyWus1s\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h1><strong>Your Marine Heads Professionals Give You the Power to Help Others<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/raritaneng.com\/\">Raritan Engineering Company<\/a>\u00a0would like to share with you this week these tips on how to make towing your boat safely look easy and on marine heads.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>You\u2019re on your way home, feeling the last warmth of the sun as it kisses the horizon, when the cellphone rings. A buddy, with his wife and three kids aboard, can\u2019t get his motor started, and there isn\u2019t a commercial towing vessel nearby.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Boat and Gear Limitations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Your cleats and lines may not be the floating, low-stretch lines and generously backed hardware found aboard towing vessels. Your alternative will be a strong, long anchor line to tow with and a pair of dock lines for a bridle (see illustration below). \u201cNylon line stretches more than half its length,\u201d warns Capt. Clayton Tieman of TowBoatUS in Tampa Bay, Florida.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>While they vary between states, good Samaritan laws mitigate liability, provided you\u2019re not outright negligent and you don\u2019t take money, fuel reimbursement, football tickets, or even a drink at the marina bar.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Federal Code 46-2304<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A master or individual in charge of a vessel shall render assistance to any individual found at sea in danger of being lost, so far as the master or individual in charge can do so without serious danger to the master or individual\u2019s vessel or individuals on\u00a0board.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf there is no emergency, don\u2019t make one,\u201d says Capt. Terry Hill of TowBoatUS in Potomac, Virginia. To buy time, anchor the disabled vessel. \u201cMake a 360 around the boat and size up the situation, then back off and make a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/raritaneng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/1849032151_2613-3422-image.jpg\" alt=\"Marine Heads Analysts Make Towing Your Boat Safely Look Easy\" width=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Your Marine Heads Experts Show the Best Approach to Towing Safely<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Your <a href=\"http:\/\/raritaneng.com\/raritan-product-line\/marine-toilets\/phc\/\">marine heads<\/a>\u00a0specialists know that once the towing line is passed, maintain a safe distance while it\u2019s secured. \u201cTake up the towline slack very, very slowly. Just bump it in and out of gear,\u201d Hill says, \u201cand never, ever back down with that towline behind you.\u201d\u00a0Ungrounding tests professional towing skippers and their gear beyond the limits aboard recreational boats.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Underway<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cTypical anchor lines are 100 or 150 feet,\u201d Hill says. \u201cThat\u2019s about the distance you want between boats for shock absorbency and safety in ideal conditions.\u201d In close quarters, halve that towing distance.<\/p>\n<p>Pass the eye splices in a pair of dock lines from the stern cleats through trailer tie-down eyes so you can adjust length at the stern cleats \u2014 a short bridle while maneuvering but a long one for straight-line towing.<\/p>\n<p>A 45-minute cruise home at 30\u00a0mph becomes four or five hours when towing another vessel. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to get yourself back home too. Are you going to have enough daylight and enough fuel?\u201d Tieman asks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Endgame<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor everyone, professional towers or good Samaritans, the highest anxiety occurs right near the dock,\u201d Hill says. Approach a wide-open dock with your bow into the wind or current, if possible. Tie off your boat, and then bring the towed vessel in by hand.<\/p>\n<p>Just because you could tow, doesn\u2019t mean you should. \u201cYou\u2019ve\u00a0got to know your limitations,\u201d LeBlanc says. \u201cYou\u2019ve been out in the sun all day. You\u2019re tired, hungry,\u201d Tieman adds.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Options Instead of Towing<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Federal law mandates that commercial and recreational boaters help anyone \u201cat sea in danger of being lost, so far as the master or individual in charge can do so without serious danger to [\u2026] the vessel or individuals on board.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tow a short distance to a safer location, anchor the boat, and take everyone aboard your boat. Just check your boat\u2019s capacity and bring along extra life jackets.<\/li>\n<li>On lakes without commercial towing vessels, check with BoatUS 24\/7 dispatch (800-391-4869) or local law enforcement. This isn\u2019t the first breakdown on that lake, and they\u2019ll know whom to call.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Visit us at <a href=\"http:\/\/raritaneng.com\/\">http:\/\/raritaneng.com\/<\/a>\u00a0and see how Raritan Engineering Company always has more information on marine heads and on how to make towing your boat safely look easy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>via <a href=\"http:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/rendering-aid-how-to-safely-tow-other-boats?dom=rss-default&amp;src=syn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rendering Aid: How to Safely Tow Other Boats<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marine Heads Analysts Make Towing Your Boat Safely Look Easy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[60],"class_list":{"0":"post-11846","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-marine-toilets","7":"tag-marine-heads"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raritaneng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raritaneng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raritaneng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raritaneng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raritaneng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.raritaneng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11846\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raritaneng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raritaneng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raritaneng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}