|
Sail-World.com : Top five reasons why boaters need a tow - and the rise of the battery
Top five reasons why boaters need a tow - and the rise of the battery
|
|
|
'This time it’s the UK’s RNLI towing the yacht'
.
|
BoatU.S., the Boat Owners' Associatioin of the United States, keep a great count of what they do. The result is statistics which tell a story that probably applies to the rest of the boating world. This time it's about why boaters - yachts and powerboats, need a tow. As many yachts cannot reach their mooring or dock without the help of their engine, yachts are well included in these numbers.
The BoatU.S. Towing Services, which operates a nationwide on-the-water recreational boat-towing program reports that over 65,000 requests for non-emergency assistance were received by its TowBoatU.S. and Vessel Assist towing fleet in 2009 -- an 8% increase over the previous year. 'The economy has led many boaters to skimp on routine maintenance, which always means more on-the-water breakdowns,' said BoatU.S. Vice President of Towing Services Jerry Cardarelli.
Formerly ranked fourth out of the top five reasons why boaters needed a tow, battery problems jumped to the 2 spot last year and totaled over 10,000 individual requests. The top five reasons why boaters called for on-the-water assistance in 2009 were:
1 General engine failures
2 Battery problems
3 Groundings
4 Out of fuel or fuel related problems
5 Propulsion system failures
'Boaters told us that they forgot to monitor their battery's charge level, delayed replacing a poorly-performing battery, or substituted a less expensive starting battery when a deep-cycle was needed,' said Cardarelli. 'And some boaters simply drained their batteries by running sound systems, refrigerators, and fans,' he added.
Advice? Watch your Battery This Summer. (See recent Sail-World Cruising story
'For the 2010 season, we suggest boaters should be vigilant about battery charge levels and basic maintenance such as cleaning or replacing corroded wiring,' said Cardarelli. 'Spending a little now could save you from an expensive tow, not to mention the aggravation,' he added. Boaters face costs that nationally average about $600 per towing incident. However, BoatU.S. offers boaters 'Unlimited' on-the-water towing plans, much like an roadside auto club for boaters and anglers, starting at $58 a year (for freshwaters). For more information, go to www.BoatUS.com/towing .
About BoatU.S. Towing Services:
Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatU.S.) is the nation's leading advocate for recreational boaters providing over half a million members with a wide array of consumer services, including on-the-water towing assistance provided by TowBoatU.S. and Vessel Assist Pacific. Combined, these two towing fleets offer North American boaters the largest network of U.S., Canadian and Bahamian towing ports with over 290 locations and over 600 towing assistance vessels
by Sail-World Cruising
Click on the FB Like link to post this story to your FB wall
http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?nid=67322
7:13 PM Thu 11 Mar 2010 GMT
Click here for printer friendly version
Click here to send us feedback or comments about this story.
|
|
|
Our Advertisers are committed to our sport, please support them!
This site and its contents are © Copyright TetraMedia Pty. Ltd and/or the original author, photographer etc. All Rights Reserved.
Photographs are copyright by law. If you wish to use or buy a photograph you must contact the photographer directly (there is a hyperlink in most cases to their website, or do a Google search.) with your request.
Please do not contact Sail-World.com as we cannot give permission for use of other photographer’s images.
Only if the photographer named on the image is Sail-world.com, Powerboat-world.com or Marinebusiness-world.com
Contact us
.
Ph: +61 2 4977 2116 fax: +61 2 4977 2116
or complete our
feedback form
Contact us
.
View our Privacy Policy.
[ Go Home]
[ Banner Advertising Specification]
[Bot Archive ]
Customised news feeds -Marine Industry companies, Clubs and Associations have their own customised version of our Sail-World news feed on their website.
Look_here_to_see_examples
|
| | |
.jpg)
