TowBoatUS Oneida Lake offers 24/7 help with breakdowns

by D. Scott Croft on 3 Apr 2013 Captain Tom Tyo, a Central New York native who has boated on local waters for over 20 years, has opened TowBoatUS Oneida Lake, a 24/7 non-emergency on water assistance company that will get you back to a launch ramp or marina when your boat won't, including boat towing, battery jump-starting, fuel drop off and ungrounding services.

Much like an auto club for boaters, BoatUS offers on-the-water towing plans for freshwater boaters and anglers for just $67 a year, which provides for any boat you own, borrow or charter and includes BoatUS or BoatUS Angler membership. Six-pack charter fishing captains have a commercial towing plan available for $281.

Capt. Tyo began power boating and sailing at age seven at his parents' camp in Lakeport, NY. A boat owner for about 40 years who now summers aboard his 42-foot Viking sport fishing boat in Verona Beach, he understands why boaters sometimes require on-the-water assistance.

The shallow lake is notorious for sudden winds that kick up steep, closely spaced waves that can sink a small boat. 'Oneida is the most heavily boated lake in New York State.' said Capt. Tyo. 'You've got to keep an eye on the weather and have an exit plan to get to safe harbor. And if something goes wrong, you can't always count on a friend or a Good Samaritan coming to help - but you can count on TowBoatUS Oneida 24 hours a day,' he added.

Tyo holds a US Coast Guard Master Captain license with Inland, Near Shore (ocean) and Commercial Assistance Towing endorsements and also previously worked as a towing captain for TowBoatUS Oswego, NY.

TowBoatUS Oneida Lake is part of BoatUS Towing Services, which offers it's half a million members the largest towing fleet in the nation with 300 locations and 600 towing response vessels - with eight locations in upstate New York. Capt. Tyo's 24-foot Grady White response boat, with a red hull and 'TowBoatUS' in reflective white letters along her sides is stationed at Holmes Marina in Verona Beach on the 23-mile-long lake's east end. However, depending on expected boating traffic, and in order to reduce response times, Tyo sometimes berths the vessel at the western end of the lake at Ess Kay Yards in Brewerton. The company services all the lake as well as portions of the Erie Canal, and is fully rigged for towing and salvage work, carrying extra fuel and engine fluids, pumps and battery jump packs. Dive services are also available.

To see the new company's location at Holmes Marina on a map or any other of the New York TowBoatUS locations, go to http://www.BoatUS.com/oneidalake. TowBoatUS Oneida Lake may be reached 24 hours a day at 315-333-0657, or through the BoatUS toll-free dispatch service at 800-391-4869, via smartphone with the free BoatUS Towing App, or by hailing on VHF radio Channel 16. BoatUS Towing Services also has partnerships with SPOT and DeLorme inReach satellite messaging services that allow BoatUS members to easily summon assistance with these devices.

Tyo also offers salvage services, which are typically covered by a boat's insurance policy or paid out of pocket by the boat owner, and not provided under BoatUS towing service plan. For more information on BoatUS Towing Services, go to www.BoatUS.com/towing or call 800-888-4869.