"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 15 Sep 2005 11:04:26 GMT, Red CloudŽ
wrote:
On 14 Sep 2005 19:48:44 -0700, wrote:
~~ snippage ~~
"Preventive maintenance is probably the number one item that all
boaters could do more of to prevent those late evening calls to our 24
hour TowBoatU.S. and Vessel Assist Pacific dispatch centers," said
Jerry Cardarelli, vice president BoatU.S. Towing Services.
I wish that TowBoat US and Seatow would start charging a $50 deductible
for "Out
of fuel" type calls. That would bring everybody else's rates DOWN.
I totally agree with you here.
I listened to a radio exchange a few weeks ago where a guy had an alarm on
one
of his engines and didn't know what it meant. Someone finally told him to
check
engine oil with the dipstick. There was NO oil on the dipstick. He then
checked
the other engine and it was still showing a little bit. He radios for
Seatow,
who determines that the guy is about a mile from a large marina where he
could
easily go on the one engine, and get oil. The Seatow boat was 18 miles
away
finishing another tow. The boater insisted on anchoring and having the
Seatow
operator go to a marina, buy 10 quarts of oil and bring them to him. Why
not?
After all, he had unlimited towing and this red carpet service wasn't
gonna cost
him a cent over what he paid for the policy. The oil itself would cost the
same
either way.
That kind of nonsense costs the rest of us a lot of money! There needs to
be a
$50 deductible so that people pay a little more attention to things like
CHECKING FUEL LEVEL and maybe even OIL LEVEL before leaving port.
Here's where I disagree. If you are stupid enough to not check your
oil, keep an eye on your gas and run your battery down partying and
get caught, then you should pay the whole freight. If there is a
cataclysmic event then fine - lack of routine maintenance shouldn't
even be considered.
I've been a Sea//Tow member since forever and have the super-duper
coverage which covers me on any boat I'm on or in control of. I have
never used the service. I know people who have used Sea//Tow three or
four times a year for everything from out of gas to minor electrical
problems.
I know a Sea//Tow operator and she has told me that every season she
can almost set her calendar by the same idiots who do the same things
every season and call for Sea//Tow.
I don't know what the solution is, but there has to be some sort of
penalty for being stupid.
All you have to do is go looking to buy a used boat. It is amazing the
number of folks who do not log their maintenance, which tells me they did
not keep up with routine maintenance. The other amazing thing you will find
is the number of folks who change the oil in spring, rather than when
winterizing the engine(s).