Paul Schilter wrote:
Is it more prudent for you to give your line over to a boat you're going
to tow or take his line?


An expert answer: it depends.

It's often said that accepting a line from a tower makes your vessel
salvage. OTOH it's often the case that the towee has no suitable lines
aboard.

When I've towed people in, I've always used my own line because
1- my crew had it ready
2- it was both long & stout enough, to my certain knowledge
3- that gives me more control over how it's paid out and the strain taken up

OTOH my experience being towed is rather limited- once in somebody
else's keelboat, and a bunch of times in a fleet of racing dinghies with
no wind. In the keelboat, comditions were extremely rough and the boat
was in disarray, we accepted a line from a USCG 30-footer.

BTW- for a sailboat under 30 feet, the best place to secure a towline is
to the base of the mast.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King