I can attest to Tow Boat US' great services. We had the unique opportunity to compare them against the Coast Guard all in one weekend
Day 1 - Coast Guard
Motor slipped off the mount and sucked in some water. It was one hell of a struggle to pull that motor on deck. Every time I bent over the transom I would get a bit more seasick. To ease that pain I let the wind and waves blow us adrift. I finally got the motor in the cockpit after an exhausting struggle.
Our slip is about a mile down a river with 1-2 bridges that need to be open (Michigan City, IN). There's no way I was about to attempt that with million dollar boats on either side. We called Progressive for a tow and they said due to the Chicago Scene Party it would be 8+ hours for a tow. Much to my surprise they told us to contact the coast guard. The coast guard found us and told us they were going to be towed to the next closest harbor. Conditions were rough and it took them a few mins to determine the best strategy. A younger guy used a boat hook and miraculously clipped it onto our bow eye in 3ft waves. A few of them boarded and they looked for different ways to rig their lines. One went around the mast and another went to the bow eye. The captain seemed to know what they were doing but most of the crew seemed like rookies. They towed us into port and then tied up to us on the port side to bring us into a slip. It was hands off docking which was nice considering the bad day we had. We had no idea where we were but I've never been so relieved to find an open bar that was still serving food. The place was nice. I ordered some tacos and drinks. I got avocado and lettuce on a tortilla and happily paid $16 for it
Day 2
We woke up the next morning and discovered we were in New Buffalo, MI! The first half of the day was spent getting supplies and fixing things on the boat. I got the inboard up and running in forward only (long story) as backup, I got the outboard cleared out and it ran nicely all things considered. Before taking off we topped off our tanks. The outboard seemed like it was kicking up a bit more than usual when in reverse. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary and we headed out. Within five minutes of leaving the harbor something sounded odd. I looked back and saw the outboard dangling by cables, hoses and lines. I immediately grabbed a hold of it and shut it down. We flagged down a passing jet skiier. They were kind enough to help us get the motor on board. What we found was pretty shocking. Our new outboard bracket had snapped in half because there were more air bubbles than plastic in it! It was one of the worst examples of injection molding I had ever seen.
We dropped anchor and called Progressive. They said they'd have a Tow Boat US out to us in about an hour! About 20 minutes later the captain contacted us and said it would be a bit longer but he was on the way to their marina. Two very large guys showed up to tow us back to our slip 11 miles away. The ride was very smooth. They definitely knew what they were doing. Half way through the tow we noticed that we had taken on a significant amount of water. It was about an inch above the cabin sole! We radioed them and let them know that we'd like to be towed to the marina's ramp. Once there they slowed down, quickly docked and let out a ton of slack so I could glide into the ramp. They were fast enough that they were able to toss lines to them to tie up. Our slip and truck were across the river. They were kind enough to give us a ride over there as well. They also didn't leave marks on my boat unlike the Coast Guard (I can't complain about a free tow).
