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Towing and salvage: loads and the legal side
Sooner or later the engine stops, or another boat needs help. Towing looks simple and is not: it carries the highest loads on board, and it has a legal side worth knowing before you take the line.
The line
Long and stretchy, so nylon, not the shortest end on deck. Length takes the snatch out of the tow, and in a seaway both boats should sit on the same part of the wave at the same time.
The strong point
Not the nearest cleat. The load belongs on a point that is tied into the structure, if necessary a bight around the mast foot or the samson post. A cleat that carries a mooring load is nowhere near carrying a tow load.
During the tow
Take up gently until the line comes taut, then pull steadily. Nobody stands in line with the rope: if it parts, it snaps back. Both boats need a way to release the tow instantly, ideally a knife within reach.
Tow or salvage
A neighbourly pull in calm water is a tow. But where real danger exists it becomes salvage in law, and the helper may claim a salvage award measured against the value of the boat saved. So settle beforehand what you are talking about, best of all over the radio where others hear it.
Towing a boat: agreeing the plan and passing the line
Talk before any line is thrown. Agree a working channel on the VHF and settle the basics: where you are going, who supplies which line, what speed you will make and which hand signals you will use if the radio fails. The towing boat should also say how it intends to approach. Meanwhile the casualty prepares its strong point so the line can be made fast at once.
Passing the line is where things most often go wrong. The towing boat comes in slowly from downwind or from astern and keeps a close eye on its propeller, as a floating rope is easily picked up. In a seaway it is safer to pass a light heaving line first and use it to haul the towline across. If that is not possible, the line can be floated down to the other boat on a fender or a lifebuoy.
- Agree working channel, destination, speed and hand signals.
- Prepare the strong point and chafe protection on the boat to be towed.
- Approach slowly, watching the propeller and any loose lines.
- Pass a heaving line and haul the towline across.
- Make fast, and take up the strain gently only when both sides are ready.
Choosing a towline: material, length and bridle
Above all, a towline has to absorb shock. Nylon stretches considerably under load and releases the energy gradually. Floating polypropylene line is less likely to foul a propeller, but it barely stretches and goes brittle quickly in sunlight. Low stretch rope of the kind used for halyards has no place in a tow, because every snatch goes straight into both boats. A long mooring warp or the anchor rode is usually the better choice.
As a rule of thumb in open water, set the length so that both boats are on a crest or in a trough at the same moment. If one is surfing downhill while the other climbs, the line snatches hard. In harbour and confined water the opposite applies, and a short line stops the tow from sheering about.
At the bow of the boat being towed, a bridle spreads the load. Lead the line in a triangle to both bow cleats, or take it round the mast foot and out through the bow roller. Wherever it crosses an edge it needs chafe protection. A bridle across both stern quarters of the towing boat helps as well: the pull then acts on the centreline and the boat can still steer.
Towing on the water: speed, steering and sea state
Speed is set by the slower boat. A displacement hull cannot be dragged faster than its shape allows, and trying mostly loads up the line and the fittings. As a rule of thumb keep the towing speed well below the hull speed of the boat being towed. Make alterations of course in wide arcs so that the tow can follow without ending up across the line.
Whoever is being towed should steer, keeping slightly to one side of the tug's wake. That way the line does not pull directly on the other boat's rudder and the tow yaws less. If it still sheers badly, a drogue or a bucket streamed astern on a line will steady it. Remember that the boat under tow has no brakes. When the towing boat slows, the tow runs up on it, so warn early and take speed off gradually.
At night, special lights apply to vessels engaged in towing. Under the collision regulations, a boat not normally engaged in towing that is helping a vessel in distress need not show them, but it should indicate the connection in another way, for example by shining a light on the towline.
The alongside tow: bringing a boat into harbour
For the final approach into a marina a long towline is no use, because the casualty cannot be controlled on it. It is better to take the boat alongside. The two boats then lie together, well fendered, and the towing boat steers the pair as one unit.
For this to work, the towing boat's stern should sit some way aft of the other boat's stern, so its rudder and propeller have clear water and the pair will turn. Bow line, stern line and two springs are set up tight so that the boats cannot move against each other. Because the combination pulls towards the side of the boat being towed, expect to carry a little opposite helm, and if possible come alongside the berth with the towing boat's free side.
Accepting a tow: what to settle before you take the line
Whether help counts as a simple tow or as salvage depends on whether the boat was in danger, not on what the helper chooses to call it. Salvage has traditionally worked on a no cure, no pay basis, with the award reflecting, among other things, the value of the boat saved and the danger involved. It is therefore worth agreeing the nature and price of the help clearly before the line comes aboard, ideally over the radio where others can hear.
Keep a record: time, position, wind and sea, the state of your boat and the exact words of the agreement. Photographs of the tow and of the boat add to it. Do not sign any form on board whose consequences you cannot judge at that moment, and let your boat insurer know about the incident promptly.
Where lives are at stake, other rules apply. Anyone who sees people in distress at sea is bound to help, as far as that is possible without serious danger to their own vessel. Saving people is never a question of price.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a towline be?
In open water long enough for both boats to ride the crests together, which often means several boat lengths. In harbour short or not at all, as an alongside tow gives far better control there.
What kind of rope is best for towing?
A stretchy nylon line, such as a long mooring warp or the anchor rode. Rope with very little stretch passes every jerk straight into the fittings.
Can a private boat owner tow another boat?
Helping a boat in difficulty is generally permitted, and where people are in danger it is a duty. Commercial towing is a different matter with its own requirements.
Should the boat under tow be steered?
Whenever possible, yes. A steered boat follows more calmly and yaws less, which spares the line, the fittings and the nerves of both crews.
How much does a tow on the water cost?
It varies widely with distance, weather and provider. Agree the price before you take the line, and make sure the agreement is heard by others.
What should I do if the towline parts?
Stay well clear and let nobody grab at the recoiling end. The boat under tow makes itself safe, if necessary by anchoring, and both crews agree over the radio how to reconnect.
What this has to do with insurance
With us salvage costs are covered in Premium up to 2.5 million euros, wreck removal included. That figure is why the word in the paragraph above matters: a salvage award can be many times the repair bill. Accept help, but report the incident, and sign nothing on board without speaking to us first.
