crab boat or vessel assist.

S

starcrafttom

Active member
All I want to do was crab and then go to work. While I was out setting pots near hat island I hear a call on 16, my favorite channel. Some guy in a bay liner was out of gas and drifting toward the shore. Well coast gaurd puts out a call for near by boats. It was only 3 miles away and no one else was specking up. So I call the guy and ask if he has any hose to transfer gas from me to him and he says yes. At 32 ft I did not want to tow him. So I head in his direction. On the way a small 18 ski boat/run about is waving me down in a panic so I stopped to see what they wanted. well they had locked up the motor after over heating it. I tell them I can tow them after I deal with the other guy. They start whinning about drifting on to the rocks. I ask if they have a anchor and they stare at me for a three count then the light goes on and the three of them start looking for a anchor and the ski rope, which they find and toss over as I leave. Well I get to the bayliner and raft up (he is already anchored) and we try to transfer some go juice. we got a hose (small one) down my tank and start sucking gas into a bucket so we can pour it into a funnel and his tank. 4 gallons took 20 minutes. Then he remembers he has a spare fuel pump rigged as a oil removel pump for doing oil changes. Well we jerry rig the pump and three pieces of hose to get it to reach and start pumping gas to his boat. hour and half later we have moved 25 gallons total. All the while the coast guard is hailing me every ten minutes to see if Iam done yet. After leaving that guy I head back to the runabout and find them where i left them. So I jerry rig a tow line from my anchor line and set the auto pilot to everett and take off at a blisting 5mph. Once I got going I yell for them to all stand up. when they did I snapped a picture. well if you are towing a boat in the sound at 5mph with a auto pilot how do you keep your self entertained?? you set up the down rigger and troll the whole way back. Hell I might have caught something?? after getting them to the dock 2 hours later I ran to the fuel dock and filled up again then headed out to my pots. pulled a nice limit of crab and reset then ran for the barn at dark. got home a 9pm and I already cooked the crab. I should have went to work today, would have been less work. I will post pictures of all the guilty tomorrow.
 
Goodness Tom, how much gas do you carry? 25 gallons transferred wouldn't have given you much left!

Good work! You get at least two gold stars!
:star :star


Charlie
 
Tom-

Great good-samaritan work!

These are at least your second and third rescue jobs, right?

And all in one day, with a pot of crabs to boot!

Did you try to sell them any real estate while you had their attention on the way in?

You keep this rescue business going, and we're going to have to create a comic strip you you as the Super Hero!

Actually, such a strip could be used as painless educational tool to teach and warn about the dumb mistakes boaters commonly make!

Have a great day back at the office, though I doubt it will be as exciting as yesterday!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
What a good Samaritan! Too bad there are so many out there who end up depending on the kindness of strangers. You didn't say but I hope the Bayliner guy reimbursed you for the cost of gas. Losing your fishing time plus a hundred bucks is a bit much to ask of even the best Samaritan :). This is not the first time your selfless actions on behalf of others have given us warm fuzzies. Thanks!
 
Tom Good for you.

This is what boating is all about. It seems to have drifted away from that recently--but core values of boating are there in your actions and others should follow your example!
 
Thanks guys, to answer questions. Yes he paid me for the gas. I had just filled both tanks that morning so that left me with 15 gallons which is more than enough to tow the second guy who gave me a twenty. Now for how not to run out of gas. If you are driving an new to you 32 bayliner express from Everett to Friday harbor and back you may want to fill up in Friday harbor. Or at least add a few gallons. On the second guy, if you see white smoke coming out the wet exhaust maybe you are not picking up cooling water????? So maybe stop and figure that out before the engine stops???? Maybe have a vhf on board??? Know if you have an anchor??? Have a rope for it that does not double as a ski rope??? I asked if they had a radio and one of them looks at me like I'm stupid and says " we all have cell phones" I asked if they knew anyone with a boat and he just stared at his shoes. Damm kids. And yes everyone got a business card.
 
Or, if you're not going to do all those things, at least have a Sea Tow or TowBoat US membership.

I have towed lots of people home over the years, and had the Coast Guard tow us in from the Gulf Stream once, back when they still did that. These days, I have less patience with people who need a tow because they did something(s) stupid and compounded the stupidity by not having towing insurance.

This reminds me of a story told recently on another forum by a guy I know. He encountered some kids in a disabled flats boat, and towed them to a nearby boat ramp. He got them out of trouble and went out for a sail. Returning home again, he encountered the same kids. They had taken aboard their girlfriends and departed again to do a little fishing, relying on the trolling motor for power. Predictably, they exhausted the battery.

He refused to tow them, and I don't blame him. They were in no danger, just stuck in canals in a residential area, paddling home very slowly. I have had to paddle home. It's a good learning experience. ;) Paying a Sea Tow bill might have been a learning experience for the guys you rescued, starcrafttom. They run a bit over twenty bucks these days. ;)
 
you know I dont even have sea tow. maybe I should. The last time I had to get towed I jumped in and towed my own 18ft ski boat the last half mile to the ramp with a rope over my shoulder. Nice warm water in lake folsom. I was much younger then too. 30 and just out of the corps. would not try it today.
 
Well, there are always other guys out there to tow you in...like the guys you came across...

You don't have to be a Sea Tow or Boat US member to get a tow from them, it's just going to be expensive.

I have never had to call a commercial tow boat on one of my own boats. I have called friends to come get me and paddled home, sailed two different powerboats home, and gotten one tow from the Coast Guard. One incident was a few years ago, and I was in a place the local tow boats can't even go. Too shallow. So yeah, having towing insurance is a good idea, but sometimes nothing beats having friends and a cell phone. ;)
 
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