Towing Boats
To tow a vessel, form a “bridle” from the rear cleats on the rescue boat. On the boat being towed you need to make sure that the towline is attached to a place that is very strong. One suggestion is to wrap the towline around the windlass. In heavy seas, ensure that there is plenty of distance between the boats so the rear boat does not slide down a wave and hit the front boat. Try to match the length of the towline to the wave pitch (distance between the waves).
Embarrassing for PowerboatsOnce when sailing, we stopped in the middle of the lake to help a stranded powerboat that needed a tow. We ran a towline from his bow cleat to a bridle we made up to each aft winch on our boat. Then we raised the sails and towed the powerboat back in under sail. We could have motored but nah, I wanted the story to tell here. Hee hee, that must have been pretty embarrassing for the powerboater. However, I’m sure karma will catch up with me for telling this story. |
