On-Water Towing Plans: BoatUS vs. Sea Tow vs. Your Insurance Towing Coverage

This is the single most important thing to understand, because it decides who pays.

• Towing and soft ungrounding: your boat is broken down or lightly stuck, nothing is in immediate danger, and no special gear is needed. Towing plans pay for this.
• Salvage: the boat or the environment is in real peril, or special equipment is needed (pumps, air bags, divers, cranes). Hard groundings, sinkings, fires, collisions and boats on the rocks are salvage.

BoatUS states plainly that its towing service doesn't pay for salvage, such as a sinking or a hard grounding; that's a job for hull insurance. Sea Tow's membership agreement says the same: salvage is not a membership benefit. Salvage bills can be many times a tow bill, sometimes based on a share of the boat's value. A maritime lawyer quoted by Sailing Magazine gave the example of a few hundred dollars for a simple tow versus a possible $25,000 salvage award for nearly the same work on a $150,000 boat in peril.

Pull out your policy's declarations page and look for "towing," "assistance," "emergency service" or similar wording. Note:

• The limit per incident (some are low and a long tow eats it quickly)
• Whether you pay first and send the bill for reimbursement
• What counts: fuel delivery, jump-starts, soft ungroundings, trailer help
• Salvage and wreck removal: these belong under the hull coverage. A liability-only policy usually won't pay a salvage bill, so check this before you need it.

BoatUS points out that some insurers offer only limited towing reimbursement, where you pay the tower and file paperwork afterward. Sea Tow's FAQ makes the point that an insurer doesn't own tow boats; you still have to call a towing company to get help. Your policy and a membership can work together: the membership handles breakdowns, the hull insurance handles salvage and damage.

As of October 2026, both companies list these on-water services as paid in full for members within their service area, subject to their agreements:

Sea Tow also lists prop disentanglement and oil and parts delivery. Its agreement spells out when an ungrounding is free: the boat is stable, not in surf, has water all around it, still rocks or moves, and can be floated off by one Sea Tow boat in 15 minutes or less (on arrival or at the next high tide). Anything beyond that is billed as salvage.

BoatUS's current agreement (as of October 2026) has one more limit worth knowing: if the tow boat has to leave its service area, or your chosen destination is more than 25 nautical miles from the tow boat's home port, BoatUS pays up to $3,000 for that incident and you pay the rest. On a long run home, ask the dispatcher where the tow will end before it starts.

Both companies sell a cheaper plan for inland fresh water and a fuller plan for salt water.

Published prices on October 26, 2026:

• BoatUS: Freshwater Towing $130/year (not available in Florida or Hawaii); Saltwater Towing $215/year (covers salt and fresh water, including all of Florida); basic membership without towing $25/year.
• Sea Tow: Lake Card $169/year (fresh, non-tidal waters only, not in Florida); Gold Card $249/year (salt and fresh water).

If you ever run tidal rivers, bays, the coast or anywhere in Florida, a freshwater-only plan won't fit. When in doubt, choose the saltwater level or call the company and describe your waters.

Membership only works well where there are tow boats. BoatUS defines each TowBoatUS service area as the navigable water within 25 nautical miles of the responding tow boat's port, and both companies have online service locators. Look up:

• Your home lake or harbor
• Places you trailer to on vacation
• How far offshore you go

In the North, some towers pull their boats out for winter. BoatUS's dispatch center can tell you who's operating if you boat off-season.

Both agreements exclude problems that existed before you joined. Common limits to look for:

• Dock-to-dock tows from your home dock aren't covered in the first 30 days (both companies). Sea Tow also asks for proof you've owned the boat for 60 days.
• No storm haul-outs: neither membership pays to move a boat ahead of a storm or for a seasonal haul-out. You can hire the tower separately.
• Guests: if you're aboard a friend's boat and the owner is there, the owner's coverage applies, not yours (BoatUS).
• Commercial use (charters, rentals, guides) needs a commercial plan.
• Help at your own dock: a dead battery or an empty tank at the dock or mooring where you keep the boat isn't a free call. Sea Tow's agreement excludes fuel delivery and jump-starts at the home dock, and BoatUS's agreement excludes battery jump-starts and battery-related tows at a dock where the boat is normally kept. Charge the battery and fill the tank before you leave the slip; the membership is for trouble once you're out.

On-water plans don't cover a flat on the highway. Both companies sell a trailer add-on:

• BoatUS Trailer Assist ($15/year as listed in October 2026): tows of the vehicle and trailer to a repair shop or safe place up to 100 miles, flat-tire labor, jump-starts, lockouts and fuel delivery (fuel cost extra). It won't pay for highway accident costs; that's your auto or hull insurance.
• Sea Tow Trailer Care / Trailer Care+ ($16 and $30 a year as listed in October 2026, for Sea Tow members): help with bearings, axles, flats, lockouts and jump-starts, capped at $300 or $600 per incident, parts and fuel not included.

Add-on prices change; confirm them on each company's site before you buy.

Coverage won't help if you don't carry a spare. See our trailering prep and trailer spare hub guides.

Do this at the dock, not while drifting:

• BoatUS dispatch: 800-391-4869, or "Call for a Tow" in the BoatUS app, or hail "TowBoatUS" on VHF 16.
• Sea Tow dispatch: 800-4-SEATOW (800-473-2869), the Sea Tow app, or hail "Sea Tow" on VHF 16.

Put the number in your phone, write it on the card in your helm, and keep the member card or app login handy. A family member using your boat can use your membership (both companies), but they need to know how.

When something breaks:

1. Make sure everyone is safe and wearing life jackets. If you're drifting toward danger, anchor if it's safe to do so.
2. Decide: emergency (Coast Guard, VHF 16 / 911) or breakdown (tow company).
3. Call or hail your tow company. On VHF 16 they'll usually move you to a working channel.
4. Give them the details below and stay on the radio or phone.

If nobody answers on 16, BoatUS suggests trying channels 7, 9, 68, 71 or 79, or calling by phone so they can hail you back.

The dispatcher will ask for:

• Your position: latitude and longitude from the GPS, plus a landmark or channel marker number
• Boat name, length, type and color, and how many people are aboard
• What happened: won't start, out of fuel, stuck on a sandbar, prop wrapped, etc.
• Whether anything is getting worse: water coming in, weather building, drifting toward rocks
• Your member number and a phone number that works
• Your draft, if you're aground

Answer honestly about danger. A situation that's getting worse changes who should respond.

If a tow company or anyone else offers help, especially when you're aground, ask before they start whether the job is towing or salvage and what it will cost. A maritime lawyer quoted by Sailing Magazine advises getting the terms in writing, even on a napkin: the rate, how it's figured and the expected time. If you're simply drifting and not in danger, you can decline an offer of assistance.

BoatUS suggests carrying its free Open Form Yacht Salvage Contract, which sends any salvage dispute to local arbitration instead of court. Let your insurance company know right away if salvage is involved.

• Get an itemized invoice even if the tow was "free" to you.
• If you paid out of pocket in an area without a contracted tower, send the invoice for reimbursement (BoatUS lists a 10–15 business day review time).
• If there's damage, follow our insurance claim guide and keep photos, the invoice and any salvage paperwork together.
• Note the event and the cause in your maintenance log. Repeated breakdowns from the same cause tell you what to fix.