Tow boatUs renewal twice the cost?

[yobird]

Ahoy Captains
I was surprised to see the Towboatus gold unlimited membership at $200 while doing my renewal online, that's double last year cost...
Holding on for now.

What happened?
Any other option?
Coupons, seatow, etc ?

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by yobird

Ahoy Captains
I was surprised to see the Towboatus gold unlimited membership at $200 while doing my renewal online, that's double last year cost...
Holding on for now.

What happened?
Any other option?
Coupons, seatow, etc ?

It was $185 last year.

Could wait until WM has a triple point day and purchase through them. You then get some $$ back to spend at WM.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by yobird

Ahoy Captains
I was surprised to see the Towboatus gold unlimited membership at $200 while doing my renewal online, that's double last year cost...
Holding on for now.

What happened?
Any other option?
Coupons, seatow, etc ?

I wonder, on the average, how many boaters use the service, and how much those tows would be.

• Most boats don't leave the dock. Low risk.
• Some areas have a lot of mud banks. High risk.
• Depends on the skippers nature. Does he MacGyver things to get home? Is he patient enough to wait for the tide, sail instead of motor, etc.? Can he sail into his slip?
• Would he use the insurance to move a boat from one marina to another under some pretense, rather than fix the problem? I've heard some pretty severe stories of taking unreasonable advantage.

And then there is you own risk tolerance. In 35 years I have yet to be towed, though many circumstances when I could have (spun prop, couldn't start motors, bent rudder that was jammed, fuel line break, snagged floating fishing gear...). I've kedged off shoals I could have been towed off. One bad tow would pay for all of those years... but will I ever be towed? Hard to say. I sail lots and in shoal waters, which places me at high risk, but I can fix stuff which puts me at low risk. Most times I'd fix MacGyver the problem long before the tow boat would arrive.


But I guess we pay it, though come to think of it, I've only carried the insurance a few years, here and there.

[Bill O]

Reluctantly, we've purchased a full tow option the last few years when we are cruising in unknown waters. In all the years I've been boating, I've never had the need to use it (knock on wood). If we go aground, we wait for the tide. If a mechanical issue, I can fix it or sail it out w/o the motor, etc.

Feel it's like similar to road service for a car. Use it one time and it will probably pay for itself.

Wouldn't have purchased it last year, except we were moving a "new" boat for a friend late in the season from the NE and he had no idea what type of mechanical shape it was in. Again, didn't need to use it, but was nice to know it was available if a situation presented itself.

[Breaking Waves]

Originally Posted by thinwater

I wonder, on the average, how many boaters use the service, and how much those tows would be.

back in the days when Beth was involved with BoatUS, there was a big 95/5 split on tows. Most people carried it as 'insurance' and never used it, a very few people carried it for 'regular use' and used it several times year. When renewals came around there was discussion on a case-by-base basic about the later group - whether they were using the service 'as intended' or not, but only rarely was anyone turned away.

Back then it seemed like a clearly good deal if you were doing something like the intercoastal, or loved gunkholing. I have no idea what has happened to the terms and price and availability since geico took over.

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by yobird

Ahoy Captains
I was surprised to see the Towboatus gold unlimited membership at $200 while doing my renewal online, that's double last year cost...
Holding on for now.

What happened?
Any other option?
Coupons, seatow, etc ?

It's been a very long time since Towboat US was $100 per year. I paid $159 back in 2017 for that package

[deKlerk]

Paid $185 last year and ended up getting towed to port. I saved big $$ and will renew every year.

[Shrew]

For years BoatUS used to send a form with different pricing. You selected the options, totalled up the amount due and sent a payment in for that amount. A few years ago they started defaulting to 'suggesting' a Full membership, which includes trailer towing. I would remove those endorsements and send in a check for what I wanted.

Now the renewal doesn't include the menu of options, however they're still 'suggesting' a Full membership. You need to select what you actually want and submit payment for that amount. The line items are priced like a 'bit map' so what the total is, you can deduce what the endorsements are.

2022 Pricing:

Basic Membership Dues: $25.00
Unlimited Gold: $175.00
Unlimited: $140.00
Unlimited Trailer Assist: $15.00
BoatUS Foundation: $6.00

So if you don't need trailer towing, don't want to donate to the BoatUS Foundation, and only want an Unlimited Membership..$165.00

Basic ($25) + Unlimited (140.00)= $165.00

https://www.boatus.com/BoatUSMembers...ocode=HEWEBPT2