In many inland areas of the country boaters count on local marinas to send help when an on-the-water breakdown occurs. But what happens when trouble strikes late at night after the marina office is closed? Will a good Samaritan always be standing by ready to toss you a line and take you home, drop off fuel, jumpstart a dead battery or pull your boat off soft sand or mud bottoms?

Boaters can rest easy knowing that TowBoatU.S. of BoatU.S. Towing Services, the nation’s largest on-the-water towing assistance provider, can help. While boaters near one of the company’s 263 service ports across the U.S. may recognize the familiar red towing vessels, you don’t have to be anywhere near any one of these ports to get assistance you need.

“In addition to our fleet of on-the-water TowBoatU.S. towers, we have access to hundreds of secondary providers ready to help you,” said Jerry Cardarelli, vice president BoatU.S. Towing Services. These secondary providers are a mix of small, towers and seasonal service facilities that provide towing services generally on smaller bodies of water. “One call to our 24-hour dispatch operations can get you on your way, no matter what day of the week or time of night.”

Except for those on the Great Lakes, Cardarelli says that many boaters on inland lakes and rivers generally don’t need to be towed very far to get back to port, so they don’t need a towing plan with unlimited service areas. For as little as $18 – plus BoatU.S. membership – the most affordable TowBoatU.S. towing plan will pay up to $150 per incident. Also popular with inland cruisers is the $52 plan (plus BoatU.S. membership) that will pay up to $350 to have your boat returned to port, fuel delivered, batteries jump started or a soft ungrounding.

Unlimited towing plans, which are great for large bodies of water where marinas or boat ramps may be few or far between, are only $120 (plus BoatU.S. membership).

“All of these options offer peace of mind and will help pay the bill,” added Cardarelli. For more information go to http://www.BoatUS.com/towing or call 800-888-4869.

BoatU.S. – Boat Owners Association of The United States – is the nation’s leading advocate for recreational boaters providing its 640,000 members with a wide array of consumer services including a group-rate marine insurance program that insures nearly a quarter million boats; the largest fleet of more than 500 towing assistance vessels; discounts on fuel, slips, and repairs at over 825 Cooperating Marinas; boat financing; and a subscription to BoatU.S. Magazine, the most widely read boating publication in the U.S. For membership information visit http://www.BoatUS.com or call 800-395-2628.