Capt. Steven Rhoades has expanded his 24/7 on-water TowBoatUS towing service to recreational boaters on Arkansas’ Lake Ouachita.
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ROYAL, Ark., August 11, 2025 – For the second time in as many years, TowBoatUS 24/7 on-water assistance services for recreational boaters have come to the waters of Arkansas. The newest is TowBoatUS Lake Ouachita, recently opened by Capt. Steven Rhoades, who began helping boaters on the water four years ago on Grand Lake, Oklahoma. He also owns TowBoatUS Fort Gibson Lake and TowBoatUS Ten Killer Ferry Lake, Oklahoma.

The first port in the Natural State, TowBoatUS Beaver Lake, opened in 2023 and is owned by Capt. Michael Fitzpatrick. All of the ports are part of a nationwide network of more than 330 TowBoatUS locations across North America and British Columbia, Canada.

Increasingly, boaters in the West Central Southern region of the country are signing up for professional 24-hour on-water help from TowBoatUS. In addition to the two ports in Arkansas, there are now 45 TowBoatUS locations in the six neighboring states (Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama) as well. Lake Ouachita’s 20-foot visibility make the 44,000-acre lake in the heart of the Ozark Forest a popular diving location, and it’s also home to seven large marinas with thousands of recreational boats.

An independent business owner, Capt Rhoades said, “I see a lot of opportunity on inland lakes. Many folks have never heard of us, but once they do, they love knowing we’re here to help. I enjoy meeting so many cool people. I have so much fun talking to boaters, helping them get home safely, or just helping save their day on the water. Signing up is so affordable.”

Last year, the nationwide on-water assistance service responded to more than 110,000 requests for routine assistance from boaters experiencing mechanical breakdown (e.g., engine, transmission, drives), the No. 1 cause of calls.

Much like an auto club for recreational boat owners, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) offers on-water Unlimited Towing Memberships for freshwater boaters and anglers for just $109 per year. Services include on-water towing, soft ungrounding, battery jump and fuel drop-offs. Membership comes with more than 25 valuable BoatUS benefits, including discounts at local fuel docks and transient slips at marinas. Also included are a subscription to BoatUS Magazine, free DSC-VHF radio registration and more.

Lake Ouachita has a 24-foot red response vessel fully rigged for towing and salvage homeported at Safe Harbor Brady Mountain. While TowBoatUS is not a first responder and urges boaters to call 911 in an emergency, the captains have years of lake knowledge and largely come from the ranks of the local volunteer firefighter community. Separate from BoatUS on-water towing, the company also offers boat salvage and spill cleanup services.

To request on-water assistance, boaters can call the BoatUS toll-free 24/7 Dispatch Center at 800-391-4869, call TowBoatUS Lake Ouachita directly at 918-782-8600, or hail on VHF radio Ch. 16.

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Boaters on Arkansas’ Lake Ouachita now have 24/7 professional on-water help available: Capt. Steven Rhoades opens #TowBoatUS Lake Ouachita to help boaters get home. Join now for just $109. https://bit.ly/45q1VEM  @BoatUS #lakeouachita #arkansasfishing #redisready #boattow #marinetowing #boattowing #boatus

About TowBoatUS:

Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is the nation's leading advocacy, services and safety group for recreational boaters. We are the Boat Owners Auto Club™ and provide our more than 740,000 members with a wide array of helpful services, including 24-hour on-water towing that gets you safely home when your boat won’t, jump-starts, fuel delivery, and soft ungroundings. The TowBoatUS towing fleet is North America’s largest network of towing ports with more than 330 locations and over 660 red towboats, responding to more than 110,000 requests for assistance each year. The BoatUS App makes it easy to summon water and road assistance 24/7 and can speed response times (BoatUS.com/App). For more information go to BoatUS.com/Towing.