Five TowBoatUS Ports Now on the St. John’s

ASTOR, FL, June 2, 2008 -- Following last year’s purchase of TowBoatUS locations on Lake George, FL and Lake Monroe, FL, Capt. Matt Moss has added three more towing ports, bringing his total number of TowBoatUS locations on the St. John’s River and chain of lakes to five. TowBoatUS ports provide assistance to recreational boaters and anglers such as tows back to a marina or launch ramp, battery jump starts, or ungrounding services.

The recent additions include TowBoatUS Palatka, FL, located at Crystal Cove Marina, and TowBoatUS Crescent Lake, located at Leonards Landing in Crescent City, FL. Both were purchased from former owners Jim and Beci McCall. Moss also added a second port on Lake Monroe at the Boat Tree Marina.

Capt. Moss, who has lived on the St. John’s River for over three decades, has equipped TowBoatUS Palatka with a 25-foot Proline and TowBoatUS Crescent Lake with a 21-foot Hydrasport response boat. TowBoatUS Lake George, located at the Blackwater Inn, has five response boats in the 21-to-38-foot range while TowBoatUS Lake Monroe at Monroe Harbor Marina has a 21-foot Wellcraft.

These response vessels can be identified by their distinctive red hulls, white bow stripes and “TowBoatU.S.” lettering along their sides. Onboard each is a full complement of towing and salvage equipment including extra fuel, engine fluids, pumps, and a battery “jump pack” to handle dead batteries.

Skippers not familiar with the local waters can be challenged when boating on the St. John’s as shallows are often found just outside narrow channels, leading to groundings. Dense floating vegetation or weeds growing on the bottom can also be ingested into boat engine cooling systems, causing motors to overheat and requiring a shut down. Dropping off fuel and mechanical breakdowns make up many of the remaining calls for assistance.

Similar to a roadside auto club, BoatUS offers on-the-water assistance plans starting at just $37 a year. Without a towing plan, boaters face costs that nationally average about $600 per incident. Boaters in need of towing assistance can reach any of these four ports by calling the company directly at 352-348-8697; by VHF radio on channel 16; or through the BoatUS toll-free Dispatch Service at 800-391-4869 or visit http://www.BoatUS.com/Towing for more information.

Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatU.S.) is the nation's leading advocate for recreational boaters providing its 650,000 members with a wide array of consumer services, including on-the-water towing assistance provided by TowBoatU.S. and Vessel Assist Pacific. Combined, these two towing fleets offer North American boaters the largest network of U.S., Canadian and Bahamian towing ports with over 280 locations and nearly 500 towing assistance vessels - twice that of any other service provider.