(L to R) Crew Manager Austyn Hall and her father, Capt. Junior Fonte, of TowBoatUS Center Hill, Percy Priest, Watts Bar and Old Hickory Lakes.
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(L to R) TowBoatUS Center Hill Lake’s crew managers Austyn Hall and Michael Kramer. The company provides professional on-water assistance 24/7 including towing, soft ungrounding, battery jump and fuel drop-off services.
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SMITHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 8, 2023 – Over the past decade, Capt. Kirk Fonte has seen the growth of Nashville reflected upon the waters of the two major lakes that hug the city’s eastern flank. Recreational boat traffic is up on adjacent Percy Priest and Old Hickory lakes where Fonte has two TowBoatUS on-water towing ports. Now some boaters are seeking out more serene waters and heading farther out to Center Hill Lake, and Fonte, along with his son, Junior, are following with the opening of a fourth TowBoatUS port on this mountain lake 60 miles east of “Music City USA.”

Fonte began providing on-water towing, battery jump, fuel drop-off and ungrounding services to boaters when he first opened TowBoatUS Percy Priest and Old Hickory Lakes in 2014, then added TowBoatUS Watts Bar Lake in 2021 which Junior manages. The locations are part of a nationwide network of more than 300 TowBoatUS ports that responded to more than 90,000 requests for routine on water assistance last year.

Nashville has grown so much lately that some refer to it as ‘Nash-Vegas,” says Fonte with a smile. “As boaters seek out waters a little farther from the metro area, it is good timing to have TowBoatUS services available 24/7 on Center Hill Lake.”

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 $99 per year. 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.

Fonte keeps a 26-foot red TowBoatUS response vessel homeported at Hurricane Marina on Center Hill Lake. A second towboat is kept on a trailer ready to go at a moment’s notice, speeding response times on upriver locations. Separate from BoatUS on-water towing, the company offers boat salvage, dive and environmental remediation services.

The fastest way to request assistance from TowBoatUS Center Hill Lake is to download the free BoatUS App, which connects boaters to the closest local towing captain. Additionally, the company can be reached at 615-663-3599 or by phoning the BoatUS toll-free 24/7 Dispatch Center at 800-391-4869.

For more go to BoatUS.com/Towing or call 800-888-4869.

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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 nearly 800,000 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 300 locations and over 600 red towboats, responding to more than 90,000 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.