If I blew a motor, I'm not sure I would blame towing. I have towed with small motors (10hp johnson many years ago, 25 Yami just 2 years ago) and never even strained the motors. I tow at just above an idle, so the motor is never in danger from towing stain. Maybe I have just been lucky. A water skier puts way more strain on the motor. Last time I towed, a guy in the boat I was towing insisted on holding the tow rope. He held it all the way to the launch ramp. That shows me there just is not that much force necessary to tow a boat at slow speed. Even a big boat. Maybe not TWICE as big as mine .

Pay it forward and tow, but don't endanger yourself or ruin your equipment by doing so. Just do what is right. There is a member of our club and TFF that I have seen tow a stranded boat in twice during a tournament.

I would have towed the first time, the second time I would have made him swim to shore....

Unless you meant two different boats and I misread your statement.

I tow to the nearest ramp if possible when in my boat, nothing more (and slowly). My little 75 appreciates this. I do carry jumper cables though, I've jumped more than a few boats.

Towed an empty bassboat 1/2 mile back to the ramp at Hawkins once, in my kayak. Those two guys were still arguing over who was supposed to be holding the rope when I left.

I took off on a individual tournament a sunday morning on conroe a couple years ago in my skeeter. It was still pretty dark in the morning when my yamaha threw a rod and i was done. Called the t director and he said he will get someone to tow me in, I was about 500 yards from the ramp. I jumped on my trolling motor and tried to get back slowly but the wind kept blowing me farther out. My motorguide started overheating and would shut off. I thought i was screwed until i started seeing tournament boats, another tournament launched after mine did. I was on the bow waving them down with a life jacket. Not a single angler stopped or even slowed down. I was about to drift into docks and my trolling motor was dead at this point. It was about 10 and finally i see a guy on a pontoon boat listening to rap as loud as he could i flagged him down and he said he would tow me back no problem. He insisted i had a beer and he towed me back listening to some old tupak. I had a 100 dollar bill to give him and he wouldnt take it. Being a angler i figured other anglers would stop to help, but that is not the case on conroe. I will go out of my way to help anyone. Jetski, angler, pleasure boater and wake boarder. Even during a tournament.

I would rather buy a new motor then pass to only see on the news someone died or got hurt and I could have prevented that. With that said I tow no matter what.

Conroe is notorious for rude boaters... At night, you have much more luck getting someone to help you, which is very weird... That's my home lake, but man there are some rude people out there...

Personally, I couldn't live with myself leaving helpless folks out on the water... I'll do whatever I can to help... Karma lives...

Some very interesting stories on this thread.

I will tow. Only had one opportunity since I got my boat in Sep 2009 though. Towed a group in a 20' or so ski boat to their marina slip going slow and it wasn't very far. The guy kept wanting to give me money and I kept telling that was OK, didn't need it, I was just glad to help. I kept backing away and he finally waded up $40 and threw it in my boat. I said thanks and drove away.

Conroe is my home lake. If I see you in trouble I will help. I have been towed one time on Conroe (Yami overheated-turns out it was a plastic bag- another story) and first boat I waved at stopped and towed me. I got lucky for sure. They would not take any money, either. They towed slow, ands we spotted a bald eagle in a big tree on the way to Scotts Ridge, so ordeal had one small reward.

I started bass fishing with my older brothers many moons ago and learned from them to help others. I watched them tow bass and ski boats and even a sail boat once. I remember fishing the KEAN BB Tourney, on Hubbard Creek, years ago and we saw a boat adrift, with it's cowling off, in the middle of the lake, with winds blowing 20-25 mph. We watched several boats pass it up before we stopped to find an older gentleman by himself with no battery power. It was too windy to try and jump so we towed him to safety. We probably lost an hour of fishing but knowing that he was safe was worth a heck of a lot more than catching a money fish. Since then, I have towed in boats that were out of gas, dead battery, or had engine trouble. The last time was when my wife and I were on Ray Bob and were coming out of Pierce, just as the sun was starting to set, and saw an older tri-hull with it's cowling off. I turned around and asked the family with two young children if they needed help and it was obvious that they did. We towed them to Buck Creek ramp where they were very thankful. I grew up believing it was an unwritten rule to help your fellow boater. With that being said, if it's beyond my capacity to tow due to size, weather or distance, then of course, I will use other options to help. I'm a firm believer in what goes around comes around.

Not everyone fishes in small lakes. Some of us fish offshore or WAY (20+ miles) out in bays.

Its not pratical or safe to turn your bay boat/bass boat into a tow rig.

I have 2 kids and a wife. I should risk my life for another guys boat?

No way. I will secure your vessel and your belongings, load you and your crew onto my boat and bring you in.

Is something wrong with that?

Very interesting responses. A nice spread, but when it comes to assistance on the water, I'm all in. A couple years back I saw a sail boat with a broken mast floundering in the waves on a north texas lake. On board was a father and a 5yr old daughter. They were in trouble. My Cobra only had an old 115 on it, but we quickly pulled up, moved the scared daughter to my boat and proceeded to pull them to the closest ramp possible. Things could have gotten real ugly.

Now on the flip side, about 30 minutes later, there was a ski boat of your typical punks that had the inboard motor cover up and smoke coming out. Somebody forgot the oil. Yeah we stopped and helped them too. They got a free tow to the nearest ramp as well.

Morale of the story is very simple: what goes around comes around.

Mxbuds, nothing wrong with that, IMO. In fact, getting the stranded boaters to safety is the top priority.

You should help however you can. It's The Code of the West.