Oswego Adventure

[PeltHunter]

Went out of Oswego Saturday morning and went one for one with a King for the whole day on a white spinny and hammer fly at about 8am. Fished all day pulled gear at 730 to come in for the Harborfest fireworks. Boat had a vibration when we powered up, backed out of it and through it in reverse to clear out the prop. As soon as the boat went back in forward it died and wouldn't start again. Then it wouldn't turn over at all. Mustve sucked water when we went in reverse lets just pull the plugs and clear it out. Well this new toolkit we bought just for the boat doesn't have a plug wrench. 4 miles from the break wall dead in the water can't see a boat anywhere, call the Coast Guard they put out an all stations advisory for help for us. After about a half hour a boat finally appears on the horizon coming towards us, Captain Mike from the Bloodvessel ended up finishing his charter and giving us a tow back in, can't thank him enough! Got in past the wall and the Coast Guard says they can get us to the dock. Well what they meant by the dock was the dock for the yacht club around the corner from the launch. Well with the 20 boats in the port we can just get a tow over to the Wrights Landing ramp right? Wrong. Every one we asked had some sort of excuse. Ended up pulling the boat around the end of the little Peninsula for the Yacht Club and had to throw the anchor and pull the boat to the ramp dock about 10 feet at a rip. Took the plugs out Last night and sure as **** the sixth cylinder was full of water. Put new plugs in after we cleared it out but haven't been able to try to start it up yet with the bad weather we had today.

[TileMan Dan]

Doesn't BoatUSA operate out of Oswego ? They could have towed you in even if you not a member

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[Jbasile]

That's pretty sad. I had that happen to me in the sound last yr. not wanting to pay $400 for a sea tow I put a call out on the radio and with in seconds I had 2 people respond to come help. I tried so hard to give this gentlemen $$ and he wouldn't take a dine from me. He said all he asked is when I hear that call for assistance on the water (no matter what it is) be the 1st to respond and help. Since that mishap I have been on the helping end of the tow rope 3 times and will continue to pay it forward.

[PeltHunter]

That's pretty sad. I had that happen to me in the sound last yr. not wanting to pay $400 for a sea tow I put a call out on the radio and with in seconds I had 2 people respond to come help. I tried so hard to give this gentlemen $$ and he wouldn't take a dine from me. He said all he asked is when I hear that call for assistance on the water (no matter what it is) be the 1st to respond and help. Since that mishap I have been on the helping end of the tow rope 3 times and will continue to pay it forward.

Exactly the same with the Bloodvessel he towed us the 4 miles in to the port and wouldn't accept a dime. Then of the other 20 boats in the port not a single one would give us a pull the quarter mile around from the yacht club to the ramp. And yes BoatUSA operates out of there but they couldn't get out till at least 10:30 with the Harborfest fireworks going on.

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[TileMan Dan]

Yeah That is unfortunate how some of our fellow boaters act when some one is broken down on the water.  Discovered this first hand this year when I broke down on the Jersey shore this year. Boat Us was quick to respond but other boaters wouldn't even get out of way on the tow in.. Operator said its very common.

[PeltHunter]

We've towed several boats in on lake George and one on Ontario. It's not too hard to go out of your way to help someone avoid probably at least a 500 dollar tow bill from Boat US

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[BrokeOff]

TowBoatUS $60 or $68/yr.  towing insurance

[PeltHunter]

Threw some plugs in it and started right up perfect so of course that plug wrench would have been a nice thing to have

[Rich s]

being fairly new to the big lake game a breakdown is always my concern.. It's not a matter of if, it's when will I or someone need a helping hand .. I'm glad you found a kind person to bring you into the harbor, a bummer that others made excuses to help with the ramp, thats just not right ..

I checked out sea tow, boat tow us , etc I but frequent a vast array of waterways that these services don't cover.. To me it's more about doing what we can to take care of each other to get out of a jam..

 

Nice to hear you caught a Lake 0 Bonus out of the deal..

[TileMan Dan]

Sea tow doesn't operate on Lake O But your are right that you do have to rely to a large extent on fellow boaters. Unfortunately you do hear how the majority wont help out

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[chinook35]

You had the misfortune of breaking down in Oswego during Harbor Fest . The folks that are in the harbor for the festivities could care less about fishermen or their troubles . The boats that gather there , and I'm sure you lost count of the numbers , Are there for the party and to watch the fireworks , if they give up their spot to tow you or offer any assistance , the spot is instantly gone . I stay way away from Oswego (except to drive there for the party and fireworks ) , I tried coming from camp to the harbor by boat several years ago for the fireworks . Can you say insanity ? When the show is over there are hundreds of boats going every which way , And they all run WFO , scary is the word .I recommend (and always will ) to leave Oswego and Wright's landing to the partiers for that weekend .

[Rich s]

Yea my home port is the mid hudson river.. Sea tow is the service.. At least on the muddy river there is always some local to help out and shore to shore is not far.. Also frequent the deep water lakes in the ADK's.. There it's locked down real estate with lots of boaters about so in a pinch I would think a friendly boater would come to aid.. I'm in a bit of quandary about the big great lake and after hearing about the captain that came to aid it kinda eases the concern.. Dang shame the weekenders wouldn't..  I always would do what I could.. Heck I blew up a flat spare tire with a bicycle pump for a stranded motorist before, because I could..  

 

Being a newbie I believe channel 16 is the coast guard, at least it is here  ?

I heard chatter on #68 from some sail boaters last time I was out..

I'm not quite sure my radio scans well and I always do a radio check before leaving the docks..

I will be spending 9 days out there in 2 weeks . What is a good channel to frequent on the lake ?  I'm not looking for reports, just knowing there is communication

[BrokeOff]

Sea tow doesn't operate on Lake O But your are right that you do have to rely to a large extent on fellow boaters. Unfortunately you do hear how the majority wont help out

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TowBoatUS has a port in Oswego, just checked.  I would rather use them than make a fellow fisherman pull lines and spend the rest of the day towing me in.  Not saying that I wouldn't help someone out tho.

[signalman]

Personally I won,t go out unless I have a good working kicker,that would take care of your problem,s.

[TileMan Dan]

Without a doubt I feel the same way Broke but i think a lot of guys on Lake O dont have a membership I could very well be wrong. But i would still help a boater in need over worrying about missed fishing time

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[Rich s]

I don't see helping someone else out as such an inconvenience .. Seems like good karma to me because someday it's  not "if" , it's "when" we will be the recipient.. Having 2 motors is not always an option.. It's a good idea but ...

Paying for insurance for different water bodies to different services is too.. If there was only tripple A..lol

Edited July 29, 2014 by Rich s

[TileMan Dan]

I agree Rich. SeaTow or Boatusa is your AAA on the water.

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[rbonnell]

In this day in time I find out that people won't go out of their way to help others out its sad what this world has come too

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[Rich s]

To a point and on coastal waterways.. Not messing with this thread and only seeking advice from the good folks that have helped but it seems like.. and to be blunt, how much insurance is the right amount.. AAA, sea tow, boat tow, home owners, car, boat, atv, life etc...

Like said the water stuff is very limited to specific water bodies.. I like to know that folks, like neighbors help each other out in time of need and not looking for a hand out..

 

I will lay this to rest at that but is there a specific raidio # that is best for communications ?

Thanks :

Rich

[rlconverse]

I personally have been on both ends of the tow line. Like the pervious posts. Its just good sportsmanship to help someone in need because you never know when you will need the help!

[PeltHunter]

The harbor fest stuff was over when we got in so it wasn't about the spot and like I said we just talked to Mike of the Bloodvessel and he finished his charter then came back to us, it was 8pm when it happened. Whoever said two motors that's something me and my uncle have talked about in the past and I think this made our mind up to go in halves on a Baha we've been looking at.

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[PeltHunter]

Radio station for help is gonna be 16 and the Coasties will redirect you to 22 when they send out the radio call.

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[Dukdog]

Fishing Lake Michigan back in 08, I was 7 miles out of Manitowoc, Wisconsin about an hour before dark. Shifted from the kicker to the main and as I went to put the motor in gear, the shift cable snapped and stuck in reverse!! I shifted back onto the kicker and away we went! Got in later than I was planning to but we got in!! Best money I ever spent was on that 8 horse Yamaha!

[PeltHunter]

We have about 5 little outboards laying around so we started fabbing up a little rig that we can stow in the cabin in case anything like that happens again