[Fr. Frank]

I read the whole thread. Only thing I can figure is, some folks think you should provide towing services for free. In 1983, I was the tow-boat Captain for Waterway Marina in Palm Beach Gardens. 22 years ago we charged $150 just to come give someone's boat a jumpstart. If you were not a storage customer at the marina, towing your vessel would cost you $300 per hour in quarter-hour increments. And the time charged began when I left the dock to come get you. And that was 1983! I remember towing a 28 Allmand in from 17 miles offshore in the Gulfstream with, yes, you guessed it, a '77 23 SeaCraft with twin 115 'rudes. SeaTow didn't come along in Palm Beach until later that year. If you weren't a SeaTow member, Capt Will charged exactly the same thing we did at Waterway.
$500 is INCREDIBLY cheap. With that kind of damage, you could have easily made a case for salvage to the tune of $6K to $8K.
But I noticed that Chuck isn't complaining. It's the people who weren't there who are complaining. Figures.