SPOT Assist

[MasterBaiter]

If you use the non-emergency distress option, meaning you need a tow, there is no way for the receiver, in this case TowBoatUS, to know whether this is a false alarm or not. They also have no way to give you a confirmation that they received the call. So you sit, hoping the thing worked, 40 miles offshore waiting for a tow boat you hope will arrive. Apparently TowBoatUS dispatches on some false alarms from time to time and SeaTow did not want wasted dispatches.

I spoke to BoatUS yesterday and they said there has been only 1 request from SPOT to tow. He explained there are two SPOTs generation I, and gen II. Gen II is a little more power hungry due to increased power to transmit. There is also LED lights to let you know when a msg. has been sent, satellites aquired type stuff.

I was also assured TowBoatUS answers all calls because if the Towboats don't leave the dock they don't get paid.

Any bad experiences out there?

Gen I - $50
Gen II - $150
Both with $99 per year fees. It looks like I might be renting a Sat Phone this year and hope the technology improves for next.