He’ll Tow Your Boat Ashore Sheriff’s Department Says Alleluia To Firm, Though Stranded Boaters Now Will Have To Pay

Boaters had better get in the habit of filling their gas tanks and checking their batteries before heading out onto Lake Coeur d’Alene.

The era of the free tow has ended.

A 4-day-old towing business on the lake has freed up the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department for more important matters, meaning stranded boaters will now have to pay to get hauled to shore.

And it ain’t cheap.

Skipper’s Marine is charging $100 minimum to tow a boat. Captain David Grumstrup also will jump-start boats and haul five gallons of gas for $50 to $85, depending on how far he has to go.

Grumstrup’s 15-1/2-foot Chrysler boat is ready to respond 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he said.

“People are out here to have a good time. Nothing’s more depressing than to have something go wrong with their boat,” Grumstrup said.

He should know. In June, he was nearly stranded in water around Arrow Point. A friend towed him home to Echo Bay, and that’s when he got the idea for the business.

The Sheriff’s Department is all too willing to get out of the towing business.

“We’re not a taxi service and we’re not a towing service,” said Capt. Ben Wolfinger. “We’re a law enforcement agency.”

Sgt. Dan Soumas said the marine division gets several calls a day to assist disabled vessels. In one recent incident, Soumas and a deputy on call had to launch a boat to assist a boat whose owner was trying to make it to shore without fueling up at the lake’s gas stations.

“I had to go out and bring him gas because he didn’t want to pay the 30 cents or 40 cents extra for the gas on the lake,” Soumas groused.

Grumstrup is the only marine business on the lake, and perhaps in the Inland Northwest, devoted to towing and assisting recreation boats. His Merchant Marine license only applies to Lake Coeur d’Alene and its tributaries.

Because he was waiting for the paperwork to be finalized, Grumstrup could not work the lucrative Fourth of July holiday.

Although he’s alone in his field, Grumstrup said he’s charging a fair price ($50 to $70 less than similar businesses on the coast, he said) and providing a needed service.

Now, when the Sheriff’s Department tows a boat, they’ll only tow to the nearest dock. Grumstrup will tow anywhere on the lake.

“You won’t get cut loose in the middle of the night because the sheriff has to go to an emergency,” he pointed out.

Soumas said that because now boaters will have to pay for their tows - except in emergency situations - some might do a better job of planning ahead.

“When it starts costing them money, some boaters will become more responsible,” he said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo