Husband and wife veterans are new owners of TowBoatUS Stuart, Fla.

Harry and Judy Honan, new owners of TowBoatUS Stuart, along with company mascot (seated at helm), Brady © Scott Croft

Harry and Judy Honan, U.S. Air Force veterans who met while serving abroad, are the new owners of TowBoatUS Stuart, Florida, a 24/7 on water towing and assistance service for recreational boaters.

The port's former owner, Capt. Woody Woodruff, one of the first TowBoatUS company owners in the nationwide fleet, has decided to retire. However, some familiar faces, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed towboat captains Jesse Hofmeister and Scott Alvarez, remain with the company.

The Honans are excited about their new venture, which comes after a long career as CPAs. They provided accounting and tax services to all types of small companies, including towboat and offshore fishing businesses. The longtime boaters - Harry has boated since he was 8 - underwent extensive training under Woodruff.

"Woody ran a very successful operation," says Harry. "We have gotten to know the business well and are looking forward to helping boaters have a better day on the water. Jesse and Scott are really good at what they do, and Judy and I are very pleased to have them."

The Honans say they will be seeking additional response vessel captains to round out the company roster.

TowBoatUS Stuart patrols offshore through the St. Lucie Inlet to Lake Okeechobee, up the Intracoastal Waterway to Fort Pierce and south to the Jupiter Inlet. The company has four red TowBoatUS response vessels homeported at Sailfish Marina and Riverwatch Marina. All are rigged for towing, jump-starts, fuel delivery and soft ungroundings and easily recognizable with TowBoatUS logos emblazoned in white letters on each side. Separate from BoatUS towing services, the company offers boat salvage and dive services.

The most common requests for on-water assistance, says Harry, are for ungrounding or fuel issues. "Sand bars move around continuously. Being on the wrong side of a buoy or mark could mean going from 7 feet of water in the channel to just two outside the mark."

TowBoatUS Stuart is part of a network of 300 TowBoatUS ports and 600 towing response vessels across the country that responded to more than 70,000 requests for assistance last year. BoatUS offers on-water Unlimited Towing Memberships for saltwater boaters and anglers for just $165 per year that offers 24/7 on-water assistance for battery jumps, towing, soft ungroundings and fuel drop-offs. Boaters without BoatUS towing services face costs averaging $750 per towing incident, with some paying more.

Included with Unlimited Towing Membership are more than 25 Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) benefits and discounts, a subscription to BoatUS Magazine, free DSC-VHF radio registration, and more. Florida boaters with GEICO Marine Insurance may choose to add an Unlimited Towing endorsement to their insured boat's policy for as little as $60.

The fastest way to summon assistance from TowBoatUS Stuart is to download the free BoatUS App that connects boaters to the closest local towing captain in less than a minute. Additionally, the company can be reached at 772-286-8123, by hailing on VHF channel 16, or by phoning the BoatUS toll-free 24/7 Dispatch Center at 800-391-4869. More information can be found at BoatUS.com/Towing or by calling 800-888-4869.