Seatow Services Boston

What Seatow Services Boston does

Sea Tow Services Boston is a locally owned and operated franchise of Sea Tow Services International, Inc., delivering 24/7 on-water marine assistance to recreational boaters and commercial marine operators in the Boston metro area. The franchise is operated by Local Captain Ethan Maass from a home base at 256 Marginal Street, East Boston, Massachusetts, and is part of a national network spanning 500+ ports. Its core offering is an annual membership subscription — led by the Gold Card tier with nationwide coverage, dock-to-dock towing on all owned vessels, fuel delivery, jump-starts, ungroundings, and $5,000 out-of-area reimbursement — supplemented by Lake Card, Commercial/Professional Card, and Trailer Care tiers.

The underlying operating model is a distributed fleet of customized, fully-equipped tow boats strategically positioned throughout the service area and staffed by Coast Guard-licensed captains, enabling an average on-water response time under one hour. Technology supporting the operation includes an iOS/Android mobile app and a web platform (app.seatow.com) for membership enrollment, renewal, account management, and service requests, alongside 24/7 phone support via national and local lines. Adjacent service lines cover boat salvage, vessel recovery, environmental response, catastrophe response, and on-water vessel charter for commercial clients.

Revenue is generated through three mechanics: recurring annual membership subscriptions (primary), per-incident fee-for-service for non-members (average daytime hourly rate ~$300, short tows ~$850, longer tows $2,000+), and B2B contract-based marine support. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via mobile app, website, phone, and local franchise community presence, with the parent brand providing national marketing support and inter-franchise coordination for out-of-area coverage.

Name

Seatow Services Boston

Legal name

Sea Tow Services International, Inc.

Website

https://seatowboston.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sea Tow Services Boston is a locally owned franchise providing 24/7 on-water marine assistance — towing, fuel delivery, jump-starts, salvage, and recovery — to recreational boaters and commercial marine operators in the Boston metro area through annual memberships and B2B contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Towing and On-Water Assistance Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883), Other Support Activities for Water Transportation (48839)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Emergency Towage & Rescue (Disabled Vessel Assistance) (TLAHAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Emergency Towage & Rescue (Refloating, Grounding Response) (IMAJANAB), Coastal/Sea Towage (Long-Distance Towing of Vessels/Barges) (TLAHAHAE)

Keywords

• Boat towing services
• On-water assistance
• Marine salvage
• Boat membership
• Commercial marine support

Headquarters

HQ city

East Boston, MA

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Annual Membership Subscriptions: Primary revenue from annual boat towing membership fees. Members pay one comprehensive annual rate covering towing, fuel delivery, jump-starts, and other on-water assistance services without additional per-incident charges.
2. Non-Member Fee-For-Service: Revenue from non-members who pay per-incident fees for on-water services. Average daytime hourly rate approximately $300, with short tows averaging $850 and longer tows exceeding $2,000.
3. Commercial and B2B Marine Services: Contract-based services for commercial operations including vessel charters, environmental response, catastrophe response, and on-water support services for research, survey, and film/photo operations. Offered on one-day or long-term contract basis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sea Tow Services Boston is a locally owned and operated franchise providing on-water boat towing and marine assistance services to recreational and commercial boaters in the Boston, MA area. Core offerings include annual memberships (Gold Card, Lake Card, Commercial/Professional Card) that provide priority 24/7 emergency on-water service such as towing, fuel delivery, jump-starts, ungroundings, dock-to-dock towing, and salvage. Non-members can request fee-for-service towing, and B2B clients can contract for vessel charters, environmental response, catastrophe response, and other on-water support.

Product overview

Sea Tow Boston is a locally owned and operated marine assistance franchise offering a membership-based boat towing and on-water services platform. The core offering consists of Gold Card membership (primary tier with nationwide coverage), supplemented by specialized memberships including Lake Card (inland waters), Commercial/Professional Card (B2B marine support), and Trailer Care (land transport assistance). The portfolio also includes a mobile app available on iOS and Android. All memberships provide access to a fleet of Coast Guard-licensed captains offering priority service, fuel delivery, jump-starts, ungroundings, dock-to-dock towing, and 24/7 navigation assistance. Commercial/professional services extend to boat salvage, recovery, on-water vessel charter, environmental response, and catastrophe response.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Gold Card: Membership card tier offering premium boat towing services and benefits.
• Lake Card
• Commercial / Professional Card
• Trailer Care

Products and services

• Gold Card Membership Primary boat towing membership offering priority on-water service, fuel delivery, jump-starts, ungroundings, dock-to-dock towing on all vessels owned, and nationwide coverage with $5,000 out-of-all-areas reimbursement. Designed for recreational boat owners seeking comprehensive annual coverage.
• Lake Card Membership Membership tier designed for inland lake boaters, providing on-water assistance coverage for lakes and freshwater bodies.
• Commercial / Professional Card Membership Membership designed for commercial operators and marine professionals, offering B2B marine support services including crew changes, launch services, line handling, research, survey, vessel charters, and salvage/recovery.
• Trailer Care Membership Membership add-on covering trailer-related assistance services for boaters who transport their vessels over land.
• Sea Tow Mobile App Mobile application for members to access membership dashboard, account details, renew memberships, and request on-water assistance. Available on iOS and Android platforms.
• Sea Insure Boat insurance product offered in partnership with a third-party provider for member protection.
• On-Water Services & Vessels for Hire B2B marine support services including small plane recovery, crew changes, launch services, line handling, research, engineering, survey, movie/film/photo, safety, security and escort services, vessel charters, and long-distance coastal boat towing. Targeted at commercial operators, research organizations, and film/photo productions.
• Boat Salvage Specialized salvage services for boats on the rocks or actively sinking, including coordination with insurance companies and resource deployment to minimize damage. Provided by Coast Guard-licensed captains.
• Boat Recovery Vessel recovery services for boats that have blown off moorings, sunk at docks, or run aground, including small plane and vehicle recovery in water.
• Environmental Response and Support Environmental support services ranging from small spills at local fuel docks to major spills in heavily trafficked waterways, including relationships with subcontractors and vessel haul-outs through local marina partnerships.
• Catastrophe Response Large and small-scale disaster response services for vessel retrieval and damage mitigation after catastrophic events, with overland marine transport services potentially available.
• MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity) Maritime radio service identity registration service for boaters.

Quantifiable outcome

• Average response time under 1 hour for on-water service
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Navily: Navily is a boating navigation and harbor information app used by recreational boaters for anchorage reviews, route planning, and on-water information. It is adjacent to Sea Tow's 'Ask Sea Tow' navigation assistance service rather than a direct competitor.
• Dockwa: Dockwa is a marina reservation and boating trip-planning platform serving recreational boaters. While not a direct assistance provider, it sits in the same boating ecosystem and competes for the digital relationship with the same end customer.

Direct peers

• Vessel Assist: Vessel Assist is a marine towing and assistance membership program historically operated as a Sea Tow competitor and now operating under the BoatUS umbrella. It offers a comparable subscription-based on-water assistance model targeting recreational boaters.
• BoatUS (TowBoatUS): BoatUS operates TowBoatUS, the largest direct competitor to Sea Tow in on-water assistance memberships. Both offer annual subscription towing with similar feature sets (priority dispatch, fuel delivery, jump-starts, ungroundings), and TowBoatUS is the principal head-to-head competitor in the Boston metro market.

Emerging players

• BoatFix: BoatFix is a digital-first marine assistance and concierge platform offering on-water support, towing dispatch, and member services through a mobile app. It represents a newer, technology-forward entrant targeting the same recreational boater segment as Sea Tow Boston.

Broad incumbents

• BoatUS Marine Insurance: BoatUS offers a broader portfolio of boating services including marine insurance, financing, and consumer education. While not a direct on-water assistance competitor, Sea Tow's Sea Insure product competes with BoatUS's insurance offering within an overlapping customer base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/SeaTow
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SeaTowHQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/SeaTowBoston
• Instagraminstagram.com/sea_tow
• Pinterestpinterest.com/seatow
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/seatow-services-boston

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Seatow Services Boston