TowBoatUS Cape Coral

What TowBoatUS Cape Coral does

TowBoatUS Cape Coral, legally Marine Towing & Salvage of S.W. Fl., Inc., is a privately held BoatUS franchise licensee founded in 1995 and headquartered in Cape Coral, Florida. The company provides on-water marine assistance including towing, soft ungrounding, fuel and supply delivery, jump starts, diving services, marine salvage, and oil pollution clean-up across Lee County coastal waters, up to 75 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caloosahatchee Waterway to Moore Haven. Service is delivered via a fleet of six vessels (three outboard-powered, three diesel inboard-powered) strategically positioned at Tarpon Point Marina, Cape Harbor Marina, St. James City, and Town and River in Fort Myers, with 24/7 dispatch via phone and VHF channels 16 and 19.

The franchise is co-owned by Richard Paul and Jay McMillin, who purchased the business in June 2005 after retiring from Publix Supermarkets. Both hold US Coast Guard 50 Gross Ton Master licenses with Assistance Towing Endorsement and are PADI-certified divers and HAZMAT Oil Spill 1st Responder Technicians. Senior Captain Ed Semon (formerly 20-year US Coast Guard) holds a 100 Gross Ton Master license. The company maintains a 4.8/5.0 Google rating across 100 reviews and has placed in the top 5 of 139 Coastal Recruiter locations every year since 2010.

Revenue is generated through three streams: (1) BoatUS member service billing, where the franchise bills BoatUS directly for services rendered to Unlimited and Unlimited Gold members ($165–$179 annual membership tiers); (2) non-member direct fees at $300/hour daytime and $325/hour nighttime, with weather surcharges and per-foot ungrounding charges ($25/foot); and (3) marine salvage and pollution clean-up billed based on vessel length, complexity, and personnel time ($75–$150/hour). Go-to-market relies on the BoatUS national referral network, a content-marketing website, Google Business SEO, and community sponsorships of local fishing tournaments supporting regional charities.

Name

TowBoatUS Cape Coral

Legal name

Marine Towing & Salvage Of S.W. Fl., Inc.

Website

https://towboatuscapecoral.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

TowBoatUS Cape Coral is a privately held BoatUS franchise providing 24/7 on-water marine towing, salvage, fuel delivery, dive, and oil spill clean-up services across Lee County, FL, serving recreational boaters via a six-vessel fleet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Towing and Salvage Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Coastal/Sea Towage (Long-Distance Towing of Vessels/Barges) (TLAHAHAE)

Keywords

• Marine towing services
• Boat salvage operations
• On-water assistance
• Fuel delivery service
• Oil spill cleanup

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Coral

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. BoatUS Member Service Billing: As a BoatUS franchise licensee, TowBoatUS Cape Coral bills BoatUS directly for on-water services provided to BoatUS members (towing, ungrounding, fuel delivery, etc.). Members with Unlimited coverage pay no out-of-pocket costs for covered services.
2. Non-Member Direct Service Fees: Non-members pay competitive market rates directly. Standard daytime towing is $300/hour, nighttime $325/hour, with surcharges for adverse weather conditions and separate per-foot charges for ungrounding operations.
3. Marine Salvage Services: Salvage operations are billed based on vessel length, complexity of the operation, equipment required, and personnel involved. Fees range from $25 per foot to a percentage of the insured vessel value. Pollution/oil spill clean-up is billed by personnel time ($75–$150/hour per person), materials, and disposal charges.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

TowBoatUS Cape Coral is a BoatUS franchise providing on-water marine assistance services for recreational and commercial vessels in Lee County, Florida. Core offerings include 24/7 marine assistance towing, soft ungrounding, fuel and parts delivery, battery jump starts, professional diving, marine salvage, dock-to-dock towing, and oil pollution clean-up, delivered through a fleet of six strategically positioned vessels and dispatched via phone or VHF radio. BoatUS Unlimited and Unlimited Gold memberships cover most of these services at no out-of-pocket cost to members.

Product overview

TowBoatUS Cape Coral operates as a marine towing and salvage franchise under BoatUS, providing on-water emergency assistance services throughout Lee County, Florida. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services including marine assistance towing, fuel and parts delivery, jump starts, marine salvage operations, diving services, and oil pollution clean-up. Services are delivered through a fleet of six vessels strategically positioned across the region, with dispatch available 24/7 via phone and VHF radio. The company also manages a BoatUS membership program offering tiered coverage plans (Unlimited, Unlimited Gold) that provide members with cost-free towing and reduced-rate emergency services, along with access to a network of local marine business discounts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Marine Assistance Towing

Quantifiable outcome

• Average towing cost for non-members is $500–$600 per incident; average ungrounding cost $800–$1,000. Membership eliminates these out-of-pocket costs.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BoatUS (Boat Owners Association of the United States)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 1995TowBoatUS Cape Coral (Marine Towing & Salvage of S.W. Fl., Inc.) operates as an independent company contracting with BoatUS as a franchise licensee since 1995. The company provides on-water towing and salvage services for BoatUS's 650,000+ member base. BoatUS handles member recruitment and billing; TowBoatUS Cape Coral delivers on-water services and bills BoatUS for those services.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Vessel Assist: Former independent marine towing franchise network now operating under BoatUS; provides a directly comparable on-water towing and membership service. Relevant as a historical and structural peer in the same franchise-towing category.
• Sea Tow: SeaTow is the largest direct competitor to TowBoatUS, operating a similar franchise-based on-water towing, salvage, and membership network across U.S. coastal waters including the Gulf Coast. SeaTow is explicitly listed as a referral source on TowBoatUS Cape Coral's own contact page.
• TowBoatUS Charlotte Harbor: Neighboring TowBoatUS franchise covering Charlotte Harbor to the north of Cape Coral; offers the same BoatUS-branded towing and membership services with overlapping referral boundaries. Identified by TowBoatUS Cape Coral as its northern neighbor.
• TowBoatUS Marco / Naples: Neighboring TowBoatUS franchise covering Marco Island and Naples to the south of Cape Coral; operates the same BoatUS-branded on-water service model with overlapping service boundaries. Identified by TowBoatUS Cape Coral as its southern neighbor.

Broad incumbents

• Boat Owners Association of the United States (BoatUS): BoatUS is the national membership organization and franchisor that TowBoatUS Cape Coral contracts with; it sets membership pricing, runs the 24/7 national dispatch, and operates 225+ TowBoatUS ports. Comparable in that it defines the economics and member demand pipeline for the franchise.

Regional players

• Sea Services North America: Regional marine assistance and salvage provider active in Florida waters; competes for the same salvage, towing, and oil-spill response contracts as TowBoatUS Cape Coral, particularly in commercial vessel and pollution response work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TowBoatUSCapeCoral
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tow-boat-us

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 TowBoatUS Cape Coral