Crew | Mascot | Equipment | Historical
Crew
Joseph McGuinness - Owner, Captain
Capt. Joe spent some time on the local waters in his youth, which developed into a desire to
spend his life on the water. After high school, Joe was accepted to the Merchant Marine
Academy, which he attended from 1987 thru 1991. After graduation he began his 10-year career
at sea working on oil tankers and grain ships.
Capt. Joe came ashore in the year 2000, carrying with him a USCG 1600 Ton Masters License. After a brief stint as a Sea Tow® Captain in the local area, Joe bought Sea Tow Eastern CT in November of 2000 and has been here ever since. There are very few times you might catch Joe not wearing a Sea Tow shirt, mainly during football season. Joe loves what he does. We should all be so lucky….
We have several full and part-time employees who make up the Sea Tow Eastern CT crew. They perform all of the functions related to Sea Tow, including towing, fleet maintenance, marketing, dispatch, diving, salvage operations and more.
Mascot
Maggie
We can’t forget to include our Sea Tow mascot, Maggie! Maggie is a schipperke (skip-per-kee). She can often be found hiding under a piece of furniture, chewing on a bone or barking at nothing. Maggie is the true boss of the
office. Hannah and Buster know better than to mess with her.
She was also the one to patent the ever-popular spin move. Many have tried to copy it, but
none have succeeded.
Equipment
Sea Tow 28 HBI
Sea Tow 28 HBI is our most recently refitted boat. She started her Sea Tow career working in Palm Beach,
Florida, and then came to Eastern Connecticut in the Spring of 2002. She ran strong and
worked hard for several years before we did a complete overhaul.
The winter of 2003/2004 saw a brand new inflatable tube, which was closer to the original tube design for HBI; a bit smaller & more streamlined. She is actually the second hull of this size made by HBI, originally designed for a military application. She was never used by the military, but the hull design was so strong she was chosen for service with Sea Tow.
The winter of 2004/2005 she underwent a complete overhaul. We replaced everything, including the fuel tank. She was completely stripped down, undergoing some fiberglass work to the decking and the hull and a new paint job. She received a new all aluminum and fiberglass T-top, with custom isinglass and canvas enclosure. All new electronics allow us to go out in almost any weather conditions, and the twin 300-horsepower Yamaha direct injection motors allow us to get to you quickly. She lives at the mouth of the Mystic River, at the Noank Shipyard, but can be seen most anywhere at anytime. Though she is the boat that is operated the least, she still averages about 150 hours per year.
Sea Tow 26 CAT-Mystic
Our Mystic 26 foot Twin Vee Catamaran is the star of our fleet as she is the towing vessel you will most often see us on. She lives at the mouth of the Mystic River and can be seen off the shores of Westerly, Fishers Island, Old Lyme and the waters in between. She runs on a pair of 200 hp Yamaha counter rotating outboard motors, which gives us great fuel efficiency and tremendous speed when needed.
Because she is our main emergency response boat, she generally runs about 475 hours per year. You will notice subtle differences between our two catamarans including the rail height, transom design, console design, hard top vs. canvas top and more! We designed this boat from the hull up to meet our specific needs and demands!
Sea Tow 26 CAT- Niantic
Our Niantic 26 foot Twin Vee Catamaran was our first catamaran in service. She is stationed in the Niantic area but can be seen anywhere Sea Tow Eastern Connecticut goes. She is extremely fuel efficient with her twin Yamaha 200 hp outboard motors. She runs an average speed of about 28 to 32 knots but can “kick it up a notch” when needed!
Sea Tow 12-ft Inflatable
Our 12-foot Brig Inflatable is the latest addition to our fleet. With a 25 hp Johnson
outboard motor on the stern, she can travel at a top speed of about 30 knots, and sneak into
very shallow water. Because of the very nature of our business, there are times that we are
unable to maneuver our larger vessels into shallow or rock laden areas, or must respond to a
vessel that has been beached. She is indispensable when it comes to any number of urgent,
time sensitive events where a larger vessel with more draft cannot accommodate.
Historical
Sea Tow 22 CAT
Our 22 foot Twin Vee Catamaran was retired from our fleet in 2006, with the addition of our newest 26 foot Twin Vee. She moved on to warmer weather as a new addition to the Sea Tow Lake Havasu Arizona fleet. When she was a member of Eastern Connecticut’s fleet, her qualifications read:
She is virtually the same boat as our 26-foot Catamaran, just 3 ½ feet shorter. There are also subtle differences such as the higher rails, the forward anchor locker, the repositioned console door and the under seat storage. Twin Vee made some very important improvements to the style and functionality of the boat, but needed no changes when it came to ride, stability and handling.
You can find our 22-foot Catamaran docked just North of the highway bridge in the Niantic River. This is where she lives during our spring, summer and fall season, as this is the best location from which to service our members in the Waterford, Niantic and East Lyme area. Keep an eye out though, she has been known to travel as far away as Westerly on occasion.