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Aerial Perspective

The captains at Sea Tow are taking advantage of drone technology to make operations safer and easier.

For more than three decades, Sea Tow has been providing Boston Whaler owners with extra peace of mind, with a fleet of captains on call 24/7 to assist on the water, should you ever need them. Now, those captains are using drones to make day-to-day operations safer and easier.

At Sea Tow Central Connecticut, Captain Tom Kehlenbach has been using a DJI Phantom 4 for the past three years, after observing fellow Captain Javier Menendez and his team using a drone on a salvage job in Puerto Rico. Since that mission, Captain Kehlenbach has used his own drone on more than a dozen jobs.

“The drone’s aerial perspective lets you figure out how to get a grounded boat out to deeper water without putting divers in the water,” he said. “Using the drone really helps to reduce the liability involved with a job.”

Drones also serve an educational function, providing a bird’s-eye view that’s useful to Sea Tow’s crew as well as boaters and surveyors. Kehlenbach has used his drone to survey most of Sea Tow Central Connecticut’s service area, helping to familiarize himself and his crews with obstructions in the water below.

Captain Jon Gridley, owner of four Georgia Sea Tow franchises, has seen the benefits of drone technology as well, using his drone in about a dozen salvage and recovery operations. “It allows me to better plan for a job,” he said. “It’s just an extra tool to make our jobs not only safer, but also more effective and more efficient.”

“We’re proud of the way our captains have remained ahead of the curve when it comes to the use of new technology,” Sea Tow CEO Joseph Frohnhoefer III said. “Our job at Sea Tow is to provide the best service possible and make boating safer for everyone, and the use of drones allows our captains to do just that.”

To learn more about Sea Tow and its exclusive benefits for Whaler owners — like getting 14 months of Sea Tow membership for the price of 12 when you use promo code BWF — call 800-4-SEATOW or visit seatow.com.