TowBoatUS Captain is an Oasis In the Desert

Captain Bryan Sloan may have been born in a desert, but the water called to him early in life. At just 28 years old, he’s the owner of TowBoatU.S. ports in Needles, Lake Mohave, and Lake Mead in California.

“I absolutely love being on the water every day helping people out,” says the Las Vegas native, whose journey began when he answered a classified ad for a part-time professional lake patroller. He got the job and immediately knew working on the water was his calling. He next became first-mate, then captain of an 84-foot dinner yacht and earned his U.S. Coast Guard license. He’s since run 100-plus mph twin-hull tour boats on Lake Havasu.

Sloan’s three TowBoatU.S. ports stretch across 150 miles of continuous water along the Colorado River. Two dams – the Hoover and Davis – section off the waterway. Whereas coastal boaters must factor in two consistent tides each day, these rivers boaters need to know the water release schedule for their local dam, which can be more than 18 hours apart.

“We get a lot of groundings, especially from visiting boaters,” Sloan says. “If we can’t pull them off, we know the water will come up on schedule. We remind them the dam release schedules are published a week in advance.”

The local waters are dominated by trailer boaters and houseboats, with almost no commercial activity. With Lake Mead currently at about 30% capacity, Sloan says boaters in western U.S. states have adapted to the persistent low water levels resulting from an extended drought.

The company has four red response vessels from 21- to 26-feet stationed at Needles, Katherine Landing, and Lake Mead marinas. An additional towboat is kept on a trailer ready to go at a moment’s notice, speeding response times in more remote river and lake locations. Visit BoatUS.com/TowBoatUS/Needles to learn more.