Executive Suite: Joe Frohnhoefer, Southold

When Congress mandated privatization of the nonemergency sector of the Coast Guard in 1982 and the Guard shifted its focus toward national defense and away from broken-down boat nuisance calls, Joe Frohnhoefer seized the opportunity. He founded Sea Tow Services International Inc. in Southold, trademarking his new business and yellow boat color to become something akin to an AAA service on the water that can tow, jump-start or bring gas and equipment to stranded boats.

Now 36 boats cover the Long Island area, and Sea Tow has 100 franchise locations and some 200,000 members in the United States, Europe, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Frohnhoefer, 69, has launched a Sea Tow app for smartphones that gives a boater's exact position to the Coast Guard in case of emergency. And he founded a nonprofit that lends free life jackets to boaters. The jackets have already saved the life of a Delaware 5-year-old who was thrown into the water when a boat exploded.

What's your most common emergency call?

Broken-down boat . . . out of gas, dead battery or mechanical breakdown.

What fueled your growth?

Probably advertising: The public has to know us. And being on the water, being visual, responding in a good time . . . and providing a service. You have to be good at what you do.

What was key to creating the franchise network?

A lot of work, and a fair contract. We sat down with a licensee advisory board, the International Franchise Association. By doing it with fairness and equality so that everybody's happy, it's going to last a lot longer. Some people have been with us for 25 years; they're turning it over to their children.

What are some of the obstacles your service providers face?

Sometimes there are problems, especially at night or on the water when it's foggy. You can't always get there as quick as people would like, and some people want us to kind of drop out of the sky and be there. It takes a little longer to get there on the water than it does to get to somebody on the road.

What's covered under a Sea Tow membership?

Free ungroundings if we can do it within 20 minutes, battery jumps, fuel drops, we'll bring parts out, and we'll tow you to your home port.

What was your most dangerous call?

We got caught in some waves going to a rescue. A woman hit the rocks with her husband, and they were sinking. The wind was blowing about 30 knots . . . a wave broke over the top of our boat, threw both windshields out, took out my lights and communications, and I wound up with 16 stitches in my chest from the windshield that hit me . . . When I rolled up in front of [the stranded boat] the woman said, "You look worse than we do." We got them hauled out within about 20 minutes.

Corporate snapshot

NAME: Joe Frohnhoefer, founder and CEO of Sea Tow Services International Inc., Southold

WHAT IT DOES: Provides on-water assistance to Sea Tow members and other boaters

EMPLOYEES: 25 full time, 15 part time on Long Island; 600 full and part time at independent franchise locations

REVENUE: $30 million