Drotto boat latch

[Aquaholic]

I want to get one for my dad. Has anybody had experience with them? Do they work great? Any mishaps or problems with them? Come unhooked going down the road, steep ramps, river current problems hooking/unhooking??
Thanks

 

[jdfisherman]

I've had one on a roller trailer about 2 years now - works great and no issues with it. Makes a 2 man launch super easy and makes a 1 man launch a lot easier . You don't want to rely on it to keep your boat on the trailer (it is mechanical and can fail) so safety chain stays on until the trailer tires hit the water and gets hooked up again as soon as the tires come out of the water on the way out. Strap gets hooked up for trailering.

 

[guywhofishes]

I see they sell replacement handles for $40

that seems ridiculously high priced

glad the bow is easy enough for me to access manually or I'd be tempted to buy one

 

[mounty]

I used one for 2 summers. It has been flawless. I'm older so hanging over the bow is not an option. I think they should be standard equipment on all boat trailers.

 

[Downrigger]

I love mine. Had one issue with a steep launch but just had to back the trailer in further than I would normally do.

 

[Bauer]

I absolutely love my drotto. In my opinion the best 225$ I’ve ever spent on my boat. If it were to fail tomorrow I would have a new one coming before I even took it off the boat. I unlatch everything at the top(bunk trailer). Climb in. Wife backs me in until I’m floating. Walk up front. Hit lever to release. By the time I am back to the helm I’m usually off the trailer and the wife is pulling out. When loading. She backs in until I stop her, power up into the drotto and she is pulling out when she feels the click. Usually the fastest couple, including buddies into and out of the water. Even with it being her first year backing me in. I have a fiberglass lund and it is simple smooth. A buddy has an aluminum boat and had a bit of trouble at first with the added gusset for the bow eye. He ground on the drotto a bit and got it to work pretty good. Takes a harder hit for him to catch, but nothing outrageous.

If I am by myself, I back in until I see the back of the boat float up, I can then get in, get the boat started and ready, hit the latch and float off, tie up and park the truck.
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[DerHornen]

As jdfisherman mentioned, you still need to have your main winch and safety chain hooked up at all times except during loading and unloading. They aren't intended to replace the strap while going down the road. Always make sure you're already started backing down the ramp before releasing the winch so you'll know right away if something is off and the latch isn't fully engaged.

I've had mine for two or three years now on my roller trailer and it's a huge help, especially with solo loading and unloading. The nose hook on my rig isn't within reach from inside the boat so I used to have to climb out onto the trailer or step into knee deep water to launch and load.

 

[shorthairsrus]

Does it eliminate the need for me to lean over front and attach safety latch

 

[dodgeguy]

I looked at these as well but decided to go with the steps instead. With my luck thought it would malfunction on the busiest day at the dock. Steps are more but thought they'd serve dual purpose.

 

[701FishSlayer]

Does it set your boat back farther on the trailer

 

[jdfisherman]

Does it eliminate the need for me to lean over front and attach safety latch

You don't have to attach the safety chain or winch until you're out of the water and can do so from the ground, but you don't want to go too far without doing so in case the latch fails and dumps your boat on the landing.

- - - Updated - - -

Does it set your boat back farther on the trailer

About 2" - 3" farther back.

 

[Bauer]

Does it set your boat back farther on the trailer

My lund boatmate bunk trailer did just fine, thankfully since the winch tree is welded not bolted on. I didn't have to make any adjustments.

My buddies G3, we had to slide the winch tree forward and clock it downward as it wanted to lift the front of the boat too much.

So definitely going to be trailer/boat dependent, but takes only a few minutes to figure out without any skills. Don't be afraid of it.