• Welcome to Jetboaters.net!

    We are delighted you have found your way to the best Jet Boaters Forum on the internet! Please consider Signing Up so that you can enjoy all the features and offers on the forum. We have members with boats from all the major manufacturers including Yamaha, Seadoo, Scarab and Chaparral. We don't email you SPAM, and the site is totally non-commercial. So what's to lose? IT IS FREE!

    Membership allows you to ask questions (no matter how mundane), meet up with other jet boaters, see full images (not just thumbnails), browse the member map and qualifies you for members only discounts offered by vendors who run specials for our members only! (It also gets rid of this banner!)

    free hit counter

Anyone tried one of these Boat Latches?

I started with the boat buddy ii, similar to both the ramp n clamp as well as this boat2trailer device. The boat buddy’s shell is made of soft plastic that cracks easily. The ramp n clamp which I’m currently using has a hard plastic shell like that of some premium bow rollers. The boat2trailer with the roller seems to be the latest variant of this device. One thing that I noticed is that the boat2trailer device seems to focus on making launching easy whereas the other devices focus on recovering the boat onto the trailer, at least that is their most important function for me. I didn’t see any recovery videos on the boat2trailer site. Personally, I don’t see much value in the ability to pull a string or pull a lever to release the boat from inside the boat but it’s because that is not how I launch when boating solo or with others.

Price wise the ramp n clamp is about the same price is the boat2trailer. The boat buddy ii is about half the price of the other devices. The locking mechanism on boat buddy ii is more prone to breaking so is it’s cover. If the cover breaks while you are power loading the metal underneath the plastic could easily damage your boat.
 
Last edited:
There are a few videos showing the recovery. You just drive the boat up onto the trailer until it snaps and locks into place then pull it out of the water. It also seemed well constructed at 10lbs in weight. I do like the model that comes with the bow roller. Seemed like it would protect the gel coat.,
 
I have been trying to get my father to put the Drotto device on the trailer for their 22' Scout for 3 months now. Mom cannot help launch and retrieve as effectively since the double hip replacement and he is not as mobile since the Knee replacement. What good is it being a Snowbird if you can't use your boat. ;) I will be following this thread. I also told him about the Ramp n Clamp. Will see what they end up with. He wanted to see them in action at a boat ramp near Englewood/Punta Gorda.
 
Last edited:
I forgot to mention that with both the boat buddy ii and ramp n clamp (I suspect the boat2trailer is the same), positioning of the trailer in the ramp and alignment of the boat to the trailer is key to a smooth / trouble free recovery and launch. Of course this is true even if you use a conventional bow roller but seemingly more so if you have a locking device, the sweet spot/working range of the locking device is just smaller.

That is if the trailer is to far up the ramp you will need to winch the boat up to the locking device on recovery, when launching in this situation you will need to push or power your boat off the trailer after disengaging the locking device. If the trailer is to deep the locking device may be lower than the bow eye of the boat so they won’t connect on recovery (all of the devices are designed to allow the bow eye of the boat to slide forward into the bottom of the device not slide back and down into the top of it) , when launching like this your boat will be floating before you disengage the locking device which could put a lot of stress on the device, especially if you don’t have trailer guides to keep the boat centered on the trailer.

Finally, I assume that the boat2trailer requires a longer than usual bow eye, if so the extended bow eye should be included with the boat2trailer, it is with the other two devices. I’m looking forward to some members reviews of the boat2trailer. There or were other solutions available (e.g. wireless/remote controlled devices and devices which use cables, pulleys and electric motors) but I’ve never read of any members here or on Yamaha jet boaters using them.
 
Ronnie said:
I forgot to mention that with both the boat buddy ii and ramp n clamp (I suspect the boat2trailer is the same), positioning of the trailer in the ramp and alignment of the boat to the trailer is key to a smooth / trouble free recovery and launch. Of course this is true even if you use a conventional bow roller but seemingly more so if you have a locking device, the sweet spot/working range of the locking device is just smaller.

That is if the trailer is to far up the ramp you will need to winch the boat up to the locking device on recovery, when launching in this situation you will need to push or power your boat off the trailer after disengaging the locking device. If the trailer is to deep the locking device may be lower than the bow eye of the boat so they won’t connect on recovery (all of the devices are designed to allow the bow eye of the boat to slide forward into the bottom of the device not slide back and down into the top of it) , when launching like this your boat will be floating before you disengage the locking device which could put a lot of stress on the device, especially if you don’t have trailer guides to keep the boat centered on the trailer.

Finally, I assume that the boat2trailer requires a longer than usual bow eye, if so the extended bow eye should be included with the boat2trailer, it is with the other two devices. I’m looking forward to some members reviews of the boat2trailer. There or were other solutions available (e.g. wireless/remote controlled devices and devices which use cables, pulleys and electric motors) but I’ve never read of any members here or on Yamaha jet boaters using them.
Click to expand...

A few screen shots from the site.

Ramp N Clamp Compatibility - Boat2Trailer

www.boat2trailerhookup.com www.boat2trailerhookup.com

20200221_113116.png

20200221_113206.png

20200221_113139.png
 
Last edited:
gwrace1 said:
Looks like it should work fine on our Yamaha 195S Jet boat. We're thinking about adding the model with the bow roller to our list of upgrades. My wife absolutely hates to drive any vehicle with a trailer so I end up doing all the unloading and loading.

Boat Launch - Boat Launch Videos | Easy Boat Launching | Boat2Trailer | Drotto Latch
Boat Loading - Boat Loading Videos | Loading Boat Easy | Boat2Trailer | Drotto Boat Latch
Click to expand...
Teach her to load and unload the boat while you trailer. My wife and I do this and it is awesome. She can load in the heaviest cross winds. It makes our boating so much more relaxing. It also gives her importance and she is proud to help. She has her boat checklists and I have the trailer check list.
 
I like the sound of that. She has done some limited driving with our previoius boats but was not a real fan of that either. Hopefully with a new boat and a new season she will find her role. To her credit our previous boats were a 20 foot bass boat with Merc 200 EFI outboard. She never liked the way that boat handled or having to deal with the motor tilt. Our other boat was a ShuttleCraft with a Kawasaki Jetski. She handled that one much easier. So hopefully she will take on the new jet boat without too many concerns. I miss that old Shuttlecraft. A pretty cool little family boat.
 
gwrace1 said:
I like the sound of that. She has done some limited driving with our previoius boats but was not a real fan of that either. Hopefully with a new boat and a new season she will find her role. To her credit our previous boats were a 20 foot bass boat with Merc 200 EFI outboard. She never liked the way that boat handled or having to deal with the motor tilt. Our other boat was a ShuttleCraft with a Kawasaki Jetski. She handled that one much easier. So hopefully she will take on the new jet boat without too many concerns. I miss that old Shuttlecraft. A pretty cool little family boat.
Click to expand...
You might think about steering enhancements to help with loading.

With my wife loading. It means I dont have to drive the boat on, go from the bow down to the trailer. Obviously it's the same with unloading. My wife's first time loading. We had heavy crosswinds and we agreed that she wanted to try it by herself with me not in the boat. I put the trailer in and she had the veevee guildes to help. We had a issue, she stopped and reversed out and lined up to and did right on after she had a better judge of the crosswinds. Just remember to pull up to anything no faster than you care to hit it. You really have to on and off the throttle. Fwd to reverse with just burst of thrust.
 
Last edited:
gwrace1 said:
Looks like it should work fine on our Yamaha 195S Jet boat. We're thinking about adding the model with the bow roller to our list of upgrades. My wife absolutely hates to drive any vehicle with a trailer so I end up doing all the unloading and loading.

Boat Launch - Boat Launch Videos | Easy Boat Launching | Boat2Trailer | Drotto Latch
Boat Loading - Boat Loading Videos | Loading Boat Easy | Boat2Trailer | Drotto Boat Latch
Click to expand...
Did you end up getting this and putting on your 195S? I have a 2020 AR195 and looking at this product
 
Yes and it works as advertised. Very simple to install and in my opinion is a nice addition for safety. Our boat ramps are really steep and drop off quickly. It reduces the risk of falling and injury jumping over the front of the boat onto a slippery boat ramp. We opted for the one that included the bow roller.
 
gwrace1 said:
Yes and it works as advertised. Very simple to install and in my opinion is a nice addition for safety. Our boat ramps are really steep and drop off quickly. It reduces the risk of falling and injury jumping over the front of the boat onto a slippery boat ramp. We opted for the one that included the bow roller.
Click to expand...
@gwrace1 Could you provide some pics of the installed Drotto..It would help in purchase decision thanks, why did you go with the roller option?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

2kwik4u
Anyone use one of these "silent" adjustable hitches
Replies
3
Views
475
2kwik4u
2kwik4u
applemagic77
Ride steady with auto launch worth the extra cost over perfect pass
Replies
3
Views
249
FSH 210 Sport
FSH 210 Sport
FSH 210 Sport
Best Boat Test review in a long while
    • Like
Replies
1
Views
284
zipper
zipper
H
Anyone use a TriAnchor?
Replies
5
Views
889
Andrew Vishnevsky
Andrew Vishnevsky
FSH 210 Sport
$500 off on MinnKota Quest Trolling motors now through March 31st.
    • Like
Replies
0
Views
100
FSH 210 Sport
FSH 210 Sport
Back
Top