Drotto Latching System

I'm pretty sure that up until about a year ago, Boat 2 Trailer marketed the Drotto. They now are selling a different product called the Ramp N Clamp. Apparently it's designed so it doesn't move the boat back on the trailer as much so most trailer post or bunk adjustments aren't necessary. ?

Just wondering if they are one in the same, why the forty $ price difference. Granted they provide the same convenience but there are differences. Just wondered if anyone has had experiences with both. The cost to me is of no concern. Personally the Drotto looks to be the better of the two but looks aren’t everything. Just saying.

Agreed, one and the same.

I believe boat2trailer is the name of the company/web address or email name but whatever it’s the same thing as the drotto. I looked at my installation sheets and they had the term drotto and boat2trailer on them....

Seems like there’s a new kid on the block. Has anyone checked out the boat2trailer latching system? Any comparison to Drotto?

Drotto catch is very handy and glad I put it on.  My observation is the window to capture the eye on the bow of the boat is small so make sure you get a good feel for it when lining up.  If you miss it and give the motor a little pop to engage catch you could mar your boat if you over shoot.  Be aware of that for first time users.   The other thing is with the handle on and bouncing around it can disengage the Drotto while on the road.  It is not a replacement for the winch strap and safety chain.  it is still a good practice to still have at least part of your boat over water before removing winch and safety strips, and remember to put them on as soon as you have enough room to do so.  For me as soon as I latch into the drotto, shut the motor down & finish trimming up its very easy for me to walk to the bow of the boat and put safety chain and winch strap on before I exit the boat to pull out.  It sure makes single person operation much easier.

I have a drotto on my boat for 4 years, works good. Before drotto: NEVER take both winch strap and safety chain off before back end of boat is over the water !!!!!!! I have seen a boat slide off the trailer onto the ramp before, ruins everything, boat, motor, and all transducers. I leave the winch strap on as I have had the boat slide back a little on rough ramps. If you leave the safety chain on and the boat moves, you will have to hook up the winch again to take the tension off the chain so you can unhook it. Just my info and experiences, hope this helps
Also, sometimes you have to "bump" it pretty good to get it to latch.

I put one on about the time I first saw them at the Milwaukee sports show. It has worked pretty darn well on my Crestliner SuperHawk although I do have to do a little power load to get it to latch. Still a lot better than trying to hang over the trolling motor, hook the winch on and crank.... my bro in law was so impressed that he bought one to put on his brand new Mirro craft and he claims it won’t work on that boat...claims he has to put another roller on the trailer and has plans to do so so he’s never returned it. We both have bunk trailers so I don’t get it.......
I did learn something about them a couple years ago. I was parked in a fairly flat area at a boat landing and was doing all the normal things, unhooking the straps, removing the transom saver, checking plug ?? and I just went and pushed the handle on the drotto. I assumed that un hooked it......I backed it in assuming the boat would just float off it....it didn’t. The drotto has to have pressure on it when you push the handle or it won’t unhook. Any boat landing has enough descent to do that. 

I installed one on my Tracker last week.  Installation was quick and easy.  Once in place, took a couple practice runs to get the feel of it.  Kind of had to "ram" the boat into the latch in order to get it to close appropriately - hoping with use, that will get easier.  The release function really was a piece of cake!  Had a friend with my, and was a very slow night at the landing, so we practiced a couple times with backing in the trailer, loading, pulling out and hooking the second latch from the trailer to the boat.  Was amazing how easy it went.  

Thanks for the comments, definitely leaning towards buying one.

Installed the Drotto last summer and I'm very pleased. With my bow mount trolling motor I couldn't turn the winch handle to tighten ( if I was lucky enough to clip the hook) The Drotto allows me to get "attached" and pulled out far enough until the winch strap & safety hook can be attached. The launches I frequent are not steep and I have a bunk trailer where the boat doesn't move once on. Wish I had one years ago.

The Drotto is excellent and really makes trailering the boat much more convenient. You likely could trust the Drotto but redundant safety mechanisms is always the way to go. Would you climb into your tree stand with a single cinch strap securing it to a tree? The drotto is the same. Drive into latch to hold boat in position and then attach your safety chain before attempting to pull the boat up the ramp. If we can also attach the winch strap and cinch it tight without getting wet we also do that. Never trust any mechanical device entirely!

Just my recommendation

First off, it seems that general consensus is that the drotto works well. Just talked to a guy at a launch last week, landing his 18 foot smokercraft solo with drotto and he was happy with it. Now with that said, here's another option to consider if you have a roller trailer.
I have a 1775 Impact on a roller trailer and fish solo 50 percent of the time. I added two short bunks (12 inches or so) on the front cross-member. The height of these is set to "grab" the keel after the boat slides down with about 1.5 feet of winch strap out. It allows me to unhook the winch strap, take hold of the bow line or two side lines, and pull the boat off the trailer. from the pier.  On some launches, I may need to back in a bit more to pull it off.  When landing, glide onto the bunks, put motor in neutral, walk up to bow and reach over to re-fasten winch strap. Step onto dock and over to winch, finish snugging it up and attach safety chain. The two short bunks up front make all the difference when positioned and adjusted right. Did this on a previous rig as well. Cheap fix.