Drotto boat latch

I am hoping you guys can confirm something for me. I was told that Warrior is not honoring hull warranties if the trailer is equipped with a Drotto boat latch. Is this true?

My buddy has a new Warrior and is in our walleye league. He said the same thing 2 weeks ago. Said they were seeing too much damage to the eye on the boat from hitting to drotto to hard. It is damaging the hull.

bzzsaw wrote:

Said they were seeing too much damage to the eye on the boat from hitting to drotto to hard. It is damaging the hull.

Sounds like the operator of the boat is damaging the hull.

If used properly, I can’t see how the use of the Drotto Latch would cause any damage. Its not much different from those without a Drotto forcing the eye up against the roller and holding it there with lots of motor power until it can be hooked. I would think the Drotto would be better because once closed the motor force is stopped.

It’s them damned fragile glass boats…better go back to tin.

Why not ask Warrior????

FWIW My dealer said he repairs a handful of boats a year do to Drottos.

Hodag Hunter wrote:

Why not ask Warrior????

FWIW My dealer said he repairs a handful of boats a year do to Drottos.

That may be. But I don’t think the issue is the with the Drotto. If there is damage its because the boat owner is loading the boat with way to much power and force. The same damage would be done if that owner was loading a boat without a drotto and only had a normal nose roller. I’ve know several boat owners who have used the drotto since it came out. None of them have every had any damage done to their boats. I guess if someone is worried about damage from it, Don’t install one. I myself would never own another boat without one. Loading and unloading is just way so much easier and quicker without one.

I have a buddy that loves his. He will never damage his boat. That’s how he is. I have no need for one. I load my boat a few times a year. Just to go get gas and wash it. This year it spend nearly all the time on the lift. I put it in and I haven’t loaded it once. Only spent 5 hours in it. Sometimes life gets in the way of fishing. BUT someday . . . . . .

Thanks guys. I got my info from the salesman that sold me my Warrior, but I have gotten a lot of wrong info from him. Just double checking.

I have a Drotto with my Alumacraft. Put it on last year and I really struggled with it last year. It took me a bit to figure out how far to keep the rollers out of the water. Then I had issues making sure it was lined up correctly before making contact with the Drotto. I actually quit using it last year when the water warmed up and would just crank it up. This year is night and day difference. I would have a hard time using a roller trailer without one. It can still be tricky when loading in crappy weather and if you hit the Drotto cockeyed or too hard, I can see how you could mess something up.

Huntindave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bzzsaw wrote:</div>
Said they were seeing too much damage to the eye on the boat from hitting to drotto to hard. It is damaging the hull.

Sounds like the operator of the boat is damaging the hull.

Agreed it is operator error, but I think it is easier to come in HOT when loading your boat with the Drotto to make sure it gets latched than if you don’t have the Drotto. With a Roller trailer (pre-Drotto), I wouldn’t pull the boat all the way up to the winch.

I think if someone is trying to not powerload and hit the trailer at the perfect speed and latch the drotto they are asking for trouble. I just slowly slide up until the boat stops short, and then power up slowly until it hits and locks. It does take some practice to get the trailer backed in at the correct height.

The information that Warrior will not offer a hull warranty on boats with a Drotto is kinda right.

From what I’ve been told, they will not repair any damage around the front anchor eye bolt or along the leading edge of the bow, or any other damage deemed to be related to use of a Drotto latch, under warranty. They’re seeing far too many boats come in damaged. They strongly advise against the use of the Drotto latch, and if you choose to install one, you use it at your own risk.

As far as I know, any other defects in the hull would still be covered under warranty.

Waxy