Reviews
Aug-Sept - 08
"With dozens of launches and retrieves at both the North Haven and Outer
Harbor boar ramps in the past 2 months, we've really come to appreciate the
value of the Release & Retrieve Boat Latch fitted to our Dunbier trailer.
Designed and manufactured by local inventor Geoff Davis, this clever gadget
takes most of the hard work (and wet feet !) out of putting the Stabi-Craft in and
out of the water.
I'm never keen on getting the tootsies damp in winter time and I send Geoff a
silent "thank you" whenever we're at the ramp before or after a fishing session.
He has certainly made a lot of improvement to the design of the product since it
first appeared a few years ago and I can't imagine launching or retrieving now
without it."
About 12 months ago I fitted a great locally designed gadget to the front of my
boat and about 200 launches down the track I can report that it's one of the best
investments I ever made.
The patented Release and Retrieve Boat Latch is by far the cleverest device of its
kind. Constructed from high-quality marine-grade stainless steel, it is designed to
eliminate most of the problems associated with drive-drive off trailers.
A lot of boaties these days prefer to power their craft on to and off their trailers - a
manoeuver which takes a little practice to get right, but ultimately removes much
of the effort involved in a manual launch or retrieve.
The new device isn't intended to replace the trailer winch mechanism or safety
chain, but when operated according to the instructions, it makes the whole boat
ramp exercise safer and quicker.
It takes about 30 minutes to fit it to the bow of most trailer craft [aluminium or
fibreglass] and then remains as a permanent fixture. It consists of two components
- a latch assembly that is attached to the trailer winch post and a snare that's fitted
to the existing bow hook of the boat. When it's time to launch the boat, the trailer is
reversed to the water's edge with the latch in the locked position.
The original safety chain is then removed and the winch is released so that the
boat can move back and be caught by the latch. At this point the trailer winch
cable hook can be disengaged and the latch lever moved to the release position.
Next step is to reverse until the boat is in the water, start the motor and then
power slightly forward. This enables the latch to automatically release and the
boat should glide off the trailer.
Retrieving is the reverse process. The driver powers the boat up and onto the
trailer and rests about a metre from the latch. After allowing the boat to settle and
line up straight, the driver then applies more power until the snare component is
engaged by the latch.
The tow vehicle then moves forward and the winch hook and safety chain can be
connected. The rig is then ready to be pulled completely out of the water. In a
traditional drive on retrieval, it's necessary for the driver to maintain outboard
power to hold the boat's bow in place while someone hooks up the winch cable
and safety chain, but this device does away with all this.
The L-&-R
TM
Boat Latch
by Shane Mensforth
from the Adelaide Advertiser newspaper
Boat Ramp Etiquette
by Rick Huckstepp
from Trailerboat Magazine
Biting the bullet and convincing my other half of the huge benefits of avoiding
domestics at the boat ramp I did the deed and placed an order.
The unit has an elongated catch ring. This is what caught my eye in the first place,
as I have had experiences where the boat ramp was excessively steep and the
hook on the catch is either above or below the ring and it will not catch. Should
you then manually winch the boat onto the trailer, when you drive out and the
transom settles the ring damages the hook. The oblong ring alleviates this
problem and gives it more scope to receive the hook.
When it is all set up, launch and retrieve the boat with an observer at the winch
post. After connecting with the trailer drive forward until a metre from the winch
post and let the boat settle on the rollers, then gently power forward. Should you
gun the boat all the way the bow up attitude will have the retainer ring well above
the hook and when it all falls heavily as power is removed, the result will be
damage to the hull or catch assembly.
Once caught on the hook, the boat can be powered off, and motor tilted up. Attach
the safety chain and tow away onto the hard (parking area).
This bow retainer set-up has to be a marriage saver !
Article in :-
Article in :-
by Scott Coghlan (Western Angler - www.westernangler.com.au)
(WA)
The L-&-R boat latch has been granted an International Patent. Persons or Organizations who are found to be in breach of this patent will be
prosecuted to the full extent of the International patent laws.
© Copyright Release & Retrieve Boat Latch Pty Ltd, 2006 and "L-&-R" is a Trademark of Release & Retrieve Boat Latch Pty Ltd
http://www.fishingworld.com.au/how-to/how-to-install-a-boat-latch-system-on-your-boat
NATHAN Bajada explains the benefits of a boat latch system and how to install one on
your boat.
YEP, I’ll admit it, I’m “that guy” who takes too long at the ramp trying to get my boat connected to
my winch. The “same guy” wondering what is taking so long for my wife or mate to connect the
safety chain and winch rope. I’m also the guy who has a reluctance to take people with little or
no boating experience fishing for the worry of them not knowing how to handle the winching side
of things.
Rejoice for those amongst us with engineering aptitude and foresight to develop an auto launch
and retrieve system. You might know of them as the “Boat Catch”, “Boat Latch” or “Bar Catch”.
Whatever you call them, they have revolutionised the way we deal with the launching and
retrieval of our boats and at the same time removed so much of the stress that comes with trailer
boat ownership. For those of us who fish solo, or with the kids, elderly or just people that don’t
like getting their feet wet (you know who you are), these devices solve all these issues.
Most of my fishing is done from our 550 Cruise Craft Outsider. For those not familiar with the
Cruise Craft line up, it’s an 18 foot walk around half cab fibreglass boat, not a high boat, but big
enough to give attitude ramp-side. Through summer my wife and eight year old daughter
accompany me on almost every fishing trip. In winter, well, that’s a different story… The
sanctuary of a warm bed, or being curled up under a blanket with the heater running takes
precedence over ice cold mornings, freezing cold wind chill and not enough sun to improve a
vanishing tan. This leaves me to rally up my less experienced mates to come fishing. What’s the
problem, I hear you ask? Well my wife has become supremely efficient at the winch post and
has the launching and retrieving of our boat down to a fine art.
During winter it’s either me on my own or with another mate who’s not as familiar with the
process. This almost always sees me leaving the helm, engine in gear holding the boat against
the winch post climbing over the bow and taking on the wife’s task myself. Far from ideal,
enjoyable, or safe!
I’d looked into the Boat Latch system in the past but never took the step towards purchasing
one. I’d heard how good they were and every time the situation above took place I swore it
would be the last time. Finally the idle threats were actioned and I purchased a system from L&R
Boat Latch. I’m one of these guys with some mechanical knowledge and like to do as much as I
can on my own boat. I had a look over a few YouTube videos and did some research online. I
picked this particular unit as it was the easiest to fit to my boat and trailer. It still meant I needed
to change my winch post, however this was the extent of the major changes or modifications
required to fit the unit.
Installation
The instructions on the packet of the unit comes in handy and makes it simple enough to follow.
The unit itself was manufactured from 316 Stainless Steel with a highly polished finish, looks
solidly built and nicely finished. This unit requires you to remove the bow eye which passes
through the bow into the anchor well via two surprisingly very long threaded bolts. After
scratching away the gel coat from the retaining nuts it was a case of undoing these and
knocking the original eye out. Once this is out you need to enlarge the two holes left behind.
Once enlarged you simply place some sealant (I recommend sika-flex) over the threads of the
new much larger funky looking supplied bow eye, which they call the “snare”, and tighten the
nuts until it pulls firmly up against the hull and the sealant oozes out.
Next the latch mechanism needs to be bolted to the underside of the winch post. Now you may
get lucky here and find you have existing bolt holes that line up with the latch holes, however I’m
not so lucky with these things. I needed to drill most of the holes myself. Once these holes were
drilled it was as simple as doing up the bolts.
With the bolts in place and tightened the next part in the process came as a surprise; clear and
concise instructions on checking the alignment of your boat to your trailer. With this system you
need to ensure your hull is centred perfectly on the trailer. This ensures perfect alignment and
engagement between the snare and latching mechanism. I’ve always had problems with my hull
to trailer alignment and making these adjustments solved all of my issues. Once following the
instructions, I set the catching position of the latch and loop and tightened the winch post down.
Then it was off to the water to test it out.
With the lever set to launching position I backed the boat down
the ramp. The downward angle of the ramp ensured the snare
had weight on it and the latch was engaged. I then felt safe
enough to undo the safety chain. The boat was backed into the
water, the engine fired up, and then placed into gear. You simply
apply enough throttle to drive the boat against the winch post
and with this you hear the latch decouple from the snare. Back
off the throttle and return to natural and away the boat went
down the trailer into the water. Too easy.
On retrieval, the lever is set to the retrieve position and again
the trailer placed in the water. The boat is slowly driven onto the
trailer, ensuring the boat is centred in the rollers/skids then light
throttle is applied, enough to get you all the way up to the winch
post. As soon as you touch the bow roller you hear and feel the
latch spring shut as it catches the new bow eye. Ease the
throttle off, and sure enough you’re secured to the winch post.
Drive the trailer up the ramp just a little, put the safety chain on,
and you’re done. No stress, no swearing, no divorce, everyone
is happy.
I couldn’t recommend you put one of these systems on your boat highly
enough. In the time we’ve had ours, it has alleviated so much of the stress
around these parts of our day.
These systems have made boat ownership that much more pleasurable.