Drotto on a Nitro ZV19 Sport compatibility or defect issue?

[Timmer92]

Hi all,

I put a Drotto on my previous boat and bought one and installed it for my dad on his boat as well. As such I am familiar with installing and using them. This year I got a new Nitro ZV19 Sport Pro, and had a Drotto ordered before my boat arrived. When installing it and testing it I was only able to get it latched twice. After that I couldn't get the jaws to clamp, although I could move inner workings by hand and then get the jaws to move freely. I took it off and tested it on my workbench, trying to get it to latch to a pipe. It wouldn't budge when force was applied to it in the manner a boat would hit it. I emailed Drotto and they had me send it back. They stated that they would look at it and if it was defective they would send me a new one, but if it wasn't defective it was a compatibility issue and they would give me my money back. A couple of weeks later I got a notice that I was getting a refund. Based on their previous statement, this would infer that there was a compatibility issue. I went all summer without it and I am really missing it. I really believe it was defective. Does anyone have an applicable experience and opinion on my issue? Or better yet have one working successfully on their ZV19 Sport and can confirm it works?

[REW]

Timmer,
It would be interesting if one took a slow motion video of a boat latching up to a working Drotto compared to a boat not latching up to a similar latch.

I have to assume that there is a simple solution to the problem.

Best wishes

[Timmer92]

Originally Posted by REW

Timmer,
It would be interesting if one took a slow motion video of a boat latching up to a working Drotto compared to a boat not latching up to a similar latch.

I have to assume that there is a simple solution to the problem.

Best wishes

Thanks for the suggestion. I could certainly video my dad's. I no longer have mine but am willing to fork out the money to get one again.

[Timmer92]

Bumping this topic back up as I haven't done anything yet. I have boat on the brain thinking about getting my boat on the water in a few months!

Put one on a 620 last year. It functioned but the bow height changed significantly on the trailer and it sat back about 3" on trailer as well. I ended up using some spring shackle plates I got at fleet farm to reposition the latch and it worked great. maybe you just need a little home engineering to make it work

[Timmer92]

Originally Posted by welll

Put one on a 620 last year. It functioned but the bow height changed significantly on the trailer and it sat back about 3" on trailer as well. I ended up using some spring shackle plates I got at fleet farm to reposition the latch and it worked great. maybe you just need a little home engineering to make it work

I'm not picturing it. How did you use them?

[Rick!]

He probably moved the winch mount forward a bit on the trailer.
I moved the winch mount on mine forward as far as it would go, about 1 1/2 inches and the Drotto works as intended. This is on a ZV21.

[Timmer92]

Hi all,

Following up on this. I took a chance and purchased another one. What is more obvious now after having really scrutinized it, is that no matter which mounting hole I use on the Drotto, the boat comes in at too steep of an angle to the jaws. Just like my last experience, I got it to work a couple of times but it took quite a bit of force, and then the jaw components didn't want to move nicely across each other because they were slightly bent into each other. The overall angle is dictated by the shape of the bow and how the boat sits on the bunks. If I really wanted to resolve it I believe I'd have to figure out a way to raise the front of my bunks in order to decrease the angle of the bow. I'm not putting more time into it, just going to throw in the towel.

[Ltrain]

I'm taking it that your winch post is not adjustable in height? I ask because i do know in the instructions somewhere it mentions that you might have to adjust the post height. A couple months ago I finally picked up a Drotto after wanting to try one for so long. Of course I'm wondering what took me so long. I hope maybe another Nitro owner has a workaround for you, it is a great addition to a trailer.

[bbheli]

Originally Posted by Timmer92

Hi all,

Following up on this. I took a chance and purchased another one. What is more obvious now after having really scrutinized it, is that no matter which mounting hole I use on the Drotto, the boat comes in at too steep of an angle to the jaws. Just like my last experience, I got it to work a couple of times but it took quite a bit of force, and then the jaw components didn't want to move nicely across each other because they were slightly bent into each other. The overall angle is dictated by the shape of the bow and how the boat sits on the bunks. If I really wanted to resolve it I believe I'd have to figure out a way to raise the front of my bunks in order to decrease the angle of the bow. I'm not putting more time into it, just going to throw in the towel.

Please post a picture of the winch post and roller where it hits the bow