Australian trying to bring help with the ‘marriage saver’

Hi I’m and Australian and my name is Geoff Davis, MD of a company Release & Retrieve Boat Latch Pty Ltd.
I am working on the job of introducing a product to the USA that we have been using in Australia for 14 years.
Commonly called in our boating circles … ‘a marriage saver'

The reason, as you guys know is that the boat ramp is a very likely place to have a ‘domestic’…. to discourage your wife (or your second best friend) from wanting to come out boating with you !

It is a method of avoiding Boat Ramp Stress !
Apart from avoiding the stingers, crocs (gators in your patch) and broken glass & freezing water.
You can even use it to Launch & retrieve your boat by yourself.

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At the boat ramp it’s common to find the ‘Captain’ shouting at the ‘crew’ who are very concerned about getting their hair blown around, or slipping over and breaking their neck. Very often spending ½ hour to dry out their pants or getting their tootsies frozen.
The L & R Boat Latch converts this problem into a one person job, avoiding the drama!
The aim here has been to get your boat out more often, instead of it collecting bird droppings in the back yard.

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Products are built from marine grade stainless steel to give a long life. Suits all vessels - aluminium, fibreglass, wood, poly. Heavy duty versions (larger snares) are also available.

Some Examples....

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How does it work ? ……..
you fit a ‘snare’ is to the front of the boat and a ‘latch’ is fitted to the trailer. A selector lever is moved to the appropriate position ( ‘Launch’ or ‘Retrieve’).

To launch the boat on the trailer is backed into the water to the right depth and the when the motor is started and the boat is driven forward and the spring loaded catch automatically releases the boat and the boat can be reversed off the trailer.

To retrieve the boat the selector lever on the latch (on the trailer) is set to ‘retrieve’ and the trailer is backed down the ramp to the right depth and the boat is driven up onto the trailer and the latch grabs the snare on the boat. The boat can then be driven off the ramp.

Videos …..more information and videos at www.boatlatch.com

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The difference between boating in Australian and USA ?
Australians have a similar urge to get out there in, on and under, the water.
However in the US weather differences get a bit extreme as you get up towards Canada.
I am aware that there are many parts of the US where the water is not just cold, but not far off freezing.
How do people cope with this ?
Putting aside ice… don’t go out in winter ? or just rug up and cope with it ?

Boats - aluminium boats in Australia have aluminium towing eyes, where as the US ones in Aluminium tend to have U-bolts… how universal is this ? (we have fittings to cope with both).
(with fibreglass boats you just remove the U-bolt and replace it with the snare).

Trailers - wherever you go trailers designs vary. We have various methods of coping with different trailer designs. What are the most common and best brands in the USA ?I would appreciate any comments you guys have to make on the mission to get more use out of your boat.