I would NOT pull the boat out without locking the front. Over many years of fishing, I have seen at least a half dozen boats slide back down the ramp as the owner tried to pull em out of the water without the winch strap hooked up.That being said, I tried one of the older boat buddy type gadgets many years ago. Found it to be pretty irritating as it would only solidly engage in the videos I saw, but for my boat it was hit or miss as to whether it would fully engage. Mine was spring loaded and it would, on occasion, engage WITHOUT going through the eye on the front. I found it harder to work with it since every time I loaded I had to bend over the bow and look carefully to see if it had locked correctly. Was easier to pull the boat up, get out and hook up the winch strap to hold it in place, then get in truck and pull up the ramp.
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