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@Baystatetom 32271 wrote:

The idea of a bigger one being taking more then one log at a time.

The attraction of the bobsled and scoot is the increased payload. I am loading 600-700 ft of logs on my scoot and the horses are pulling that fine with this hardpack snow. Same idea with the bobsled but you are not limited to 16 footers.

I have never used a go devil, but my understanding of its use is for smaller loads going shorter distances. In those cases I use my logging arch. The distance (and slope) are key here. My horses can draw 300 ft loads a quarter mile down hill all day with my arch. It’s getting back up the hill that tires the horses. If I can pull double the logs in one trip over that distance and slope, I am conserving energy.

George

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Here she is…..

[IMG]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6OXbldIYvHE/TyvYL-4hs7I/AAAAAAAABLg/HP-233khRvg/s800/P1030596.JPG[/IMG][IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZKem3hw_O-k/TyvYNCjrBQI/AAAAAAAABLo/sS9haD1WY5E/s512/P1030597.JPG[/IMG]

An 8 footer with the nose carriage bolted through and a 2×4 ash cleat at the back. I re-used most of the 1/2″ carriage bolts for the nose and peened them over. Back has 3/8 carr. bolts – lock washered and tack welded (quicker than the ball peen). A few follow up questions:

• How do you arrange/secure your chain to keep the boat from running up on your horses going downhill?
• How do you keep your stuff (chainsaw, gas, stones, or whatever the case may be) from rolling off your boat?
• How are folks using their boats? Other than the traditional hauling stone, I have read about Tim hauling logs and Mitch hauling his logging gear to the woods and back when cutting and twitching with a single horse.

George

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Hi David:

Thanks for the tip. I pull a lot of logs with my arch and it does help. These areas that I have been struggling with are not accessible with an arch – lots of ledge and hummocks. Summers are busy with farm work here, but I will try to squeeze in some time to hit those steep areas when the ground is bare.

George

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I have 2 loads of hemlock waiting to be shipped and I can’t get a truck out to my landing – 2″ of glare ice. I spent half a day sanding it with a tractor and shovel only to get more rain and have it ice over again before he could get out there. There was finally a window late last week as some wet snow and rain bonded with the ice and essentially made it disappear, but the log truck was down with boom problems:eek:. Now were back to the ice with yesterday’s rain. Another challenge for me is that my horses are not shod. I haven’t felt limited by this until this crazy winter. Oh yea, and then there is the mud!

How is that for a rant? Good luck everybody.

George

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Tim, does SPF stand for spruce, pine, fir? I already have some 2″ ash sawed for the project so I will use that. I will not be using it for skidding logs, just hauling gear when I am logging single and for basic farm use. Can you explain how 1/4″ flat bar interferes with chaining logs? I am not sure I understand that.

Thanks.

George

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Mitch, sounds good. Let me know if one turns up.

George

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Mitch:

Here are some pictures of the dogs. They were pretty distorted when I got them and I tried to sharpen them as best I could. I failed:confused:. Any suggestions would be helpful.

George

[IMG]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-18IX2qOFErU/Tyl_PQP1erI/AAAAAAAABJs/xJ-psNNUJdU/s800/P1030590.JPG[/IMG]
[IMG]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4wI7vonueBk/Tyl_TljCrQI/AAAAAAAABJ0/XcYLnYzmgqY/s800/P1030591.JPG[/IMG]
[IMG]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Mzn8lq10UA0/Tyl_VoEspDI/AAAAAAAABJ8/3Wy10_nWn-o/s800/P1030592.JPG[/IMG]

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Tim, the system is working great. I don’t need it too often, but when I do it works slick.

George

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Here’s one I bought off of ebay for $12 (head only). The tapered cone works better than my standard peavey, but I am trying to hone the two picks on the cant arm so they grab better.

George

[IMG]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2V-O89vglZo/TyMULIJVy3I/AAAAAAAABGg/bYnOXObBJiA/s800/P1030575.JPG[/IMG]

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Tim:

It is not Amsteel Blue – same thing (synthetic winch cable) different brand. Here’s the discussion on it: http://www.draftanimalpower.com/showthread.php?3797-Snatch-Block-Rope-Questions/page2

George

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I found some answers on grabs and their set-up in an “ebook” entitled “Logging: the principles and general methods of operation in the United States”, published 1913. I posted a link to this fascinating and informative book a week ago and there were no takers?! Here is the link:

http://books.google.com/books?id=U6UJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA388&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false

There is a table of contents and index with hyper-links. The information on grabs is on page 153 and the illustrations on page 151. The “Morris patent skidding grab” seems like the best set-up, but I can’t quite figure it out based on the picture.

George

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Thanks for the replies. I am having a hard time picturing how the ring is used in this set-up. It seems like once your dogs are set in a log you want to hitch as close as possible to the load by getting rid of the excess chain. I assume that is what the ring/s are used for? The best I can come up with to solve this would be to use a short length of chain with 2 grabs on it (pictured on top to right of blue rope). Once the dogs are set, I would hook the double-grab hooks on the dog chains close to the log and then hook that to my single tree or evener via a swivel. Any thoughts on how this would work? I would really like to see how it should be set up if anyone can post some pictures. If anyone could post a picture of a grab or skip hammer, that would be much appreciated as well.

George

[IMG]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rj55Aux6_Ts/Ttkb6IXynyI/AAAAAAAABEI/ut9EnbWgHC0/s800/P1030522.JPG[/IMG]

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Ronnie:

I re-size my photos in Microsoft Picture Manager (Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Tools > Picture Manager). If you click on “edit pictures” you can “compress” them for “web pages” and you should be able to upload them.

George

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Mark:

It sweeps up. Here’s a picture:

[IMG]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AutsNWyB0yc/TyUyeKrmoGI/AAAAAAAABJU/4EH4T7dUOKw/s512/P1030584-1.JPG[/IMG]

George

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Donn and Jay:

Thanks for the replies. I am headed out to the woods for the next couple of days, but will be back in the shop with the mower soon. I just noticed that my bar is not too straight. Have either of you ever tried to straighten a bar? Are you looking for dead-nuts or is a minor sweep ok?

George

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