My Homemade $15 Sled! AKA The "Smitty Sled"

[woodroce]

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Woodroce, How high are your bottom pieces attached to the skis?

Thanks!

Hi, bdog, I am sorry, but I am not following you.  What do you mean?

I think you mean, how are my bottom pieces attached to the skis.  The front ones have 5 deck screws in each one going up through the bottom of the skis and into the wood.  The back ones have four deck screws.  They are countersunk into the skis. 





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[Prairiegoat]

Here's my new Smitty-Sled.

[Celt6]

Hot damn!! that thing needs to be painted steel, looks like a futuristic sled from some upcoming movie!!! great slick job man!! How long are these skis? I got 185's, probably need to cut some off on the end. Good Job.

[woodroce]

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Wooowwwwww!

That's some Smitty Sled.  Very nice!

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[uncle meanie]

thanks so much my back is much better ,smitty you the man

[trimmer]

I have had mine out twice with my scout mounted on top.It is so much easier to pull and i just leave it on there to fish.I added a flap to the scout to keep the wind out that was blowing under the smitty sled.Thanks to smitty I move around more to put me on active fish.

                                                                            Thanks smitty

[ship of fools]

Hot damn!! that thing needs to be painted steel, looks like a futuristic sled from some upcoming movie!!! great slick job man!! How long are these skis? I got 185's, probably need to cut some off on the end. Good Job.

203's ..... no need to cut em unless you need to fit em in your vehicle

i mentioned this before but any of you guys who ski (and are old enough to remember real skis before these ones that ski for you  )   .... i used a pair of Volkl P9's ... top  of the line skis i bought used but never put them to use... glad i could 

[DR.SPECKLER]

i just waxed the skis on the smitty sled and wow..better look out cuz its coming for ya.lol.it takes no effort to pull gear now.thanks again smitty.

[woodroce]

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I am thinking about writing a song about Smitty Sleds!   

You are going to go down in history, Smitty.  Your sleds will be passed down in fisherman's (and fisherwoman's) families for generations!  Furthermore, I think this thread is the very essence of what this forum is all about. 

Just this one thread is worth the price of admission!


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[Prairiegoat]

Goat's Homemade Ski-Sled

Went to the pawnshop today and picked up two sets of downhill skis for $15 a pair to make a couple of ski-sleds. The original idea came from a fellow named Smitty who lives in Illinois. Did a few modifications to give it twelve inches of clearance and beveled the struts 15 degrees hoping it’ll help cut through the snow better. That should reduce the drag considerably when pulling my gear out onto the lake.

Next I went to Home Depot and picked up enough hardware and lumber, 1-2”X12”X10' (1’X1’ struts) and 1-2”X4”X10’ (24” cross members), for $38 to make two ski-sleds, one for my Jet Sled and one a little longer to fit my Eskimo Quick-Flip II.

The ski-sleds come apart quickly as the five-inch bolts on the cross members fit down in holes in the struts which are attached to the skis with three 2 1/2" countersunk screws. Couple of pops with the hand and the whole thing is disassembled. I put eyebolts on the outside of each strut for cargo straps to tie the sled or hut to the ski-sled. Getting the sleds off the snow should really reduce drag as only the skis make contact. All pretty simple and from what Smitty said it reduced his drag by 75%. Now that would be a dream pull.

The rope is sixteen feet long giving an eight feet distance from the ski-sled and are attached through holes at the tip of the skis. Thinking putting them there would keep upward pressure on the ski tips and keep them from digging in as much.

Here are two pictures of the ski-sled disassembled.





Here it is assembled. Lifting it, I would say it weighs between fifteen and twenty pounds, pretty light but sturdy.



And here is a picture with my Jet Sled sitting on top. I use this set up when I fish out of my Eskimo Quick Fish popup shanty.



With a coat of primer applied. Think I will paint it a futuristic steel color. Thanks for the great comments, guys. Woodroce, thanks for the PM!



Can’t wait till this weekend to try one of them out.

[Celt6]

Far out Man!! I wonder if a 3 ski wide model would work just as well like 50 inches or so

[DasRottweiler]

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My Fish Trap Guide is 36" wide.  I made my sled 32" wide so that the eye bolts will come out to meet the sled's width.  I am not familiar with your DX4000, but it sounds like dsp2's idea will be great for you.

I've had my Smitty Sled in my garage doing some work on it.  I put some wood putty in a knot hole and spent some time fondling, I mean, sanding it.  I am going to finish sanding it real good, stain it and then give it a few coats of polyurethane.  Then, she'll be finished off with some reflectors.  I haven't figured out the details of the reflectors yet, but they are making some pretty cool reflective tape these days. I was thinking i would make a couple custom reflectors.  Maybe put "Woodroce" on my sled or maybe try to make the Ice Shanty logo.  I wonder if I could seal the reflective tape under a few coats of polyurethane?  Hmmm....

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Use a Marine Spar Varnish, not the poly-poly is for interior use and will yellow and degrade  quickly in sun and elements. I use Helmsman`s Spar Varnish , a marine grade product that is non-yellowing in direct sunlight and was created for use on teak boat decks.
I made myself a "Smitty Sled" to carry my HM Ontario-Style One-Man Shack using a Thule Rack and some skis. Added a removable attachment I mount to the shack during dragging/transit which carries my power auger and my holehopping bucket with rods etc.
With all the snow/slush this season the "smitty sled" was put to use along with my snowshoes and I packed significantly lighter, leaving traps and bait buckets at home in the Jetsled and just taking enough gear to chase panfish with the jiggin rods.

[woodroce]

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Use a Marine Spar Varnish...    non-yellowing in direct sunlight and was created for use on teak boat decks

Good advice!  Thanks!!!!


Woodroce

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[musky8it]

Never used skis, I would think they would ride up on the snow making it harder to pull. The more the surface area the more friction and the harder pulling. I may be wrong since I never used skis. I have seen guys who have sleds with ski runners, and in deep snow they seem to struggle more. Especially if their load is lopsided, one side wants to compact the snow while the other side rides higher.

I use conduit for runners and they cut down thru the snow like a knife and run on the ice. Which the ice has less friction than snow for a easier pull. I guess my idea is like someone skateing on a snow covered lake. The skates run on the ice not the snow, same as my conduit runners.

[oletimer]

Your first two sentences reveal why skis work better than the wide flat surface of a shanty or sled. They will ride up on top of the snow to reduce the plowing effect that heavy sleds have. Also they are only 3-4" wide so reduce drag a lot. Have watched a couple guys with conduit runners here have a lot of trouble with deep snow, and when slush was on the ice, it froze to the metal runners making it almost impossible to pull.

[Celt6]

Gravity my man, a 240lbs man can ski on top of powder at a fairly slow speed, I dont think tubes can compare, however they both work( different ways). My money is on skis.

[woodroce]

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My money is on skis.

+1

[eriksat1]

The key word was slush. You get slush on the ice under the snow and it starts freezing onto your conduit runners you are done. On good hard ice with powder snow on top you may be right it will pull easier like ice skates, but the ski's cover all situations pretty good.

[smitty0312]

The key word was slush. You get slush on the ice under the snow and it starts freezing onto your conduit runners you are done. On good hard ice with powder snow on top you may be right it will pull easier like ice skates, but the ski's cover all situations pretty good.

+1 +2 +3.....and so on, but I am kinda partial to this thread. Smitty

[musky8it]

Never really had any problem pulling mine with conduit, even in slush under snow. The conduit cuts thru slush just like snow. If your load is real heavy(like mine), I would think the skis would sink down in the slush like my runners but the tips of the skis would catch in the slush. The way my runners are made the front part cut a groove in the snow/slush which clears the way for the runners.

On page 12 this thread Ishows pics of what I use. The pics are of my older one, it wasn't wide enough(24"). My new one is 32" and a little higher, makes it more stable. Now when there is a crust ontop the snow I can see why skis may be better. With a crust sometimes my runners will fall thru the crust becuase of the loads weight. I may have to try a pair if I find them again. Just threw a pair of cross country skis away last year, got them at a auction. May be able to make them removable so when there's a snow crust I can snap them on my conduit runners.

[Lobes]

I think the "Musky8it Sled" and the "Smitty Sled" are both huge improvements and outstanding contributions to the membership here. They both work very well and I know when I see one on the ice it's a great way to start a conversation and meet the folks that are driving Iceshanty.com to the top.

Many thanks to both of you great inventors!

                                       
NBG

[jiggin jeff]

  Just built my smitty sled and built some tip downs today going to try them tomorrow on oneida

[Team Lightning]

LOVE LOVE LOVE the Customized " JIGGIN JEFF " logo....GOOD FOR YOU !!

   Nicely done !!

[woodroce]

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Glorious!


That's one Sweet Smitty Sled!  Great job!


It's the bomb!

[jiggin jeff]

Thank guys first year ice fishing and i am hooked for life!!!

[fishdoggg]

i love the pictures of the old skis especially put to good use.  I have probably 8 pair from 160's to 210's  I will have to make one of these sleds  also.  I have saved the skis for some purpose and here it is.  I do love oldtimers skis.  I would ski those now.  Anyway nice smitty sleds.

[KenDOdoubleG]

I've never owned a portable shanty, but I've helped drag one. That's why I still don't have one. However, since seeing the Smitty Sled and reading all these testimonials, I'll be looking for an end of season sale on shanties, and hitting up tag sales for skis this summer.

[Celt6]

I used to work part time at a ski slope rental place, lots of non usable skis there, just stop by someplace near you, I bet they got some for free, like in the 140mm range, teenager skis.

[TA]

Here's my version of the Smitty Sled. A pair of $5 garage sale down hill skis. The wood, rope, nylon strap, paint and hardware was all stuff I had on hand. Easy to assemble, disassemble, stows in a small space and versatile.

 Thanks Smitty for sharing your design.

[jiggin jeff]

My smitty sled work wonderful today the drag was so much easier thanks smitty for the design so nuch earier on my back!