Smitty Sled

[JeJa]

Hi all,
building a smitty sled. Do you set the ski's parallel or with a slight inward cant?

John

[frigidaire]

I've built two of them, both with the centerline of the skis dead parallel.  Use the center of the skis to measure spacing; they are usually wider in front than in back.

[cff]

x2 dead paralell

[buz23]

Hmmm.  I wonder if you are talking about the angle of the bottom of the ski to the ice instead of the skis to each other?  I set mine flat but now you got me thinking.  If the skis rode on one edge on ice they would pull easier, and it shouldn't affect how they ride on snow.

I think a more important factor is to try and get the skis to be flat all along their length once your setup is loaded.  The skis I used on my Smitty had a pronounced rocker and would only contact the ice at the front and rear.  So I straightened them out with an extra piece of wood between the uprights.  Made a pronounced difference.

[Lobes]

Flat and parallel will make your sled pull easy. Most downhill skis are curved up in the middle. They flatten out nicely when your gear is loaded on.

                                                             
NBG

[lynng]

Flat and parallel will make your sled pull easy. Most downhill skis are curved up in the middle. They flatten out nicely when your gear is loaded on.

                                                             
NBG

X2 - It also helps them float in deeper snow.