New Smitty Sleds

[FISH4WISH]

The season is upon us and I was wondering how many members created new Smitty sleds in the off season?Lets see some pics!Good luck to all this year!

         F4W

[Raquettedacker]

   http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=103927.msg3590221;topicseen#new

[thinicewallyhunter]

I made one tried it one time. I will stick to my jet sled.

[trapper2000]

I made one tried it one time. I will stick to my jet sled.

you really didn't like it? just wondering why , sometimes it's  good to hear the negative too

[Ice Scratcher]

I made one tried it one time. I will stick to my jet sled.

You either..

1) Built it wrong
2) Don't have much of a shanty
3) Don't get any snow
4) Haven't pulled a heavily loaded jet sled through 6+ inches of snow..
5) Use a machine to pull

?

<°)))>{

[TommyBoy1971]

Hmmmm. I have seen them over the years, thought they may be more cumberson than anything. Last weekend me and jboggey went out, loaded his 2 man clam and a bunch of our crap on it, probably pushing 200lbs.  I pulled it by myself, he had a really long rope on it. Felt like i was pulling a small child on a disk sled.  Impressed me sooo much i biult my own.  There is no way i could have pulled my jet sled with all our crap that easy.  The physics alone make it impossible that it is not easier to pull. Anywho, i just got to add some wood sealer and rope to mine but here it is!
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/DeathRUSH/IMG_0460.jpg

[trapper2000]

gee I was going to build one but seeing  tommyboy's looks so good ,I think we should vote him the official  smittysled builder

[EatenByLimestone]

I built one last year and am fixing my mistakes this year.  I need to get on that, but have been distracted.

[TommyBoy1971]

Limestone, what do you have to fix? What were the mistakes?  Trapper, no problem. Bring a set of skis, the 2x8 and 2x4 and hardware and i will gladly slap one together for ya.  Oh, throw in a half of back strap or a bag of pike fillets and i will paint it for you!

[trapper2000]

gee whiz I got to have the sled to pull the deer out ...pike ? I don't know nothing about pike

[TommyBoy1971]

Well, let me see if i can dig up a 2x4. Give me the width of your gear. I can get all the wood parts and i hooks installed, you will just have to come up with a pair of skis and some rope, and screw the skis on.

[Cusefan78]

Here is mine.

[trapper2000]

I'm not allowed to use power tools much less weld!

[missoulafish]

I will stick to my jet sled.

Have fun when the slush freezes to the bottom of your sled:)

[Cusefan78]

I'm not allowed to use power tools much less weld!

there  is guy who builds them if you're looking for a good one. Terry wicks makes them out of aluminum. They are super light and will Last forever.

[trapper2000]

there  is guy who builds them if you're looking for a good one. Terry wicks makes them out of aluminum. They are super light and will Last forever.

awww man you guys are the best but I learned it's easier  to load it all on boggys sled then let him pull it out with a 4 wheeler .......... cuse yours is  impressive

[Cusefan78]

Thanks. This is my second one. I finally have my gear the way I want it.

[missoulafish]

yours is  impressive

word!

[KeukaZ71]

Tommyboy, I'm building one soon. I'm going to use 2x8's as well. How long are the 2x8's at the base and at the top? Also how wide are your 2x4's?

Looks good

[Cusefan78]

The key is to get it high enough to clear the snow and still be light enough to not be pulling a boat anchor.

[bootstrap]

cusefan looks like you are ready for some covert ops. 

[TommyBoy1971]

Keuka, the width depends on what you are putting on top and how much room you need. My one man flip over is around 3 ft wide, and it is wider than my jet sled. So i went with that.  I think from the back (flat side) of the 2x8 is was 5 inches, then cut for a 2x4 then three inches before the angle on the top. Then i just angled it from there to the corner of the 2x8 i think the 2x8 was 16 inches long for each of the 4 chunks. Honestly i would have to go measure it all again. Send me a pm and i will measure it all and send you schematics and instructions. I used a skill saw, a drill, a hack saw, measuring tape, and a lady foot bar, probably a hammer as too.

[Cusefan78]

cusefan looks like you are ready for some covert ops. 

lol yeah I'm ready for anything

[TommyBoy1971]

Suprised it doesnt have air ride suspension, smoke, oil slick, cs gas, and tacks....maybe a mini- gun on a turret 

[jcrow75]

Hey Cusefan78 How do I get a hold of Terry Wicks. I'd like to hear about his sleds. Please let me know when you have a moment or ask him to PM me when he gets a chance.

[MJB518]

This is the smitty sled I built back before I bought a flip over.  It just never seemed to work that great for me. It was pretty top heavy, and would flip over if I went over a drift or trying to get down a steep slope to get on the ice. The front of the skies toed in. Probably a design flaw but I didn't use it much.

[KeukaZ71]

Thanks tommyboy that helps.

[EatenByLimestone]

Limestone, what do you have to fix? What were the mistakes?  Trapper, no problem. Bring a set of skis, the 2x8 and 2x4 and hardware and i will gladly slap one together for ya.  Oh, throw in a half of back strap or a bag of pike fillets and i will paint it for you!

I used 1x4s attached to brackets to mount the skis.  The weakness was attaching the 1x4 to the sides of my wood pull sled.  They kept pulling out.  This would always happen at a bad time, like on the ice.  A single ski is bad.  I'd end up kicked ng the other ski off.  This happened 2 or 3 times last year.

Another mistake was letting the wood laminated skis get caught me n some rain last winter.  Swelling and delamination.

The last thing was noticed a couple days ago.  I was looking at the brackets and noticed 1 missing screw.  This may have pulled out during use, or when I was kicking the unbroken ski off.  I think I'm going to attach up through the bottom in the new sled. 

I picked up some used wire closet shelves in a dumpster.  I think they will make a super light platform with lots of bungee attachment points.

[FISH4WISH]

MJB
     Your sled mounts need to be more forward so that your load is centered on the skiis,also you need at least 15 ft of pull rope so that your not lifting your load,the sled overall looks great!Have a great and Happy NewYear!


                           F4W
                          Nick

[MJB518]

MJB
     Your sled mounts need to be more forward so that your load is centered on the skiis,also you need at least 15 ft of pull rope so that your not lifting your load,the sled overall looks great!Have a great and Happy NewYear!


                           F4W
                          Nick

I think the rope length i had was sufficient, but your right about the load needing to being more centered on the skiis. After i bought the flip over i ditched the skiis, but now im contemplating attaching some old water skiis to the bottom of my tub somehow.  I think just a couple inches of clearance with those wide skiis would be alright.  I dont want to raise it too much, as i have the Shappell FX 200 with the bench seat and it would make it awkward to sit on if too high.  I really dont want to drill holes in the bottom of it and find out i dont like it. Any ideas???