My "Smitty" Sled

[grizzlybri]

Well as some of you know from one of my status updates, that I have been working on my own take on the smitty sled.

 

Here is a back story to start, last year I bought a pelican 45 sled from Canadian Tire and after a season of using it i found out that i acquired more gear then the sled was able to hold, plus it was the biggest one i could get in my then Nissan Sentra. Flash forward to this winter now with a F-150, I could justify getting the Pelican 60, but seeing everyone's ideas and reports on their take on smitty sled I figured I'd take a stab at it and including price of the sled and material used I spent under $100.00 on this project.

 

I spent between 3-4 hours on it

 

I used the followig

 

• 1 pelican 60 snow trek sled Canadian Tire $54.99 got it on sale boxing day,,i think that was the price
• 1 pair of cross country skies from play it again sports $19.99
• 8 - 1" screws and 2 - 1 1/4" screws

I striped everything off the top of the skies, then striped then sanded the bottom of them to make them smooth again.

 

I then place both skies on the ground the proceeded to screw the sled into (onto) the skies. I used the "dimples" on the bottom of the sled to screw threw into the spot where the boot lock thing was on the ski.

 

After i had it assembled, I foolishly grabbed interior paint because i wanted to re paint the skies, not realizing it was interior painted the skies. Later that evening my father came and asked me what type of paint I used i showed him. He then laughed at me and told me that I would have to sand and strip it down again. After removing said paint I decided to keep it bare and just wax it, but my mistake did give it a nice colour.

 

Here is some pictures of my handy work, I'll have a secondary report once I take it out for its first spin on Simcoe this weekend

 

 

 

 

 

[irishfield]

I hate to be the one to bust your bubble, but the entire idea of the "smitty sled" is to get everything up and out of the snow... other than the skis. You are still going to be dragging the "tub" through the snow.

[Fisherman]

I hate to be the one to bust your bubble, but the entire idea of the "smitty sled" is to get everything up and out of the snow... other than the skis. You are still going to be dragging the "tub" through the snow.

Oh Wayne, you have such a way with words..

[Burtess]

Not a "Smittly Sled" but put a 2X4 or 2X6 between the sled and the skis and this will keep the body of the sled above the powder

 

Burt

[chris.brock]

yeah, like Wayne,said, use those thin skis to cut through the snow, get the bulk up above, I would put the pelican sled 16" above with the widest possible ski stance

[Fisherman]

yeah, like Wayne,said, use those thin skis to cut through the snow, get the bulk up above, I would put the pelican sled 16" above with the widest possible ski stance

Ya, like why do people put the skis on their feet instead of sitting on them? To paraphrase Chris, to get the bulk out of the snow. I would say to keep your b...from getting dragged through the snow. For you with your mind in the gutter, b... = butt, not b...

[grizzlybri]

I hate to be the one to bust your bubble, but the entire idea of the "smitty sled" is to get everything up and out of the snow... other than the skis. You are still going to be dragging the "tub" through the snow.

 

No worries Wayne it take more then words to burst my bubble

 

thanks for the feed feed back, as i said i'll be taking it for a spin this weekend and will make any necessary adjustment after

Edited March 4, 2015 by DynamicBear

[grizzlybri]

yeah, like Wayne,said, use those thin skis to cut through the snow, get the bulk up above, I would put the pelican sled 16" above with the widest possible ski stance

 

I like that idea actually

[porkpie]

I hate to be the one to bust your bubble, but the entire idea of the "smitty sled" is to get everything up and out of the snow... other than the skis. You are still going to be dragging the "tub" through the snow.

 

 

Agreed,

 

[Acountdeleted]

This is what winter does to the best of us eh? I'm a little surprised guys.

 

Dynamic_bear busts his but for 4 hours, writes up a report and out of 5 replies I haven't seen one positive comment.

 

I know Dynamic_bear well and know the advice will be well recieved and will be put to good use, but if I did this report I'd be scared to post anything else. I know all you guys who responded from previous posts on the forums and from fishing reports and I know you guys are some of the nicest people out there. The responses just took me a little back.

 

Personally I think it's a project well crafted and can't wait to see how it handles the ice.

[porkpie]

I don't think anyone was trying to cut him a new one, just pointing out that the results probably won't be what he was hoping for.

[irishfield]

Nobody is dissing his work Jeremy.. sometimes it's just best to be told right up front and he seems to have accepted our thoughts. The whole idea is to get the tub up out of the snow... skis attached to the bottom just add more square inches to the friction.

 

One thing in life is certain, you can never fail if you never try and Kudos to Dynamic for trying.

[grizzlybri]

I don't think anyone was trying to cut him a new one, just pointing out that the results probably won't be what he was hoping for.

 

well running around the fresh powder that fell today in my yard it was working great for me

[Fisherman]

This is what winter does to the best of us eh? I'm a little surprised guys.

 

Dynamic_bear busts his but for 4 hours, writes up a report and out of 5 replies I haven't seen one positive comment.

 

I know Dynamic_bear well and know the advice will be well recieved and will be put to good use, but if I did this report I'd be scared to post anything else. I know all you guys who responded from previous posts on the forums and from fishing reports and I know you guys are some of the nicest people out there. The responses just took me a little back.

 

Personally I think it's a project well crafted and can't wait to see how it handles the ice.

Nobodies trying to bust his jewels at all, just a quick dose of reality. If you check 99.9% of Smitty Sleds, you'll find that they all have a healthy amount of clearance to avoid plowing in the snow, that's what we want to help him with.

[Acountdeleted]

The mistake is mine then. Sorry about that, I just thought I saw more criticism then constructive.

Edited March 4, 2015 by jeremy84

[porkpie]

 

well running around the fresh powder that fell today in my yard it was working great for me

 

 

Fair enough dude, your the one that needs to be satisfied, not us. Hope it works out well for you!

[chris.brock]

Hey, I love you guys, the new generation of OFC, keep posting, you guys rock

 

we're just trying to help

[Terry]

well

I think it has a bigger footprint therefore lighter per sq ft

the extra length should stop some of the plowing affect

it may be enough for what you want, but the more height the better

[grizzlybri]

I have an question for all of those who have commented and all that will.

 

For those that use a Smitty sled how many of you tow by machine it and how many of you pull it by hand

 

well

I think it has a bigger footprint therefore lighter per sq ft

the extra length should stop some of the plowing affect

it may be enough for what you want, but the more height the better

 

That is what I was thinking for the bigger foot print, as said will try it out on the ice this weekend and see what needs to be changed if anything

Edited March 4, 2015 by DynamicBear

[Terry]

my smitty I pull by hand

[farsider]

It is no accident that what we see as a "Smitty sled" is how it is. Thousands of iterations before yours with lots of trial and error.

 

Why reinvent the wheel ( Unless you are Brian .

 

Downhill skis might work differently as well.

 

OFC needs and benefits from your passion, so keep on, keeping on.

 

Cheers,

Mark

[grizzlybri]

Why reinvent the wheel ( Unless you are Brian .

 

 

Umm my name is Brian lol

[Burtess]

I pull by hand and built one with my old downhill skis.... It is a "classic Smitty" in that it breaks down into 3 pieces and I used 2X6 risers so that my Jet Sled sits 5" or so above the base. Use a 5/8" braided nylon rope about 30ft total length (15' per side) tied up through the tips of the skis to provide a bit more lift. Pulls great!!

 

Burt

[grizzlybri]

This is what winter does to the best of us eh? I'm a little surprised guys.

 

Dynamic_bear busts his but for 4 hours, writes up a report and out of 5 replies I haven't seen one positive comment.

 

I know Dynamic_bear well and know the advice will be well recieved and will be put to good use, but if I did this report I'd be scared to post anything else. I know all you guys who responded from previous posts on the forums and from fishing reports and I know you guys are some of the nicest people out there. The responses just took me a little back.

 

Personally I think it's a project well crafted and can't wait to see how it handles the ice.

 

 

I don't think anyone was trying to cut him a new one, just pointing out that the results probably won't be what he was hoping for.

 

 

The mistake is mine then. Sorry about that, I just thought I saw more criticism then constructive.

 

 

It is no accident that what we see as a "Smitty sled" is how it is. Thousands of iterations before yours with lots of trial and error.

 

Why reinvent the wheel ( Unless you are Brian .

 

Downhill skis might work differently as well.

 

OFC needs and benefits from your passion, so keep on, keeping on.

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

This is all great feed back and i look forward to taking it out this weekend on Lady Simcoe to see how she handles on the snow,ice and what ever kind of mess the surface will be this weekend.

 

 

I pull by hand and built one with my old downhill skis.... It is a "classic Smitty" in that it breaks down into 3 pieces and I used 2X6 risers so that my Jet Sled sits 5" or so above the base. Use a 5/8" braided nylon rope about 30ft total length (15' per side) tied up through the tips of the skis to provide a bit more lift. Pulls great!!

 

Burt

 

If I do need to change my set up I think I'll use your idea, mainly because I have an near endless supply of 2x6 at my work

[Rod Caster]

Ok, slush test time: go to Callander Bay, 1.5 kms out from the Lansdown landing, look for the Yamaha Bravo tracks with 100's of footprints around them, I'll be inside Blair's shack awaiting the results.

 

If you pass through no problem, I'll drink Jeremy's boot water hahaha.

 

I agree with the others that I'd be looking to raise the sleigh a bit; but test it out a few times, might work just fine. Looks like you have a nice shop to work in.

Edited March 4, 2015 by Rod Caster