otter sled mod–good idea or waste of time?

[walleyejack]

I usually drag my portable otter lodge out by hand. It is a beast after you add up all your gear and pull out. I was thinking to make it pull easier was to take two downhill skis and build a platform of about a foot high and just put my otter sled on there and drag it out. It should be a lot less resistance due to less drag. Whats your thoughts on this? Am I wasting my time or would this be a good solution?

[crappyfisherman]

Smitty sled, great idea and it works. You only need to get it about 4 to 6 inches off the snow. Downhill skis work better than cross county.

[godeep651]

But then when you flip over the shelter it won’t touch the ice or snow. That bottom bar would be 6 inches up. Unless there is deep snow I guess

[thunder]

It would help but I think there oare some other alternatives you could look at and maybe you have??

1)Length of rope-I have found that the longer the rope the easier it is to pull. It changes the angle at which you are pulling. My rope is about 16 feet long which puts me about 8 feet in front of the sled. I know of 2 other LSFers that have even longer ropes than that.

2)Look at the equipment you are bringing with. Is there anything you could leave at home. Anything you could downsize? What size propane tank are you using? If it is a 20lb that is a huge factor especially when full. Do you bring both seats with even when you are fishing solo? Try to cut out everything that isnt necessary.

3)Look at getting a pulling harness to wear.

[mpeck2892]

This does work well, I have a friend with a eskimo quikflip3 and he made something like this. Also looking at ice houses on Craigslist I have seen a few people making them as well.

As far as not touching the ground when you flip it, you have to take it off the stand. With two people its no problem, with one it might be some work.

[freighttrain50]

I agree with the longer rope like Thunder said. If it’s too short, and you have a buddy with, it makes for a strenuous or awkward drag out.
I think it is a good idea but possibly a waste of time. It depends on what you will be pulling it through. Early ice there isn’t any snow and pulls very easy the way it is. When the snow gets deeper you want the extra surface area to stay on top of the snow because the 2 ski’s will sink in. I imagine the 2 ski idea working well in a little bit harder packed snow. If you get the fluffy stuff it might act as a plow.

PS…..I don’t use this method because, in my mind, it defeats the purpose of a flip over type house. It may work very well but sitting here thinking about it I thought I would share my thoughts.

Chris

2015 Team Archery Contest Winner
2016 Team Archery Contest Winner

[walleyejack]

My plan was to use some eye hooks and attach it to the portable with bungees or straps. Once out to the spot I would take the portable off the ski set up so it would sit on the ice as normal. I appreciate the tips guys. I will definitely use the longer rope idea too.

[Naturboy]

I haves set of skis that I put under my Fish Trap and today I drove out and only needed to pull it 50 yards so I thought I’d do it without the skis. Pulled it 10 feet then put the skis on. They cut drag down by 80%. Does a longer rope do that?

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[walleyejack]

how did you attach the wood to the ski’s? And how is that attached to the sled? My plan was to use liquid nails to secure the wood to the ski’s because I didn’t want to drill thru them and compromise the surface of the bottom of the ski’s.

[mward_350]

walleyejack wrote:
how did you attach the wood to the ski’s? And how is that attached to the sled? My plan was to use liquid nails to secure the wood to the ski’s because I didn’t want to drill thru them and compromise the surface of the bottom of the ski’s.

Liquid nails will not do an adequate job of securing the skis to wood. If you countersink and use a flat head screw, you should have no issues with the bottom of the ski.

[Naturboy]

Ok, let’s see if I can do this in one post.
First we have the drawing of the cut angles at 45 degrees. To make this cut set your table saw blade to 45 degrees, and your miter gauge to 45 degrees. You make 2 ski legs with this set up then move the miter gauge to the other 45 degree setting for the other two legs. Since the short pieces are bolted to the tub and you don’t want them dragging in the snow keep them short.

The second photo shows a little piece of wood attached to the back leg of each ski. This helps the rear heavy tub from sliding down that ski leg.

The third photo shows eye screws I put on each leg so when I pull over big piles of snow the tub won’t rock off the skis. These are rarely used though.

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[walleyejack]

wow thats impressive thanks for the pics. Any downsides to your downsides I should be aware of about your design? and did you drill through the bottom of your skis to attach the 2×4 to them.

[Naturboy]

The skis are just held on by 3″ flat head screws counter sunk into the bottom of the ski. That’s two screws in each leg.

Spare the rod and you'll spoil the child
Take a kid fishing

[walleyejack]

man I still would rather not drill thru the skis do you think liquid nails would be adequate?

[mward_350]

walleyejack wrote:
man I still would rather not drill thru the skis do you think liquid nails would be adequate?

Again, glue will not work. You’re trying to bond two surfaces that are too dissimilar in composition. Throw in subzero temps and that bond will fail the first time you hit a bump. Use screws. Trust me, the ski is more than strong enough to withstand a few small holes through the bottom. If it breaks, you can go to the thrift store and buy another pair for $3.00.

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