scoot vs. single bob

[Mark Cowdrey]

The arch vs. single bob thread got me thinking about what circumstances would indicate for using a scoot rather than a single bob.

Any thoughts?
Mark

[Carl Russell]

Mark, for me it usually comes down to slope.

I use the scoot for uphill work, and the single bunk for downhill skids.

Another aspect is maneuverability. The short runners of the bob turn easier under the load than the longer scoot runners. If there are a lot of turns, and obstacles, I will use the bob. The longer runners are more difficult to turn the larger the load, so when the chance allows for big loads, I tend to use the bobsled.

I will also often use the scoot when I have really big logs within reasonable distance from the landing, because they move really easily on the scoot, and it is a bit easier to load and bind than the bob.

Carl

[mink]

is the reason that you use one bunk instead of the usual 2 bunks on a bob-sled just for the ease of turning around or backing up?

[Carl Russell]

mink;24482 wrote:

is the reason that you use one bunk instead of the usual 2 bunks on a bob-sled just for the ease of turning around or backing up?

Yes:D

Maneuverability in general.

Carl

[Robert MoonShadow]

I’m unsure of the difference between a bobsled and a scoot…is there a couple of photos to compare handy?

[Carl Russell]

Bobsled
[IMG]http://www.draftanimalpower.com/photoplog/images/55/1_MOFGA_LIF_10_008.JPG[/IMG]

Scoot

Carl

[Gabe Ayers]

I just returned from five days in Maine in the MOFGA woodlot, a mixed stand of pine, fir, spruce, and hack, mostly low grade. A group of us have been working there for about 10 years now, trying to take out the large, low quality stems to open up space and light for younger, healthier, more economically viable trees. I took my bobsled and MOFGA had a couple of two bunk scoots for us to use. I started my team on the bob, but we quickly realized the scoots were the right tool for that job. The ground is fairly flat there in Unity, and the road from the brows to the landing did not have any tight turns. Also, forwarders with hydraulic grapples were used for most of the loading at the brows and unloading in the landing yard. Bridle chains were not needed and some loads did not get chained at all. As Carl described, the scoot was more suitable for those conditions, but here in VT on steeper ground with tighter turns the bob is more efficient and easier to utilize. I found that with the short logs (mostly 8 foot logs) I did not get as many board feet on each load as when I am able to put longer logs on the bob, but the scoot worked quite well. We took out between 9 and 14 loads a day, up to 6,000+ bf, each day, and the scoots were perfect for that job. I need to build myself a scoot to have in cases were the bob is not a good fit. Now I am back to good old VT with plenty of steeps and turns, and I will go back to the bob for now.

[Robert MoonShadow]

Thanks for the photos, Carl. I’ll try to figure out dimensions of a donkey-sized bob. Thank you also, for everyone here w/ their info on the different situational uses for the bobs/scoots = this is exactly the sort of info needed by neophytes such as myself, that I find here at DAP.

[Author]

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