Nice one Andy! Got to put mine together today as well.

 

Have Fun Cam!! I chose the wrong day to work outside. Hell of a lot nicer today in comparison to yesterday afternoon. If you have a table saw making the notches for the 2x4 crosspiece will not take long. I used my cordless circular saw to make numerous passes through the 2x4 and then knocked out the thin strips of wood after. Show us what it looks like when done!

 

What's that for? Moving an ice shack?

 

As Cam posted it allows us seasoned old timers to haul our seriously overloaded and overweight flip overs out on the ice without suffering cardiac arrest doing it!!!! Educated guesstimate on my Nanook fully loaded with both seats is 150ish which is more than i weigh soaking wet!!

 

Yeah. It's called a smittysled. Named after the inventor smitty from ice shanty, who took a set of old downhill skis and some scrap lumber to create a chassis to carry his shack and gear when he pulls it out by hand. Ever try to drag a loaded flip over by hand? It sucks! I can pull my Yukon, auger, propane heater and tank, tackle everything I want with one hand when loaded on a smitty sled.

 

Quiet the get up

 

Smitty

I have had mine for two years, exact same as yours Big Bruther. I have a Jet sleigh on mine, holds everything. Pulls very easy . skis cost me five dollars at a Goodwill Store. Check out Ice Shanty ,Smitty Sleigh, for pages of info on design and uses.

 

That's a cool idea! But alas it's still to much for me to pull. It's 4x4 with pop for me. And a permy on the home lake.

 

in your situation, stick with the permie and 4x4. Be easier on you.

 

I have little choice buddy. It's when I Wana go try different lakes that I need a bit if shelter. That's where the popup will have to do.

 

Have a few questions about the Smitty sled. There's 2 2X4 braces running sideways across the skis. Beneath the notched out portion appears to be washer and nut?? Not sure what it is and what's its function. May be a dumb question but does the sled you're hauling around; what keeps it from falling off this thing. The for any helpful info. W.

 

no dumb questions. I'm assuming Andy did the same as I did. I used a long bolt that goes into the 2x4 to keep it from coming out, yet still allows you to tear it apart with no tools for transport.

That's the beauty of this sled. You can customize it any way you want. A couple of eye bolts keep things in place. Head over to ice shanty. There are 50 us pages of sleds and ideas.

 

My wood working skills continue to amaze me!! Even free handing the notched cutouts for the cross pieces it's a very tight fit and for now i eliminated the carriage bolts that some have used on theirs.

 

Looks like you built that in your barn Andy.

 

You've seen my funky garage doors Mike!!

 

Finished this one with an old pair of water skis. Wider for more stability on uneven ground. If I can offer a few tips:

Downhill skis are better than cross country. They are wider, and you don't have to strip the old wax off.

Use a good downhill ski wax on the skis. Cross country ski wax is made to stick to the snow, as your pushing against it to move yourself. Downhill is slick as snot, just get the right temp wax.

Use a long rope. Like 30 feet. That will give you a 15 foot loop to pull with. Way easier to pull it.

I have my Yukon on it for scale. The beauty of this is you can customize it to fit your needs exactly. I have seen auger mounts, as well as a milk crate mounted for the propane.

Get some scrap lumber and make one!
Use a log rope

 

It's a thing of beauty Cam!
Nice job.

 

You may want to run a 2x4 length wise on each side and thru-bolt those 2x8 if they're just screwed.

One of our buddies just went the screw route while we suggested thru-bolting. It didn't make it through the first voyage.

Just a suggestion.

 

You may want to run a 2x4 length wise on each side and thru-bolt those 2x8 if they're just screwed. One of our buddies just went the screw route while we suggested thru-bolting. It didn't make it through the first voyage. Just a suggestion.

thanks. Will give her a whirl and see what happens. It is braced underneath too.