What about hyfax runners on otter sled?

[tightlines]

Was out tugging my otter to the site to fish and just about killed myself . With all the snow it is really hard to pull and basically just about impossible when I have heater, flasher, auger etc loaded. Will hyfax runners make much difference or are they more to protect the sled. I know , time for a 4-wheeler but don't have the coin this season

[Wade Joseph]

You could try a little nonstick cooking spray. Not sure I wanna try and wax the bottom of a sled that big.

[Surface Tension]

I don't think the hyfax is going to help. What you want to do is reduce the friction. Try something like car wax, silicon or a spray on cooking spray. Weight distribution in the sled will make a difference too. Otters have a slopping nose and that helps pulling through snow but still your going to working hard to pull that much weight over deep snow.

[FL SNIPER]

I don't have an otter sled or an otter fishhouse but i do have a tub style flip over fishhouse. I built my own sled out of cross country skis which has a raised plywood platform to set my fishhouse and gear on. It works well when there is snow.

My buddy has the same type of sled and he was out on white bear last night.

I said "how'd the walk out go?"

he said "oh...pretty tuff but I made it"...

I said "did you have your ski sled?",

he said "ya, i wouldn't have made it out here without it".

If you're interested in building a sled like this....I know there was a post about it...

Good luck. It looks like we'll be dragging our stuff out for awhile. I'm in the same boat as you...no 4 wheeler...but at least we'll get some exercise right?

[FISHER ED]

I make hyfax kits for just about all the sleds and they really aren't designed to make the sleds pull any easier. They have 2 main purposes. First is to protect the bottom of a sled. Second is to help the sled track behind an ATV or snowmobile better at towing speed. Think of a hyfax runner kind of like a wear rod on a snowmobile ski. They will actually bite into the snow and and keep the sled going straight forward instead of fishtailing back and forth. Unless you are on really hardpacked snow, the bottom of the sled will still be dragging. It's just the hyfax strips that will take all the abuse of ice chunks, gravel or whatever. If you want to protect your sled you will want them. If you want it to pull easier, give it a good wax job every now and then.

[tightlines]

Thanks fella's. Thats kinda what I was expecting to hear. Hope the lakes freeze up to a foot of ice soon. It's just no fun dragging em in this snow....

[minnowhead]

I also just returned, and posted help with this same problem. I have a voyager, I thought I was going to have a heart attack, I will probley have to try the wax thing out, I know I can not go through that again, I have a longer rope on mind so i can put it around my shoulders/chest/waist. But after a little while, it was still too much. Looks like its going to be a long season if we don't get more ice to drive on.

[LMITOUT]

I have a long rope and put it under my arms and pull with the rope across my chest. This lets my arms move in a normal walking motion and I can pull pretty good. Don't get me wrong, with this snow it's a workout no doubt, and I take plenty of breaks.

[Dan Thiem]

Another good idea is not to bring so much stuff. Bare minimums. We haven't even brought the gas along with yet.

No doubt a work out! I thought the guy in the back was riding instead of pushing. Whew!

A few more trips and there will be a packed trail. That should help too.

[harvey lee]

I have hyfax on my voyager and it sure helps when pulling it with atv.It is almost impossible to pull off the lake when im done.It pulls out easy and then the runners must ice up and it is hard to pull. I usually just pull out my small sled with poles,vex,bait and chair and sit out in the open.Thats alot easier than tugging the boat off the lake.Today was cool and windy but pulling that sled with the runners by hand is harder than getting all dressed up for the sit.

[AQUAJOE]

I second that Harvey I went out tonight with my Voyager and I have Hyfax on mine and was pulling by hand with all the gear. That is (Contact US Regarding This Word) heavy.

[Northlander]

Get yourself a harness like people use to drag deer out of the woods with and tie it onto a good length of solid rope. This makes it way easier to pull your house by hand. The wax helps too.

[harvey lee]

I could wax it and that may help,but I never had a problem until I put runners on it.

[bogeyjoker]

I have the otter cabin and at the beginning of each season I put turtle wax car wax all over the bottom and front (to prevent "snow plowing". I repeat this 5 or 6 times until it has a nice thick coating...I avoid gravel and rough ice and this lasts me the whole year and pulls nicely, even w/ all the junk I haul.

[krats]

Wow, I agree with you guys. I had my Otter Lodge out for the first time tonight. On the way out a guy on a 4 wheeler offered to pull it out for us. That was really nice. But we were the last ones off the lake and that was the longest 300 yards I have ever walked!! I am not that old and the 2 of us thought we were going to have a heart attack. One good thing came out of the deal though... I think that brother in law is going go buy that 4 wheeler he has been talking about. He bought himself a Voyager today with all the goodies and tonight he realized that he won't be pulling that around all by himself. I think that I am going to go see a friend about borrowing an old snowmobile for awhile, at least until we get about 8 more inches of ice out there.

Wow, my lungs still hurt!!

[Wables]

Sounds familiar! I took my brother-in-law out last year in my Otter Lodge. First time I ever pulled it by hand through snow. We pulled it about 1/2 mile in 6" of snow and were just beat when we were done. This year my Fishtrap Pro wasn't much better pulling by myself. I have since added a "free" hyfax runner kit, but haven't had it out since the runners were installed. The ice is now safe for ATV's, so I won't be pulling by hand again this year, at least until late ice.