While waiting to get my hands on my sheet I set about sourcing the rivets, tape, wood, nuts and bolts that would be needed to complete the construction.
I selected oak for the hauling bar and stiffeners and marine grade stainless steel for the bolts with nylon inserted locking nuts for fastening them.
I counter-bored the bars using a flat wood bit before drilling the holes through for the bolts. This allows the nuts to sit no higher than the top of the bars. There is also a slot worked into the underside of the hauling bar for 25mm climbing tape which forms the first link in the hauling system.
The 10mm tape, shown left, is secured along the edges for load securing with counter sunk pop rivets and washers, stainless steel again.
One of the main objectives on this build was to produce a sled that could be rolled up tight enough to fit inside an expedition barrel bag of a size that would be acceptable on most airlines as checked in baggage.
The complete toboggan, weighing in at just under 7 kg. easily fulfils that objective and once in the bag can be filled with much of the awkward shaped equipment such as snowshoes, boots and shovels that are often troublesome when packing.
|