A question that can be important to the hobby logger or the farmer in his woodlot is whether to tree-length skid (or yard, or twitch, whatever) or log-length skid. If you're clear-cutting then falling so that all butts point toward the landing (or yard, or brough, whatever) is fine and dandy for tree-length skidding. If you're thinning and want the remainder reproduction and leave trees not smashed or barked up then log-length does a much better job. What I always called a scoot - a sled somewhat like Mr. Gould's trailer, will bring out logs in 8 to 16 foot lengths very well and a careful operator won't destroy or damage any trees left for the next entry. You might be surprised how easily a small crawler can bring in a scoot full of logs. If any of the logs are to be sawn at a mill that doesn't have a debarker then logs that have never been pulled through dirt and mud can be a tremendous advantage, and a scoot allows that. A good faller that is handy with a cant-dog can leave the logs in a corridor only a couple feet wider than the tractor or crawler such that the majority of logs don't need to be pulled in by the winch. The faller can make the corridor placement such that keeping the crawler or tractor upright, and keeping the tracks on the crawler is accomplished. It can take a couple years for a faller to learn how to envision just how best to put a corridor through the trees that are to be taken while avoiding the trees that are to be left. The scoot cross-ties should have cast iron teeth to keep the logs from sliding forward or backward. The scoot uprights should be removable on both sides. If you leave very low stumps it can look like the place wasn't even logged. On the other hand it's pretty difficult to tree-length yard and not leave a mess of any standing trees and second growth left for the next entry.
