IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I SAT IN THE operator’s seat of a yoader – that was a loader converted to a yarder in Australia for shotgunning – and I can’t say that I recall it with any fondness. Fiddly to use and hard to control a grapple with a mind of its own. Such a different experience to Mike Harris’ new interlocked, two-drum Harvestline, with a grapple carriage that is much easier to use. It only took a few minutes for me to get comfortable with the operation and I was away.
That’s the difference between having a yarder that works like an excavator and an old-style hauler with all those levers that you have to learn. Anyone who has operated an excavator won’t have any problems learning the ropes on the Harvestline – you could spend months trying to train someone in a hauler.
The only things that take a bit of getting used to are the foot pedals. The right pedal controls your rope in and out, then toggle on the left-hand joystick to switch between inhaul and outhaul. The left pedal lowers and raises the rope height. The grapple controls are similar to an excavator with the open/close and rotate on the joystick.
You’ve got much better control over older style yarders because there are no clutches, brakes or air controls. It’s all hydraulic and fully integrated. Hauling in with the mainline, the haulback automatically feeds out at the same speed and you control the speed with the foot pedal. Easy as.
The most difficult part is working out where the stems are, because there’s so much slash obscuring the wood. Like hunting for a needle in a haystack!
I’ve not used a camera with a grapple before, so that was a new experience. The weight of the carriage means it doesn’t jerk around much, so your view is very steady and you shouldn’t get seasick watching the screen. The cameras produce a crystal-clear picture, very good resolution and having the three different views is magic.
The only criticism is that the screen blocks the real view and I had to lean over to see past it when I got the carriage to the drop point. The screen doesn’t need to be any smaller, just re-positioned.
But I was very impressed with how it copes with big wood. I wasn’t sure whether it would be able to deal with a 7-tonne stem easily. I did feel the weight come on. Feels similar to sitting in my tethered harvester as it takes up the weight, but very stable. Anyone coming out of a purpose-built
swing yarder will need to remember that it isn’t going to give you a massive amount of movement to the side. Still very handy to be able to move it enough to grab a stem that’s just a bit out of reach. Very easy to lift the bucket...
