Ganglines

    One of the things I first noticed about the ganglines up here, at least that Aaron uses, is that it is bare cable with chain necklines. Now, you have to be extremely careful using cable for sleddogs - especially if it's not coated or covered with rope - because if a dog gets a leg wrapped in the mainline it could severly injure that dog if the line constricts (due to dogs in front pulling). Despite it's drawbacks, the cable and chain discourages chewing and the dogs don't even want to put their mouths on it (especially in cold weather).
    About two months ago, I got to rebuild Scott's lines - making tuglines and necklines. I took the opportunity to get the measurements of them because he had been talking about how his system is shorter than the average line. The shorter line gives you more power by wasting less pulling power, that's just physics! Now, keep in mind that Scott also uses single wheel dogs, most of the time, in the first one or two positions.
    The measurements: The first two sections, wheel sections, are standard (8ft) sections - this gives those dogs plenty of room to maneuver around corners. The next sections are 7ft long - with 30 inch tuglines and 12-14 inch necklines (I made 14 inch necklines). The leader section is long, so that the leaders are easier to see - I'd say about 44 inches, since he puts a neckline on the leader tugs to lengthen them.
    Another innovation he has used in the past, is shortening the tuglines by 14 inches and attaching a neckline to the harness tug-loop. The snap is then in the middle of the tugline and doesn't collect dog droppings during the run - something I'll definitely try next year! A benefit to having the snap in the middle of the tug is that you can tell if the dog is really pulling or not, because that little bit of weight will cause the line to sag if the dog isn't working honestly...this was a trick I was told a while ago, and it will be interesting to see how honest my dogs at home are!
    Snaps on the gangline should be 1/2 bronze for the necklines because those have 50lb breaking strength - so they'll break if the dog goes around the wrong side of a tree (probably not such a big deal on the trails down in the lower 48 - because they are so wide). Tuglines are 5/8 bronze (bronze doesn't freeze as badly in cold weather. You can also use toggles for tuglines, but I think they are harder to use...
    I really like the reflective rope Scott uses in his necklines (which are made out of a really, really small rope - must be 1/8 inch (?) - rather than the 1/4 inch tugline rope). I'm sure you could get it in tugline or mainline size, but in the dark if there was a tangle it'd be nice to have some reflective rope so you know you just unhooked a neckline...plus the extra visibility.
    For the snub line (the rope you use to tie the sled/dogs off to a tree or the truck), I've discovered it makes much more sense to use a long, heavy duty climbing-type rope with a knot rather than the quick release. Not only can you adjust the length at will, but it can't freeze and can't come undone!
   Well, that's all of my observations for now...