Cats & Skidders
(1975) Discussions on the merits of Cats and Skinners can sometimes run hot and heavy, but both are versatile tools on a logging operation. Cat skinners defend their machines as being able to push dirt, dig out stumps, move rocks and all kinds of handy chores around the unit. They claim cats can climb steeper slopes than a skidder and can get in and out of holes easier. They can pull a heavier load and attach more chokers to their hook, and can be used for road building as well as logging. Where there is no road, a cat can make its own.
A skidder on the other hand can log faster than a cat and can bring in more loads of wood in a day. They have rubber wheels rather than treads and can drive on paved roads without breaking up the surface. They can get up to pretty fast speeds on a smooth road but they bounce a lot, and steering becomes critical at high speed, said one driver, who learned their limits the hard way.
"It was my second day on the job. I barely knew how to drive a skidder and they gave me this old crummy machine. I was driving it downhill when the brakes gave out. I tried to jam it into reverse but the engine stalled and I couldn't steer any more. I went over a stump with two wheels and almost tipped over. Finally I got the blade down in front and built up enough dirt to stop." Most skidder flips are no big problem and do little damage, he said. Once they are uprighted they go right back to work.
Cats have been used in logging much longer than Skidders, which have come into their own in the last ten or fifteen years. Often a logging company will have both cats and skidders on the same unit, working side by side.