Creamer asked: "Why not mow with a sickle bar where it is steep? The sickle adapts. If you use a trailer type mower there is not the sideweight on your tractor either like on a 3 pt hitch mower."
Answer: Because the distance of the slope on the dam from level ground at the top of the dam to the water is probably close to 20'. If I kept the tractor on the level ground on the top of the dam, where the slope down to the water starts, and angled the sickle mower down the slope, the end of the sickle mower would be nowhere near the water. Conversely, if I ran the tractor low enough on the dam for the 7' sickle mower to reach the water or close to it, the entire tractor would be on the slope. I don't want to operate the tractor on such a steep slope, especially with the weight of the sickle mower on the downhill side. I do operate the sickle mower angled at various degrees in some situations. For example, I use the sickle mower straight up--i.e., at 90 degrees up--to mow the sides of trails. And I use the sickle mower to mow down some short banks with the tractor on level ground next to the downward slope. Just can't do it on the dam.