Cleaning out a creek bed

[BubbaJr]

I have a creek behind my house that has several clumps of trees, branches, etc. that are damming up the creek. I need to clean it up as soon as I can. I can get close to some of it with the tractor and I have been able to drag some large trees, and branches up the creek bank, but it is exhausting work to do by myself. I have been going out onto the pile and attaching a wire rope to any tree parts that I can, and running a chain to my tractor and dragging it up the 6-10' bank. It's very slow and hard on my old body.

I came up with the bright idea of using a grapple hook on a chain or wire rope and throwing it out into the pile, hooking it to the tractor and dragging that up the creek. Now the problem is that I can't find anywhere that sells a grapple hook. What I am visualizing is something similar to what they use to drag the lake and ponds for bodies. Something with sharp prongs bent back towards the main shaft, that you can throw out into the creek, snag the trees, and drag them up on the bank.

Any ideas where I can buy such a beast. I don't have a welder or I could make one, maybe. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Or does anyone have a better (easier) way to clear out a creek by yourself?

 

[theboman]

Get an excavator. It'll same hours and hours of time and your back.

 

[BubbaJr]

I wish I could, but I forgot to mention that there are trees on both creek banks and that most of the log jams are in the woods where access is a real problem.

The thought of running an excavator does give me a warm fuzzy feeling though. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Golfgar4]

I just did a quick Google search and found 2 grapple hooks on E-bay. Here's a link: Grapple Hooks /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[OkeeDon]

Try a marine supply store for a grapnel anchor. Here's one that folds, so that you can toss it into the branches, and the tines will open out as you pull it back. I found it at This website; do a google for boat anchors.

 

[BillG_in_TX]

How about this? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Or if your budget can stand it: this? /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Richard]

Would Grubbing tongs help at all?

 

[BubbaJr]

Thanks a lot guys. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Garry, I saw those on eBay, but they aren't quite what I had in mind. Thanks very much though.

Don, that's close to what I want, but I need more of a hook on the ends. I appreciate it though.

Bill, That's pretty much what I would like to have. In the picture it looks a little on the small side, so I'm going to contact them and get some measurements. Thank you very much.

Richard, They would work if I wanted to continue to walk out on the log jam, but I'm trying to find a way to do it from the bank, to keep my feet dry. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Thanks for the help.

I really appreciate all of your help. I was searching for over 2 hours this morning on the internet, and I came up with nothing. I knew all along I was just looking in the wrong place. You can't beat the brain trust at TBN. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[SPIKER]

hey bubba try some of that TNT stuff, I'm sure it will remove much of what is need to be removed! not to mention it is getting closer to the 4th of july! lol.

I'm in center of ohio... and have similar problems, so i've been working to make small cuts in the banks and get the tractor up the creek. so far I can go about 1/3 the way in different locations, but have to get some more BIG ricks moved and some stumps too, then maybe cut a few more small trees. some parts are too swampy but most of the creek here is HARD pan rock. so I been grabbing lots of it and moving it for barn footer materisl. I have about 24" left to fill in the lower half of my 48x50 barn. so LOTS of run left ot dig out...

Mark M /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[ns_in_tex]

If your problem area is close to a major road, beavers might be the answer.

Our highway department has brought an excavator in twice to clean out beaver dams that were backing up water to the road. They normally clean out a good size area while there.

About a week after the first cleanout, two more dams were started.

I told them all I had to do was train the beavers where to build the dams & I could get my whole place cleaned up, free. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[BubbaJr]

Hi Mark,
Some high explosives was my very first idea. Since 911 it's pretty hard to get permission to purchase that though. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

In the summer of 2002 we had a pretty bad drought and the creek dried up so I was able to cut a path into the creek and I was able to clean up quite a bit of the trees, limbs and stuff. But there was a section of deep mud that I couldn't get through, so from there on I still have the problems. This year there is too much water flowing and it's very slippery mud on the bottom so I'm not even going to try getting in there now. If I would ever get the tractor stuck in there, I would have to go buy another one, as I wouldn't have any way to retrieve it and that one would have to be designated as a monument to my stupidity. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

When I was a little kid we lived in Ashland for a while, in fact that's where I started Kindergarten many, many years ago.

Thanks

 

[BubbaJr]

Hi Neal,
When I first saw the one dam, the first thing I thought of was "that's got to be a beaver dam". Then I realized that the water was only about 1 1/2' deep there, and that isn't deep enough for beavers to build a lodge. We have some beavers in this area now. The county ditch maintenance crews absolutely hate them, and I've heard of a few "accidents" involving the beavers.

My creek is under the county maintenance plan, but their idea is to clear cut both banks and remove all the beauty from the scene. I want to keep the trees behind the house as a screen from the road to the north, so I really don't want them involved.

Thanks

 

[SPIKER]

bubba:

maybe start by cutting the trees on the out let end of the creek and work you way up the creek with chain saws cutting as you go let the stuff float down. on the very end of the property build a small trap to catch all the stuff you CUT loose. then as you said you already have access to that area of the property right? trap the loose stuf there and pull it up to a nice bomb fire pit... let me know when its all dried up and I'll bring the marshmellows! lol.

Anyhow that is KIND of what I've been doing, only my problem is I have access to the MIDDLE but not the two ends of the creek, and mine is only about 2" deep by 3' wide. not enough flow for pushing much down creek very often. last year it never stopped flowing that much the year before it was dry 2 times. Sure did smell from all the dried up crawdads and salimanders! for every 10 feet of creek bed there must be 1000 of them! other day one was setting right near edge and was about 4" long and 3/4" acrss. nice big one for such a small creek. he didn't like it too much when I picked him up seems he wanted to grab me with his pinchers! lol... I got a nefue who is only 24 mo old he laughed at it like crazy... loves to catch frogs too!

Mark M /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Mark M

 

[fishman]

I don't have any experience doing what you are talking about, but it seems that tossing a grapple and hoping it holds would be dangerous. What if it slips off or the branch it hangs breaks. It could become an airborne missle, the grapple that is.

And where I'm from, we call those trees fish structure! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Henro]

Golfgar4,

I like your suggestion of the Marvel Super Heros - DAREDEVIL w/Exploding Grapple Hook the best!

Nothing would beat a superhero to get the dirty work done!

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[BubbaJr]

Bill, I contacted the guy in Indianapolis and asked him about the dimensions of the grapple hook. What I asked for was the height, width, and the distance between the hook and the center post. This was the reply I got.

<font color="green"> 33 feet of rope rated at 800lbs strength. I may be mobilized with my Army Reserve unit so I will give you a web page that carries these. </font>

I guess he had his mind on other things. Then he gave me a link to another site that also had them, and they were very helpful, but unfortunately the grapple was too small. The quest continues. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[BubbaJr]

Hi Mark,

My former ramp into the creek was all washed out last year when we got 13" of rain in 3 days, plus it was in the up river end of the creek. That was the end that I got pretty clean in 2002. The end where I have most of the problems is behind the house and about 1/4 mile downstream. I don't want to remove any trees if I can help it, I just need to get the ones out of the creek that are already down. I had a lot of bank erosion last year when we had all the rain, and that caused a lot of trees that were on the bank to lose their grip and fall in the water. Right now the depth of the creek varies from about 2" to maybe 18", with quite a few sand bars along the way. So floating the logs isn't an option right now. Plus a lot of the wood is so water logged that it stays on the bottom. My only real option is to pull them out of the creek somehow. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[BubbaJr]

Hi Fishman,

I thought of the very same thing, so what I was going to do was fasten some chain on the line close to the hook, so that if it did do something nasty, the hook wouldn't go too far before the chain would haul it back to earth. Thanks for thinking of my safety though. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Speaking of fish, I haven't seen a single one as long as we've been here. The only aquatic reference I've seen are crawdad holes all over, even up in my yard as far as 200' from the creek.

 

[fishman]

BubbaJr,

That sounds like it should work. Too bad the creek doesn't hold some fish. . . it would be a lot of fun. Guess the best thing to do is clean it out, put down a load of pea gravel, and use it for swimming. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Poppa]

Bubba, The only trees on my property were purposely planted and the closest I get to a creek is when my daughter leaves the bathroom sink running. So, I have no advice worth a bean but I am dying to see a picture of where you are working and what you are up against. If you get a moment to snap one please post it.

I have water envy /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Mike