In New England there really are'nt that many harvesters , atleast NH anyway there are a few but most crews here in Southern NH are running feller buncher & Grapple skidder combos with manual falling on oversize timber 40" + , you can easily cut a 30" tree with a 18" hot saw head just have to double cut .
There are alot more harvester / Forwarder combos running up in Maine more than anywhere as the wood is alot smaller and accomadates to that equipment .
Northern NH is alot more cable skidders and manual falling as the terrain is soo steep and rocky the equipment had a hard time climbing so it's alot of cable work .
So really the new england region is more buncher and skidder , than harvester and forwarders although there are more and more of them coming this way .
Truthfully mechanization is king , you will never be able to out cut a feller buncher or harvester with a chainsaw , it just wont happen . The crew I work for our Timbco operator went and cut a 2 acre house lot in under 45 minutes , and was back to us select cutting the 100 acre woodlot we are working on .
Mechanized harvesting equipment really is better for all of us loggers , although it is very pricey but there is alot of decent used machine on the market .
It's alot safer to be in a enclosed machine felling wood , than standing next to it with a saw . With mechanical equipment we can get alot more wood down and processed in a day , lower workers comp rates , and the biggest benefit is harvesting timber alot safer . Personally I would much rather pay for a decent piece of equipment than with my life .
Manual falling will always have it's place in the woods , until they come out with a machine that can do oversize wood , and I like to fall wood as much as everyone else does with a saw as it takes skill and makes you think about were to lay it , lean , notch variaitions etc ...
Well sorry to go on and on but thats my take on things .
Rob
