Making your own skijor lines is real easy. You can make custom lines for different situations. You can make designated lines or modular lines that you can convert to one, two or three dog leads out on the trail.

With a small team of three dogs you can have numerous configurations:

• Two dogs in lead and one in wheel,
• One leader and two wheel dogs,
• All three side by side,
• All three in line, or
• Set one loose and run a two dog team.

Each line has advantages. Three side by side is known as the fan hitch. The fan hitch is good for sandy roads and beach bikejoring . Each dog has a clear line of sight and no one but the driver has sand in the face.

The single leader and two wheel dogs line is my everyday three dog line. That line is good for roads and snow machine track. You can change leaders depending on the strategy of the moment .

If you have two dogs, a two dog inline lead is an interesting option to the side by side lead. You can see which dog responds to leadership by running them in line . I like inline leads for bikejoring on singletrack trails. The dogs inline are not competing for the narrow track.

The one dog line is a great device for getting insights on the individual strengths of your dogs. A single dog skijor team demands so much more from the dog. Weakness like low attitude ,low top speed, climbing power and stamina are glaringly obvious when it;s just you and one dog. Use the one dog line to sort out which dogs make the team.

The three dog inline lead is very long, but is fun to use for back country skijoring. Each dog has his own space on the narrow track with the leader breaking trail.

For racing three dogs, you may have more success with two leaders and one in the wheel. This configuration seems to have less tangle problems than other 3 dog setups. The dual lead keeps the lead position honest because when one dog is distracted then the other dog helps to keep him focused through the neckline.

If you were to buy all those lines from a sled dog supplier then it may start getting expensive. It is a lot cheaper to buy all the rope and hardware from a supplier and make them yourself.

You will need a fid splicing tool and a pair of pliers. A fid is a hollow tube of metal or plastic with a point on one end. The rope end is inserted in the hollow end of the fid to aid the threading of the rope through and into the hollow core of the rope. There are different diameters for different size ropes. A fid can usually be bought at boating supply stores or sled dog suppliers.

The Rope

There are two kinds of materials that make hollow poly rope. Polypropylene rope is the kind that is more commonly found in hardware stores. It frays a little and picks up more dirt then polyethylene rope. Other than that, polypropylene line will last a long time and will make OK lines.

Polyethylene rope is smoother, greasier feeling and has less tendency to fray. Polyethylene rope will last for a year of hard driving and will often outlast the snaps. Most sled dog suppliers carry the polyethylene rope. Rope comes in varying numbers of strands from 6 to 20. The weave of the strands can be tight or loose. Tight weave makes stiffer lines that are less likely to curl up when slack and tangle. Loose weave rope is easier to thread a bungee cord through.

The Loop

I am no way qualified to write a treatise on knots and tying rope. One thing I do know is that this one loop has never come loose in years of heavy tugging. Once you learn to make a simple loop with a fid ,then you will enable yourself to make your own lines in any configuration you please.

First lightly singe and melt the end of the rope and form a point using a piece of cardboard like a matchbook cover to form the point and insulate your fingers from the heat.

To make a loop, insert the line in the fid and pass the fid through the line about a foot down .
Next, thread the fid back through each side of the loop about an inch above the first threading.
Now pass the fid down the hollow core of the rope just below the loop.
Bunch up the line over the fid and pass the fid outside the core of the rope.

Grip the end of the line with the fid removed and pull the end of the loop to tighten the loop. The end of the line should tuck nicely inside the core of the rope at least five inches down from the loop.

The Bungee Section

This first section is the bungee section and is about 5 ' when the bungee is slack and almost 7 ' when stretched out . The stretching takes the jerkiness out of the line caused by the surging movements of the skier. A line without a shock cord or bungee is too uncomfortable for the skier and the dogs. The bungee also smooths the rough trail when bikejoring. The rope for the bungee section is usually a heavier rope than the tugline or neckline sections. Most lines are 3/8" or 1/2" line for the bungee section. I have been using a loose weave 1/4" polyethylene line that a 3/8" bungee can thread through. The 1/4" line saves a little weight and seems to wear well, as long as your dogs don't chew the line.

Starting at the end of the line that is attached to the skier, Make a large loop that you can slip your hand into for this end of the line. The handle makes it a little easier when hooking up the team without a snub line.

Attach a snap to your skijor belt and connect the snap to the loop when you are ready to hook up. I prefer the snap on my belt and just a bare loop on the end of the line. Some skijorers prefer to attach a panic snap to the line instead of the belt. When the panic snap is released then the snap is dragged by the loose dog causing a hazard for the dog and other skiers. For that reason the panic snap should be attached to the belt. When the panic snap is attached to the belt then there is more chance of an accidental release of your dogs. This can happen when you pull the release mechanism by accident when holding the line. International race rules require a panic snap attached to the belt. A more secure attachment is a common 5/8 swivel snap or a carabiner attached to the belt.

The bungee section of line will use up about 10 ' of rope but don't cut it to length yet. You will need to bunch up the rope over the bungee cord to allow the shock cord to expand. Depending on the rope you are using you may need more length to adequately make the suspension system work. Use heavy duty 3/8" arctic shock cord and always use the same length so it will feel the same for you and the dogs. If you are cutting the bungee from a bulk source, wrap the cord in a fibrous tape and cut the cord with a razor knife. The tape will prevent the cord sheath from unraveling. Seal the rubber fibers on the cut end with a quality rubber cement.

Tie a knot in one end of a 3' section of shock cord and pull the knot as tight as you can with a pair of pliers. Trim the end of the cord on the knot with a razor knife to remove the damage from the pliers. Lightly singe the fabric sheath of the cord and dab a little rubber cement on the fibers again.

You will need a fid that is large enough to insert the other end end of the bungee cord into. With the end of the bungee in the fid, insert the fid into the rope a few inches ahead of the handle loop and start passing the cord through the core of the rope. When the cord is completely inside of the rope start bunching up the rope over the cord until the the bunching is packed tight. Pull the end of the fid out of the rope and tie a knot in the cord and pull tight, singe and seal again. The knots protruding from the line are a little unsightly and bulky but they will never pull through the line and spring the system. Wrap the knots with a little friction tape at both ends of the section. Friction tape is the fabric tape used to wrap hockey sticks. Cloth bicycle handlebar tape is similar material but more expensive. Make a knob out of the knot by wrapping the knot in several layers of tape. The knob is a good handle for holding the line while skiing.

Now make another loop a few inches beyond the knot at the far end of the bungee section . The loop this time doesn't need to be a handle, so 2 or 3 inches long is good enough.

The bungee section completed will have about 30 inches of shock cord and about two more feet or more of length in the loops and rope for a total of about five feet unextended.

The Three Dog Single Lead

You can easily make a three dog line by adding a new section to your two dog fan hitch. Make a rope section that is about six and a half feet long with a two inch loop at each end. Attach this section called the gangline section to the end of the bungee section between the two tugs. Make two necklines that are about a foot long. These necklines have a two inch loop at one end and a small swivel snap at the other end. Connect these necklines to the loop at the end of the gangline section with a loop to loop connection. Attach a 4 foot tugline to the end of the gangline and you have a three dog line with a single leader and two wheel dogs.

The Three Dog Double Lead

Convert your three dog single lead line to a three dog double lead / single wheel by removing one tug line from the bungee section and moving it up to the end of the gangline section alongside the other leaders tugline. Remove one of the necklines from the gangline and use a separate neckline with a snap on either end between your two leaders collars.

Three Dog Inline

To make other configurations like three dogs inline, you need to just add another gangline section and add the necessary neckline and tug sections. You should adjust the length of your gangline so the collar of the dog is behind the loop when in use. Do not make it so long that your dog is being pulled at the neckline. If this happens then the dog may slip out of his collar. The dog should only be pulled at the neckline if his tugline is slack.

If the dogs neckline and collar is ahead of the loop, then it will be easier for the dog to step over the line and tangle. The lengths I give are based on long leggy Alaskan Huskies. If your dogs are shorter or longer, then you need to adjust the gangline length.

The tugline that is off the gangline for your leader could be a little longer if it seems that the leaders are crowding the wheel dog. Try to keep about 4 feet between the tail of your leader to the nose of the dog behind.

I generally like longer lines. I like to have a little more length in the bungee section so the nearest dog is ten feet out from my waist . The longer line gives you more reaction time that you may need at fast speeds. When three dogs are in line, then your leader could be 25 feet in front of you. A drawback for the longer line will mean more complicated tangles. Another drawback is that you could lose some control if you need to protect your team from a loose dog and your leader is way out in front.

The fan hitch is the shortest and easiest for dog control.

There may be restrictions on the length of lines at races. Three dog inline leads may be longer than some race rules allow.

The lighter the better for all lines. A light line will have less wave action between the skier and the team. Avoid any heavy hardware on your lines like steel rings and heavy snaps. Small 1/2" swivel snaps are strong , light and work fine for tuglines and necklines.

Other Lines You Can Make

Now that you can make a loop you can easily make a leash by adding a snap to the opposite end of a line.

You might want to try using a snubline. An easy snubline to make has a loop on one end and a quick release snap on the other end. The line can be six to ten feet long. You can connect the line to a post ot tree by passing the line around the tree and passing the snap through the loop. A snubline allows you to hook the dogs to a post or your vehicle. When you are ready, you can connect to the line and release the panic snap and off you go. The snubline is conveniant, but you should still teach your dogs to be calm when starting out in case you have to hook up out on the trail. It can be difficult being connected to excited dogs while trying to get in your skis.

The beauty of skijoring is that it is so simple, just the skier and the dog. Though superficially simple, the sport has great depth depending on how you choose to nurture your team. Once you can make your own lines you can add a little more depth to your experiance.