ORIGINAL: cayugad
Have you ever looked into the hanging safety vest? Put the vest on, and tighten the straps, and you're all done. Other then hooking it to the tree of course.
As for your stand, that looks just like the one Ifell out of when I was a young man. I was on it and stepped too close to the edge and it tipped. Back then of course we never wore those safety straps. I've never went back onto on of them since. I'd rather hunt out of the tree itself. Perhaps your design is better as I have no idea who made that thing I took a dive out of... Lucky for me the snow was deep and it was not too high up that year. All I hurt was my pride. I dug a hole in the snow and hunted in that hole, sitting on a stump that day. I did manage to shoot a real nice doe that afternoon.
I gather lumber, especially treated lumber, and build platforms. My friend is a carpenter, and he brings me his deck projects scraps. It would shock you what some people will throw away, scrap lumber wise. I find them a lot safer. Of course they are a two man operation to put up (or a wheeler with a winch and block and tackle), so once they are up they are not coming down, or getting stolen too easy unless the thief is determined.
Yes, Hunter Safety System, they are about $79 at Cabelas. I have several different types of safety harnesses. Yes, it is amazing what people throw away as scrap. Ladder stands are best in my opinion just cause we are old and the two feet on the same ladder rung makes for secure going up the tree.
The Y-boards are nailed or screwed into a tree like this (see picture below), NOT just wedged into the Y-tree. In the example below there are 7 four inch nails holding the Y-board into the tree. In situations where the landowner doesn't want you to use nails you can use 4" deck screws and use a cordless drill to put them in. In that way it is not a permanent stand, but is easily removed. After two years approximately, the tree starts to grow around the Y-board makeing it even stronger. I have Y-board tree stands that have been in 10 years and still work great.
Chap
