Winston and Mark - Thanks for the welcome aboard :thanku:. Yes, this is a really nice forum with some outstanding members. I did a lot of research here reading the various opinions and the Yanmar owners seemed happy with their machines -- Now I know why.
Making some drainage along the back of the property about 660 feet long.. I'm glad I got the 35 HP model, moving a lot of dirt with the bucket.. tomorrow may be putting an angle on the box scrapper and making a ditch the full length and into a small creek bed.
I see a lot of pics on this forum - I have a good camera and intended on taking pics, but just kept on working.. maybe after I finish each job I can take some pictures of interest to show the cuts that have been made, etc.
I am really glad I got the shuttle shift now.. no power loss when cutting with the bucket (HST may be fine, but so is the extra $20k in my pocket):trink39:. I don't find the shifting fwd to reverse to be a big deal... it became second nature after an hour or so.. -- only had to use the 4wd occasionally (rookie operator), most of it is two wheel drive stuff even though it is sandy loam (this is a farming valley). Bucket control seems to be the "key".
35 HP with a fairly large bucket and box scraper for $5500.. yea, I'm a happy camper. Moving dirt.
Don