gwandsh wrote:
At a remote location we have a couple of large oak trees that
partially overhang or lean towards our cabin roof. These are tall,
narrow profile scrub oaks, but are 50'+ high and have trunks about 2'
in diameter. The terrain is sloped, so essentially I am looking to
fell these trees "uphill".

I was thinking they could be safely taken down with minimal
pre-pruning by attaching a grapple at a fairly high location (20-30'
up), roping to a block on another tree, and applying a lot of pull on
the line as the trunk is cut.

I realize a pro would be the best option, but as I said, it is pretty
remote and cost is a large factor.

Wondering if anyone has taken a similar approach to removing trees
that need to fall in specific directions. Would a standard block and
tackle suffice, or are there specific tree handling versions I could
rent somewhere? Not seeing much info online.

the
I fell a birch that was leaning exactly opposite to the direction I needed by
attacking a line high in the tree, then winching it towards one in the correect
direction firmly with a come-along. I attached the line maybe 2/3 up the tree,
looping around 3 major branches. The pressure exerted by the come-along was
sufficient to significantly bend those branches in the direction it was pulling.

I then very carefully notched and backcut the tree to encourage it to drop in
the needed direction. The rope pressure prevented it falling away perfectly, and
the notch/cut pivoted it right in the line I wanted.

This tree was just over 1' at the base, so obviously less massive than yours.

I don't think a single pully would allow nearly enough pull to do what you need.
A good winch or come-along would be a better choice.