Mowing ideas

[tazman]

We have a property that has about 200,000 sq feet of grass. The problem is it is 71/2 feet wide with trees in the center of the grass with tree circles. It take 3 guys, 6 hours to mow the property with 21" mowers. You have to make 5 passes to mow each section. I am trying to figure out if there is a faster way to mow. The other landscaper used a 36" mower, but the people complained about the mower sucking up the bark in the tree circles. These strips of grass are between the sidewalk and curb. It took us 7 hours with 6 guys to mow and edge the property. The development has 350 homes. Before any one asks the question, yes we are paid well for the job, but it is very tiring at the end of the day. I figure we walk 12-18 miles each of us.
Any suggestions????

[MacLawnCo]

Possibly a Walker GHS if you dont mind hauling the clippings or a dedicated eXmark mulcher to keep the clipppings from the beds. I would try to sneek a 48" in there if i was you.

[FrankenScagMachines]

A few companies make 26" self propelled mowers. Get a big engine and a mulch kit for one and that might fit the bill :confused:
Would cut down alittle time over a 21".
Billy Goat, Snapper, Kees, Johnson Big Wheel to name a few that make these type of mowers.
About the 32/36" w/b sucking bark that sounds more like operator error to me. If you used one of these you could use a sulky and really increase productivity. Just change the blade spacers under the deck so the blades sit up higher inside the deck, this will reduce vacuum somewhat so it will not pickup the mulch/bark stuff as bad if at all.
Just a few ideas....

[Runner]

How narrow is it betwwen the outer portion of the tree circles and the curb? It's possible to mow all that, and then just mow that little bit (between the curb and outer edge) with a hand mower. ALOT less handmowing. If it is real narrow right there, lift the deck up and walk it over this narrowness to the next section.

[tazman]

The grass distance is about 2 feet from the outer side of the tree circle and the curb/sidewalk. Any other ideas out there???