Ridge in the middle?

Dear forum members,

I have been trying to get my "lay" down in my new diy gathered end hammock. I whipped the ends using the directions on Just Jeff's page, pulling only the edges to give the long edge some shape when I lay in the hammock. However, there seems to be a ridge right down the middle of my hammock when I lay and it seems like I need a really short ridgeline to get rid of this. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Patrick

The center ridge is a common thing is a lot of gathered end hammocks. Sometimes it can be eliminated by making a wider hammock, so you can lay on a steeper diagonal. Sometimes it can be eliminated by making the ridgeline shorter so it sags more. Sometimes it's as simple as increasing the angles on your suspension lines, and hanging the hammock loosely enough that the ridgeline doesn't have very much tension in it.

Worst case scenario, a lot of people like to put a pillow or rolled up jacket under their knees to help correct for the calf pressure.

Mustardman,

Going to try and re-do the ends and see if I can get it a little more even. Figured I would do one end at a time to fine-tune it...still open for suggestions.

Thanks,
Patrick

Quote:

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Originally Posted by funnelcakes

Mustardman,

Going to try and re-do the ends and see if I can get it a little more even. Figured I would do one end at a time to fine-tune it...still open for suggestions.

Thanks,
Patrick

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Funnelcakes,

Recommend trying the simplest first before unwhipping... Try to get the 30 degree sag dialed in to see if that helps. AFTER that, then re-whip as required. Just a suggestion...

Funnelcakes,

Redoleary came up with a way of removing the ridge in the middle and it is discussed in this thread. I think you may find it helpful as it does improve the comfort level of your hammock.

I got rid of the calf ridge (rib) by undoing the whipping and sewing a channel like the Byer Traveller Lite. On a tablecloth hammock, it worked great and has become the goto hammock for dayhikes.

I do a Warbonnet style gather and cut the foot end of the hammock on a curve with a 3" belly. The curve makes the center of the hammock longer than the edges by 3".

I cut the head end straight across like normal. No ridge :)

Also hang your foot end higher... that helps center your body better in the hammock...

The cause of the ridge is your butt. Don't believe me? Lay in your hammock and follow the ridge down to where it terminates. Since we can't do much about reducing the butt pressure try some of the previous suggestions. I tried all methods of end gather and some hybrids. The best for me,YMMV, has been Redoleary's mini bars mentioned earlier.