Look'n good Pips! Thanks for the pic.
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Look'n good Pips! Thanks for the pic.
I did this mod on a GT Double today, using 1/2" pvc and gmctr's buried Amsteel to secure the bar. It does, indeed, eliminate the calf ridge.
The pvc seems pretty heavy to me, so the dowel may be a better choice.
I am concerned by a couple of things, the first being the sharp bend in the Amsteel where it exits the bar on the hammock side. I don't see a fix for this, other than building in some security with 1/8" Amsteel. The other areas that bother me are the entry/exit points where the buries secure the bar. The Amsteel loop is deformed there to an unsettling degree. The shorter buried piece is there to take some of the load, and as a "safety net", so that mitigates my concern somewhat, but still, none of us would be comfortable with a whoopie that looked like that. Right now, I'm leaning toward a stopper knot of some sort, instead of the buries. Thoughts?
I think this is perhaps a good niche' for a piece of custom hardware. A small Al or Ti rod, of sufficient diameter, with eyelets on either end large enough only for Amsteel to pass through.
I was thinking about something like this But ended up not getting them.
I also thought about a running the amsteel through some aquarium tube and that through the hole in the tube to protect the amsteel.
I haven't had time to get back to this, I made a new hammock and just put standard rigging on the ends as a matter of expediency. But another thing I tried that both kept the suspension semi short as well as avoiding terribly tight bends or knots right in the suspension (tho I'm sure the knots in the suspension are easier to do and likely don't derate the line enough to be dangerous) is much like the picture a few pages back with the crown sennit in zing-it, I also did a wall and crown knot with 7/64 amsteel. I did it the same sort of way where I just opened the amsteel and passed two separate pieces thru at 90° to each other then just did a wall and crown knot with those strands, basically around the actual suspension line that they pass thru. Make sense? So you end up with a stopper knot without actually knotting the suspension, and its easier to put it right where you want it. Thats where the notched bars come in, you can just slide the bar in under the knot and you're good to go. Truth be told, I like the look of the crown sennit better than the wall and crown knot but its sort of six of one, half dozen of the other.... what ever floats your boat. :D
What kind of force it being put on this spreader bar. I would think it would be compressing from outside to the center.
Correct...end to end compression is about it and it doesn't seem to take much to control it. There is probably a small bending load as well due to the sharper rope angle on the hammock side compared to the tree side. I guessing the thinner the spreader the less the bending force is.
The greater concern as I see it is to have the hole or notch that the rope passes through to be adequately rounded so the rope does not have to bend over a "sharp" edge. The pressure will always in the same place...hang after hang.
Don't forget to send me a "prototype" for testing.:lol::lol::lol: