dew under the rainfly? add a fly ridge?

**volks-man** · 09-06-2009, 10:04

couple nights ago i was hanging in the hennessy ULB at home. i awoke to some condensation on the inside of the stock rainfly wich was wetting the bugnet that it had sagged down and touched.

i made up the sligshot tensioners for the rainfly-to-support-line connection and hung 2-3lb weighted meshbags from the fly tie-out biners to self adjust.

last night i never made it back outside but had left the hh set up. this morning i found that dew had formed on the inside of the rainly and that it again had touched the bugnet and started dripping in to the hammock.

anyone else having dew on the inside? bear in mind the second night i was not in the hammock!

though, i have read about tying the fly to the trees instead of the hh adjusters, would it help instead to add a ridgeline to the fly to keep it and the underside dew away from the net? perhaps a through-cord tied to both trees that the fly floats on with the stock flimsy hooks and tensioned by hh style sliding knots?

any input appreciated!

**Dutch** · 09-06-2009, 10:12

Dew does what dew wants to do. Dew does what dew wants to do. Dew does what dew wants to do...

There really isn't anything you can dew about it. Well maybe hike in Arizona. Hanging your tarp higher will help. You'll be getting dew on the bugnet, uq, and hammock and everything else. But it's just dew. You could get a hammock hut and that will work if condensation doesn't become a problem.

**Dutch** · 09-06-2009, 10:15

Welcome to the forum Volks

**volks-man** · 09-06-2009, 10:37

Originally Posted by Dutch

Dew does what dew wants to do. Dew does what dew wants to do. Dew does what dew wants to do...

There really isn't anything you can dew about it. Well maybe hike in Arizona. Hanging your tarp higher will help. You'll be getting dew on the bugnet, uq, and hammock and everything else. But it's just dew. You could get a hammock hut and that will work if condensation doesn't become a problem.

Originally Posted by Dutch

Welcome to the forum Volks

thanks.

yes dew does..... was thinking not just hanging the tarp higher but much tighter would help the dew run down the fly rather than run down/drip on the bug net. maybe pulling a very taught 'frozen rope' for a fly-ridgeline then simply using the hh style slides perhaps in conjunction with my slingshot tensioners......

but, dew does as dew does.

**Just Jeff** · 09-06-2009, 10:46

The condensation under your tarp could be from a few different things, like your breathing (but not while you weren't under there), moisture rising from the wet ground/grass, or fog (even if you can't see the fog there can still be moisture condensing around you). Because of radiation, your tarp gets cooler overnight and can cause the moisture to condense on it (not the falling dew most people are familiar with). Ventilation can help (pitch it so the wind blow thru it). Even your body heat can help, if your breath doesn't make up for it.

Regardless, when it's humid outside you're gonna have condensation somewhere.

I don't think a ridgeline under the tarp would help. I think it would be worse, b/c if it's raining the line can cause water to seep thru where the ridgeline contacts the silnylon. I would tie the tarp to the tree separately from the hammock (so I could set up the tarp in the rain, then unpack under it) and that should go a long way to keep it from sagging.

**volks-man** · 09-06-2009, 11:25

thanks jeff..........
for both the post and your slingshot tensioners!

**Just Jeff** · 09-06-2009, 16:22

No problem - glad to help.

**volks-man** · 09-07-2009, 17:46

heres the skinny on the rainfly.

i sent an email to hennessyhammocks this morning reporting my troubles and asking for any tips or assistance they could offer. shortly thereafter i received a reply from hennessyhammocks asking for a phone number and time i'd be available for a call. shortly after i replied, Tom Hennessey called me personally to sort things out.

Tom advised me to tie a cord to one end ring on the fly, wrap the first tree, return to that first ring and run through it continuing under the fly to the ring on the far end, run through the second ring, wrap the second tree, and back to the second ring. by running the cord through the second ring and back toward second tree you can use a prussic on the cord to tension the whole works. (paraphrased) this is the method that he uses personally and stressed the ability to set up the hammock dry under the fly. he also mentioned that dew on the underside of the fly is not a big problem if the fly is taut and steep enough.

while discussing rainflys Tom advised me that, as hammocking is an evolutionary activity, Hennessy will soon be packaging caternary cut rainflys with their hammocks!

through each email and our phone conversation Mr. Hennessy was nothing but polite, helpful, and even greatful for all the word-of-mouth sales from us 'hangers'.

thanks for all your help and suggestions on here on HF!

**Just Jeff** · 09-07-2009, 18:08

Glad you found (hopefully) a solution to your problem.

Cat tarps are already on his website. Wonder how long it'll be until Tom starts making half-underquilts.

**Knotty** · 09-07-2009, 22:48

Just wanted to chime in that I had my hammock up for a couple of humid days this August and each night as the temps dropped the tarp became coated on both sides with dew. Oddly the hammock showed no moisture. This all happened while the hammock was vacant.