need help - center pole mod leaking

[cinnamon]

I recently finished making a silpoly tarp and did an inside center pole. i used 3/8" grosgrain ribbon for the center tie at the ridge line and folded it into the flat felled seem. well tonight it's raining and figured that it was a good time to set it up and check it out, about two hours in went out to check the tarp and noticed that it is leaking / wicking really right down the ribbon. after sealing the ridge seem i dusted it with talcum powder and non of that is showing any signs of being wet, even right next to the ribbon but the ribbon is soaked and dripping down onto the hammock. how do I fix this? for those of you who have center pole mods do you have some sort of tie at the ridge line centering the pole? how was it attached and sealed?

~cinnamon

[Countrybois]

Seal it on the outside...??

[Shug]

I say to re-seal in and out and try again.
Carry forth.
Shug

[gmcttr]

Since you sewed a wick into the hem, you will have to seal the hem on the outside.

[cinnamon]

will try sealing the outside and hopefully that will solve the problem

~cinnamon

[cinnamon]

What if I cut of the tie out, sealed the heck out of it and stitched a new ribbon to the under side and sealed? think that that would do the trick?

~cinnamon

[Bubba]

What if I cut of the tie out, sealed the heck out of it and stitched a new ribbon to the under side and sealed? think that that would do the trick?

~cinnamon

As long as all the stitch hole get sealed it should work.

[squidbilly]

In the future, you could also pre-treat your grosgrain pieces with silicone/MS mix to keep them from wicking.

[Ratdog]

Sooooo... I don't use grosgrain to solve the problem of keeping the center pole in place.

I was going to start a thread on this shortly after battling a sliding center pole but essentially what I have done is smear some sealant on the inside of the tarp, one the ridge seam, mid way between the peaks, about 6-8" on either side of the ridgeline. This creates a tacky surface for the pole to grab anfter it is installed.

The round patch of sealant serves two purposes, it seals the ridgeline underneath where the center pole hits the ridgeline, a potential leak area, and it provides a tacky surface to hold the center pole in place.

It has worked well for me for about 30-60 days of use thus far. Might be worth considering removing the grosgrain tab.

[gargoyle]

What if I cut of the tie out, sealed the heck out of it and stitched a new ribbon to the under side and sealed? think that that would do the trick?

~cinnamon

Don't cut it out. Just apply a good dose of sealer. Both in and out..as the others suggested.
Always seal after stitching is complete.

Sealing and then stitching just introduces new needle holes.