tarp guyline length ?

[Tacky Hiker]

I recently purchased a Warbonnet 10.5'L x 8'W (small) cat-cut hex tarp. Since it does not come with guylines I bought 100' of Speer no-tangle. I will use a girth hitch to attach the line to tarp and a taught-line hitch to adjust the line.

My questions are:

What length do the 4 tie-outs need to be?
What length do the 2 ridgeline lines need to be?

I was thinking about 6' for the tie-outs and 10' for the 2 ridgelines.

[Counselor]

I think I have almost 8 feet on all tie outs for my tarp. This way i can change how i set up the trap depending on weather. i.e. low and tight or open and airy.

Also depends on what kind of camping you are doing and the weight you want to carry.

[Tacky Hiker]

I was thinking about doing 8ft. I tried a 6ft piece and it looked a tad short. I remember my hennessy lines being a little longer that that.

[Hawk-eye]

I use a 10x12 rectangular sil tarp and I've got 8 foot paracord lines on the attachment points but carry extra for those odd hang areas. Eight foot seems to be a good length for me.

[Tacky Hiker]

sounds good to me. what about the ridgeline lines? 10ft?

[opie]

sounds good to me. what about the ridgeline lines? 10ft?

10 foot will be to long for the hammock, unless you like a really flat lay. My ideal, so far, hammock RL length is 95 inches. Im 6'3".

And 10 foot will be to short for a tarp ridgeline... Unless you plan on it being more than 1 section of line. I include 25' of line for my tarp ridgelines. I have a tarp with a 12' RL, so that leaves 13' for tree diameter and distance to the tarp itself.

[Hawk-eye]

I don't use a full length ridge line but hang it from the center attachment points. I just use the 8's off each end. There have been a couple times I've added length because of the diameter of the trees or the spacing in general. I've been thinking of switching to a full length over head ridge line and hanging the tarp from that like my friend Ken does though. He uses prussiks to adjust and suspend his tarp from the ridge line. I like the ability to adjust it without untying.

[opie]

I also make adjustable ridgelines. I can make fixed ones if you know your ideal RL length.

[Hawk-eye]

I'll let you know Opie ... thanks. After this next trip I might just do that.

[Tacky Hiker]

I went ahead and made 8ft tie-outs and 10ft ridgeline tie-outs.