I am going to make another DIY tarp out of some 1.1 rip and sil coat it, the tarp is going to be about 12' long on the ridge and I was wandering how far down the side on the bottom do you normally mark. Or what I'm asking is how much of an arc do you normally make in your cut. I would be using a set of tent poles to mark with.
This will probably just confuse you. It did me: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Catenary.html
I wondered the same thing when i made my first tarp, and read somewhere to make them 1" deep for every 1' of run. I made mine a tad bit shallower than that (maybe .75:1), but it's a good starting point. Just eyeball it and do what looks good. Any cat cut is better than none in most applications.
Oh, and make sure you leave yourself a seam allowance when you place the ends of the catenary. Don't ask me how I know to remind you....
Acer
It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Formerly known as Acercanto, my trail name is MacGuyver to some, and Pucker Factor to others.
It's not procrastinating, its proactively delaying the implementation of the energy-intensive phase of the project until the enthusiasm factor is at its maximum effectiveness. - Randy Glasbergen
Another question I have is if my tarp is going to be 144" on the ridge how much of a cat cut will I make from the ends or basically how long will the bottom of my sides be?
Originally Posted by SGT Rock
Man you weren't kidding Sarge!
Heres a link for the diy black cat tarp plans----http://www.tothewoods.net/ImagesStayDry/BlackCatTarp.pdf Also, I remember seeing a simple website that had a built in calculator for cat tarps, that would also answer your question----but I couldnt find it. (its out there in cyber space somewhere) Good luck! (I have a maccat---------and its a great tarp, but after buying it, and seeing how simple it is to make, I could have easily made my own for less money!)
FYI: If you want to know what type a certain bear is, sneak up behind it and kick it. Then,
run like crazy and climb up a tree. If the bear climbs the tree and eats you, it's a black
bear. If the bear just pushes the tree over and eats you, it's a grizzly bear : )
Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either, just leave me alone.
--unknown
This is the rough pattern I used to make the 2 tarps I've made so far. I learned from ScLittlefield that you don't want to cat cut the short sides, or the "doors" won't close well, and I'm lazy enough that I don't bother cat cutting the short 3' sections on the bottom. The long cat on the bottom is 6" or so deep.
Tarp dimensions.jpg
Hope that makes sense and helps!
Acer
It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Formerly known as Acercanto, my trail name is MacGuyver to some, and Pucker Factor to others.
It's not procrastinating, its proactively delaying the implementation of the energy-intensive phase of the project until the enthusiasm factor is at its maximum effectiveness. - Randy Glasbergen
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