i have just finished my gathered end hammock. i have hung in it for about a total of 7 hours over the last week or so. My son and i just hung it in his room so he can see if he wants to give up his bed and when i tried it out the whipping came off the end. i really thought it was tight but i guess it could have come loose. Is there anything i should have done to the ends to keep this from happening?????
Christian, husband of one, father to eight and i love to fish!
Yes. REALLY tighten the whipping every time you cross it over itself. Tie a couple of marlin spikes in the free ends of your cord to make it easier to pull it REALLY tight. Also, be sure to finish off with a good knot. A very tight reef knot should hold up fine, without being impossible to untie if you need to adjust the whipping.
I've also used zip-ties. Use pliers to tighten them up and I've never had them come loose.
It's only an addiction if you're trying to quit
Did you hem the ends or leave them raw.
I don't whip my hammocks, just larks head on the suspension and never had a problem. I weigh more than most and if it would be an issue I figure it would have dumped me on the ground...hasn't happened yet.
HYOH
Last edited by gargoyle; 02-21-2011 at 11:24.
Ambulo tua ambulo.
Yes i did hem the ends. i think i figured out what happened. i changed the ropes i used for the suspension from a 5/16 polypropylene stranded to a 3/8 cotton core braided. i don't think the braided stuff "griped" the nylon so when i put my weight (which is also more than most) on it it just slid the whipping off . As soon as my amsteel gets here i'll switch it out and all will be well.Originally Posted by gargoyle
Christian, husband of one, father to eight and i love to fish!
Amsteel is very slippery stuff, I don't think it will grip any better. The idea with whipping is that the whipping should be very tight and create a hard knob at the end of the hammock. The suspension should attach on the inside of that knob (to the hammock, not the whipping, and slide up against the whipping. I've used paracord and braided mason line (nylon) for whipping, both with good results. You just have to get it really tight, completely compressing the gathered hammock ends, otherwise it's bound to slip off.
Like gargoyle I haven't whipped the ends of my hammock. During experimenting & testing it was easier to change gather style if not whipped. I'm using muletape with larkshead, it's slippery also, after a month of trials and 3 nights sleeping it hasn't slipped once. The end is hemmed but the larkshead maybe 3 " from the hem
Most of us end up poorer here but richer for being here. Olddog, Fulltime hammocker, 365 nights a year.
Just to be sure I'm understanding, you are attaching the suspension rope to the hammock w/ a "lark's head", right?
The lark's head constricts w/ weight. The more weight, the harder it constricts.
I just looked at my hammock that I sleep nightly in & the suspension rope on one end was touching the whipping but at the head end there is an half inch of hammock fabric between the rope & the whipping.
So what I'm getting at is, in my experience the grip of the lark's head often doesn't even allow the suspension rope to slide at all, so the whipping is not needed to hold the suspension rope in place. The whipping just holds the hammock gathered the way you want it when the suspension rope is not taught.
I too will something make and joy in it's making
2 words: Sheet Bend.
No need for whipping, and it's not going anywhere, once it's tight, but it's also easy to get loose to redo the gather, if you want.
PF
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
slowhike,
yes i am using a larks head on the suspension to hammock. i don't think the type of rope i'm using is allowing the knot(hitch) to tighten completely thus letting it slide up against and pushing off the whipping. It wasn't happening with the other rope i was using but it wasn't long enough to use in my son's room. i redid the whipping then pulled the free end of the hammock back around the whipping and tied it there. All went well last night and he took his bed apart today and we will be buying some rip stop tomorrow.....life is good!
Christian, husband of one, father to eight and i love to fish!
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