Footbox Dimensions

**Chop** · 05-25-2011, 02:02

Try laying in the hammock before a footbox is installed and have someone take measurements for you. The ideal dimensions will change depending on how you lay.

On my next hammock I will most likely do the above and pin in the footbox prior to sewing.

**Jazilla** · 05-25-2011, 11:09

Making one side longer than the other will work to make both sides the same if you add the length taken by the footbox triangle.

The footbox does not affect the flatness of the hammock. I keep seeing this misconception on every thread about footboxes. Like JohnSawyer said in a previous post it is a piece added to attach the bug net.

It will however affect how you lay in the hammock. The bigger the footbox the longer the edge sewn to the hammock body and the farther away from the hammock edge your feet will lay. The smaller the footbox the less edge sewn to the hammock body and the closer you the hammock edge your feet will sit.

The perfect footbox is sized so the point of the triangle falls exactly where your feet would fall in the sweet spot of your hammock. So lay in your hammock, find said sweet spot. Mark spot and use the measure from there to your hammock edge as one of the footbox sizes. Then wallah you have a custom made footbox that fits you and your new hammock.

**Jazilla** · 05-25-2011, 11:10

Sorry Chop, I should have checked out the second page. I said basicly exactly the same as you did.

**Meteor** · 05-25-2011, 23:22

Originally Posted by Jazilla

Making one side longer than the other will work to make both sides the same if you add the length taken by the footbox triangle.

To do this, I assume you would have to cut the hammock body asym as SwampSloth showed in the drawing?

**Jazilla** · 06-14-2011, 09:15

So Troy have you put this theory into practice yet?

**JohnSawyer** · 06-14-2011, 11:58

In my latest hammock, I made the triangle too big, which shortened the side too much. So I pulled 2/3rds of it out and cut the bottom out of the triangle. It's now a trapezoid. Works great.

The only downside I see to adding a footbox is it limits your entry to one side. Knotty figured out how to fix this by adding a length of shock cord to one edge, effectively making a flexible footbox.

John

**Meteor** · 06-14-2011, 12:08

Originally Posted by JohnSawyer

In my latest hammock, I made the triangle too big, which shortened the side too much. So I pulled 2/3rds of it out and cut the bottom out of the triangle. It's now a trapezoid. Works great.

The only downside I see to adding a footbox is it limits your entry to one side. Knotty figured out how to fix this by adding a length of shock cord to one edge, effectively making a flexible footbox.

John

Would you have any pics? I would love to see the trapezoid. I've ripped out my large triangle as well when the same thing happened, and I've been mulling solutions over, including other shapes, ever since. I'm shooting for a decent foot box without a guitar-string-tight side.

**beep** · 06-14-2011, 12:17

I may be missing something here, but when I look at my WBBB in the footbox area, the hammock "body" or "bed" is perfectly symmetrical, basically the same shape as the WB Traveler.

The "foot box" is additional fabric ABOVE the hammock "bottom" or "bed" that mitigates the distortion that would be applied to the upper portion of the hammock (where the netting connects) when lying fully diagonal. When I'm in my Traveler lying diagonally, my feet are right up to (and sometimes over) the outside edge of the hammock. Of course since I'm 6'5" tall, that's easy for me to do!

**JohnSawyer** · 06-14-2011, 12:31

Originally Posted by beep

I may be missing something here, but when I look at my WBBB in the footbox area, the hammock "body" or "bed" is perfectly symmetrical, basically the same shape as the WB Traveler.

The "foot box" is additional fabric ABOVE the hammock "bottom" or "bed" that mitigates the distortion that would be applied to the upper portion of the hammock (where the netting connects) when lying fully diagonal. When I'm in my Traveler lying diagonally, my feet are right up to (and sometimes over) the outside edge of the hammock. Of course since I'm 6'5" tall, that's easy for me to do!

Nope, you're not missing a thing. On a hammock without a net, the footbox just keeps your feet in. The hammock I described has a net. (ok, the footbox keeps your feet off the net, too...)

I used to lose my TQ overnight in my netless hammock. As I shifted, it would hang over the edge and eventually slide out of the hammock...

I'll see if I can get a pic tonight....

**Meteor** · 06-14-2011, 12:50

Originally Posted by beep

I may be missing something here, but when I look at my WBBB in the footbox area, the hammock "body" or "bed" is perfectly symmetrical, basically the same shape as the WB Traveler.

The "foot box" is additional fabric ABOVE the hammock "bottom" or "bed" that mitigates the distortion that would be applied to the upper portion of the hammock (where the netting connects) when lying fully diagonal. When I'm in my Traveler lying diagonally, my feet are right up to (and sometimes over) the outside edge of the hammock. Of course since I'm 6'5" tall, that's easy for me to do!

You are absolutely correct. However, in my DIY hammock, the dimensions of my triangle shortened that side too much - as a result, the fabric above the hammock got too tight, to the point that I was concerned it might rip. It was obviously the wrong dimensions (or shape?) to allow that side to be shortened enough to keep the footbox shape, but to not be so short that the side fabric was stretched too tight.