ON D.I.Y's WBB

[Newzy]

Am considering taking a shot at a D.I.Y. WBB. Have never seen one in person but have seen the pattern for same previously listed + pic's from HF. I like to be able to see out of my hammock when laying in it, but appears with the added sides on the WBB that it may not be possible. So who ever aready has one, is the side zippered panel approx. 10"x 120" actually apart off the hammock you lay on, as would be the intermediate panel between the foot box and the shelf ?? Or are they an intergal parts for main support of weight in the hammock. Am leaning towards putting in netting in these sections or is that not practical ?? Also, is there any possiblity of useing an overhead support pole in the tarp to hold out the tie-out side sections ?? Any input appreciated. Thanks, Newzy

[HomeMadeHiker]

I am also working on a diywbbb. I have choosen not add the "wings" persay. Foot box and a sack (inplace of shelf). I' m a smaller guy and feel like the wbbb is huge 60in body + 2 10in wings. That's alot of room and material. As far as your concern of visibilty i'm considering cat cutting the back side of mine for just that reason. The netting is an interesting idea but I would be concerned with durability. I don't think noseeum would hold up to the abuse.

[thejennabird]

Have my materials on the way to start, so I can't quite answer all of your questions, but this much I do know:

For the strip/panel between the foot box and the shelf. This section should be a durable fabric, netting wont' cut it. I'm gonna double-layer mine with a denser piece of nylon the way Black Goat Gear suggests in their tutorial. I think real WBBB have this panel reinforced as well.

I'd be hesitant about removing that 10x120 strip of fabric and attaching the zipper directly to the netting. Given the purported stretchiness and fragile nature of netting, it seems kinda risky. BUT, that's just my thought on the matter. EDIT: Hmm, on second thought both the Hennessy, Hennessy mod, and the Switchback all have netting directly attached to the zipper. So I guess there are ways to do it, but I'm not sure of the exact specifics...

Someone earlier had suggested making the fabric strip smaller (only 1-2" thick) and here's what Warbonnetguy himself said:

it will pull the netting that much closer toward your face

it only blocks your view when you choose to stake it out high like that, it's flexible fabric so you have both options, put the stake closer to the hammock, and the netting will come down and that strip will collapse (like an accordian) and will no longer block your view. you can pitch the edge of the net wherever you want, up high for max headroom, down at your shoulder for max view. i never understand why folks talk about it like it's some physical barrier. make it narrow on the otherhand and you no longer have both options

So there's my (and Brandon's) 0.10 on that issue. We'll all have to compare our results when finished!

[BodhiKnight]

I have a footbox shelf panel already patterened and it works for a 120" send me a PM if interested.

[Newzy]

Thanks for reply, input appreciated and will adjust thoughts accordingly, meep

[HomeMadeHiker]

finished the body and and suspension wednesday. will start on the bugnet soon. i'm really happy with it right now. i think will use one small wing (2-3in) wing for the zipper side so i have something tuff to tie out to. i'm looking to make the top detachable to save wieght in the winter. right now I'm at 1lb3oz w suspension. pretty happy with that.

[Fish<><]

Would the footbox work without the netting? I was thinking of a future project wbbb and was wondering if it was possible to do without...

[lymphocytosis]

Yeah, you can make a netless hammock with the footbox. There have been some other threads where people have done it. If you actually get in a blackbird, though, the footbox doesn't support your feet at all. My blackbirds have an identical lay to my DIYs, which are just gathered end types. Just like Warbonnet's traveller. I always thought the main purpose of the footbox was just to keep the netting off your feet.

EDIT
Anyway, there was a big thread about it here. Not really a DIY, but a long discussion.

[Fish<><]

Thanks lympho...

[JohnSawyer]

What L. Said. On my netless hammock, the footbox serves to keep my TQ and feet from falling out of the hammock.