Scary night for my HG 4S CF Tarp

[SilvrSurfr]

The back has not been happy with my bed lately, so I had to hang the hammock in the backyard a couple of nights ago so my back can recuperate.

First night I slept like a baby, with just a wool blanket as a top quilt - no tarp. It started raining about 4:30 am, which woke me, but I slept right through it.

Last night, I said to myself, "I should hang a tarp, just in case." So I put out the HG 4S CF tarp. Around 7 pm, a monster storm came through - wind gusts up to 40 to 50 mph, and sideways rain. I freaked out, hoping my cuben fiber tarp wasn't shredded.

I went outside, thinking that I would take down the tarp and save it, but trying to take down a tarp in those conditions seemed more inadvisable than leaving it up. Besides, the tarp seemed to be holding up fine. So, rather than take it down, I just stayed out in the storm and kept my tarp company. If he was going to die, I wanted to be with him at the moment of passing.

The tarp survived this massive thunderstorm with lots of lightning, and so did I. However, one thing I noticed is that the tarp started sagging inwards. Much as I didn't want to, I went out in the rain and pulled the guylines taut, which fixed the problem.

What I can't figure out is what caused the tarp to sag. I've got a 1.7 mm Zing-it ridgeline with Dutch tarp fly, Dutch hook and prusiks to attach the tarp to the ridgeline. That didn't seem to be sagging at all. It seemed to be the guylines were loosening due to the high winds.

My guylines are 1.75 mm Zing-It, attached to the tarp via larksheads, and attached to the stakes via Marlin Spike Hitch. I doubt seriously that the MSH slipped at all, and am suspecting the larksheads attached to the tarp D-Rings. I doubt seriously that water made the Zing-It stretchier, so I'm thinking it had to be the larkshead or the MSH.

Any thoughts on where the sagging came from?

[SilvrSurfr]

And in case someone asks, I don't think it was the stakes slipping. The ground was rock hard (drought here), and I had to use a hammer just to penetrate the earth with the stakes. To pull the stakes out of the ground was an act requiring Herculean strength.

[Bannerstone]

I've spent (2) sleepless nights in my HG 4S in 50+mph winds, coincidentally with (2) other cuben tarp owners. I think that's what made me a believer in cuben durability.

New zing-it does indeed stretch, you would be likely to see more of it in the ridgeline overall. The good thing is that once it's been stretched it doesn't return.

David

[Acer]

How new is the Zing it? If its new,,and never got wet before,,maybe it stretched in while wet, being blown and pulled back and forth, as well as the stakes could have moved just enough to create slack,,as it doens't take much. Other than the cuben won't stretch at all,,I would think everything even tho zing it is treated,,will stretch "in" first time around maybe>? I switched to zing it on my Tarp RL's but I had this happen in Lawson's glow wire first time in 40 mph gusting heavy rain..after it did it once,,its never done it again. So will see with my new zing it from Dutch.

[SilvrSurfr]

Maybe it was the Zing-it, but this stuff has been on my tarp for a while and has been thoroughly weathered. With that said, the tarp and the Zing-it have never been through a storm like last night. It was a real test. I was worried, not only about a direct lightning strike to me and tarp, but siding coming off my house or trees falling on me and tarp.

It was a humdinger of a storm. If I ever had doubts about the durability of cuben fiber, they're gone. As for Zing-it, maybe I'm still learning things about its properties.

[Acer]

In my opinion, theres no perfect tie out material other than amsteel and its too expensive to be cutting up and making tarp tie out with,,unless you have the money to blow..I have used ropes and strings for rigging everything imaginable,,wire of all types even,,cable..in my lifetime of trade shows and hanging this and that. But,,I have had most everything in a sevear storm stretch with the exception so far,,cuben,,and amsteel,,when wet,,will not stretch period..as I have even used amsteel on my 4 x 4 winch for the cables..and its never snapped yet. And,,amsteel will strech one time and then its pretty much perfect....

[BrianWillan]

I'm thinking that the prussics on your tarp ridge line slipped a bit under the force of the wind. This would also cause your tarp sides to push inwards in a wind. If you were using the same 1.75 mm line for your prussic as the ridge line itself, it will slip after a given amount of force on it. This is a good in that it acts as a pressure relief valve instead of ripping your pricey tarp.

Cheers

Brian

[SilvrSurfr]

I'm thinking that the prussics on your tarp ridge line slipped a bit under the force of the wind. This would also cause your tarp sides to push inwards in a wind. If you were using the same 1.75 mm line for your prussic as the ridge line itself, it will slip after a given amount of force on it. This is a good in that it acts as a pressure relief valve instead of ripping your pricey tarp.

Cheers

Brian

Good observation. However, I don't think that the prusiks slipped. We'll never know 'cause I would have to have tried that as a remedy first. Next time, I will!