Question About Ridgeline length...

I am one of those wierd guys that just hates to cut rope.. I was wondering what length ridge line to use? I mean to cover most situations. Wouls some of you more experianced hangers chime in.

Here is my prospective set up:
I am considering 1/2 Webbing as a structural ridgeline, 1" tree huggers with double D rings as tension on the ends. and desender rings on the ridge line so I can hang the ridge and then clip the hammock to the pre set rings.

How long a ridge line would insure that most situations i could span two large trees?

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n...llyk7/Hang.jpg

how will you keep the rings from sliding together and turning the hammock into a sling chair?

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=4719

Read this thread before you set out to reinvent the wheel...

You certainly can figure this out by trial and error and the thread provided is great. I'm an engineer and I like numbers because the let me reproduce/predict results. So here are some numbers...

Per advertised specs Hennessy hammocks have ridgeline to body length ratio of approximately 0.83333 (10/12). The BB ratio is just a touch higher. I'd start there, you'll probably wind up real close to this.

Measurements are of little value without context, so I will provide some. I believe the body is finished fabric length, not accounting for whipping. I believe the ridgeline length is measured from whip to whip.

For my DIY hammock I have a body of 132in, giving up 4-5 for whipping. I setup the bug net to allow for a maximum ridgeline length of 112in, which is where I have it set (0.848484). The lay is very flat.

If your ridgeline isn't going through you whipping then you'll need to add length to accommodate for the difference.

I had seen that and that is part of what inspired me.. I guess I got caught up in what materials I could get local. (small town = no real marine store) Kind of the problem of redesigning the job to fit the tools thing.

I may take a second look at the amsteel solution, it does solve a lot of problems of wieght and the connections to the desender rings, the webbing would pull tight and you would never get them loose..

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Originally Posted by Ramblinrev

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=4719

Read this thread before you set out to reinvent the wheel...

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by kellyk7

I had seen that and that is part of what inspired me.. I guess I got caught up in what materials I could get local. (small town = no real marine store) Kind of the problem of redesigning the job to fit the tools thing.

I may take a second look at the amsteel solution, it does solve a lot of problems of wieght and the connections to the desender rings, the webbing would pull tight and you would never get them loose..

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I know the small town syndrome very well.... I live there too. But my point was not so much the materials as the theory behind it. I'm a HH ring buckle guy so I didn't study it too hard but I suspect there's some good stuff in there. By all means adapt to what you have. That's what moves the knowledge base forward. I just wanted to make sure you didn't needlessly cover ground that had already been plowed.

Man I apreciate it.. my prefered design (lack of experiance factored in) would be the 1/8" Amsteel 50 feet cost 40.00 including shipping. my local outdoor shop has the 1/2 in webbing at .22 a foot so that runs 13.00 with tax.. as I see it the negatives are that the webbing is heavier and bulkier. plus I figure once I hang a few nights in the rings the loops around the desnders will tighten up so you will never get them loose.

3/8 webbing would be better but then your back to mail order and why not get the amsteel.

Can you tell I was that kid my mom took to the resterant and ordered for me.. or I would still be looking at the menu when everybody else wasdone eating..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ramblinrev

I know the small town syndrome very well.... I live there too. But my point was not so much the materials as the theory behind it. I'm a HH ring buckle guy so I didn't study it too hard but I suspect there's some good stuff in there. By all means adapt to what you have. That's what moves the knowledge base forward. I just wanted to make sure you didn't needlessly cover ground that had already been plowed.

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A word of caution about the 1/2" webbing... if it is tubular webbing it is certainly strong enough, but it is climbing webbing which means it will stretch nicely under load. It is supposed to do that for climbing, but static hanging in a hammock you could end up with your butt on the ground by daylight. Nylon webbing has excellent "memory" which means it will return to its original length and do the same thing all over again the next night. It won't "stretch out" at least not appreciably. So you will most likely want to go with something that does not stretch for the suspension line.

thanks for the chatter guys.. It helps to talk ideas outsometimes
the more I look into it,, the more I think yout right why reinvent the wheel.. The 1/2 webbing they have is flat web, it should not stretch that much but I am not positive, I just looked up 1/2 inch flat webbing on the web.. and breaking stregth would be about 1000 lbs, which means working load of what ? 750 or 500 pounds.
The 1/8" Amsteel shows break at 2500/1000 pounds and the 7/64" shows 1600/650 pounds If money is the issue it makes sense to back off and buy the 7/64 at .26 cent a foot and still have a stronger / lighter system