Ok Guys, I want to start out by thanking everybody here on the forum. Especially Dutch & Rip Stop By the Roll, for giving us ever growing options for making our own gear. I started out in an Eno & sleeping bag like most on here. But I was not really happy with it. I got a cold butt every night it was cool. After trying pads & other crazy stuff I came across the forums and the game has changed. I quickly found the D.I.Y. section and it was all over with. I like to do things myself, so I bought a Singer Heavy Duty. I have found so many cool things on here I want to make. I have made quite a few hammocks & bags (great gifts by the way) & 1 winter tarp from r.s.b.t.r. But I really wanted to make a tarp that all my friends can hang out under in bad conditions. There are usually 3-6 of us so it could get crowded. I knew it would get heavy with all the add ons but we usually only hike a few miles to camp & I don’t mind the weight on short hikes. After studying every post with tarps I could find , I settled on this design. There were doors at one time but I did not measure or research enough so I cut it to a rectangle. I do plan on making a closure for the ends later. All materials were bought from Dutch & Rip Stop.
Here are some of the stats. My scales are not working properly so I will update that info later. It has a 12’ ridgeline and 7’ sides (So 12’*14’). It is made of Robin Egg Blue(10 yards)& Royal blue (5 yards cut in half) Membrane Silpoly pu4000 w/ Royal blue thread. All cordage is blue Reflect It, with Dutch gear. I used blue Hyper D 300 for tie out support & purple (closest color I could find) 3/8” grossgrain for tie outs with ½” Beastie & Triangle’s. The Ridgline tie outs are ¾” blue grosgrain with a ¾” Beastie. I tucked a ½” D-ring behind it for pole support. I got the poles from Dutch, there is actually over 40’ of it between the 3. They were taken apart & put back together for the lengths desired. I actually had to cut down 1 to make the center pole work, which was an add on because the center of the tarp sagged without it.
I added lots of tie outs on it in case I do not want to bring , what came to be a large & heavy set of poles. The tie outs on the bottom all have a ½” Triangles for the rope & a ½” Beastie on the inside for the poles. The upper tie outs on the sides have a ½” Beasties (the upper 2 on each side are spaced so my shorter outside poles fit directly in them)on the outside. ½” D-Rings on the inside so I can pull my hammock back for guests.
Alright, I know I’ve been a long winded but I am excited about the results. But there are a few things I would have done differently and I want to share it so others may not have to do things twice or regret.
1-So the colors are beautiful but the robin egg blue top is a very light color and I noticed the sun gets through it a lot more than my purple winter tarp or even the royal blue edges. So if I was trying to use it to keep a small group cool & shaded on a hot N.C. summers day it may not be the best. That being said I may have gone with a darker color combo.
2- DOORS. I totally screwed up my doors. For some reason I assumed 4’ doors on the ends would be long enough But after putting it up for the 1st time I realized they were not big enough to close the ends up and they looked dumb hanging out. So I guess what I’m saying is plan & measure twice or more, Cut & sew once
You will notice where my dog Bodhi likes to lay when I get my tarps or hammocks set up. He seems to like it, let me know what you guys think. Thanks
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