Trees To Close...

**thorwren** · 05-03-2010, 13:57

This is what I do to get the shortest possible distance out of my whoopie slings. I shorten my sling as short as it will go, leaving about about a 2 inch loop. Then, I take that end, go up around my toggle that is attached to my tree strap (with marlin spike hitch), then I bring the end back to the hammock and lark's head the end of the whoopie sling back onto the gathered end knot.

The idea here is that I can take the shortest distance my whoopie sling can achieve and cut that in half.

**Greg Dunlap** · 05-03-2010, 14:14

I was having the same problem and then I just got Strapworks to oufit me with some 20 footers. Check out my GALLEY of camping in the Redwoods.

**gargoyle** · 05-03-2010, 14:14

If your that close and in a pinch like that, just use your strap...tie it directly to your hammock. Skip the whoopie and tie your webbing direct???
13-14 feet sound pretty right to me tho.

**johnfolsomjr** · 05-03-2010, 14:21

When I added whoppie slings to my ENO I left the stock ties in the channels. That way if the whoppie slings are too long I can always revert to the points right at the end of my hammock.

**Throkda** · 05-03-2010, 14:25

I've got that situation on my back porch (only 12 feet between posts)...my solution was to hang the straps higher and just deal with a little more sag than normal.

**GrizzlyAdams** · 05-03-2010, 14:26

I think that any solution involving a small WS loop that connects that loop to the hammock or the spike necessarily involves the length of bury, which would be, 8-12 inches. Harder to double that over, involve in some kind of knot.

I don't think anybody floated the notion of just using the tail to attach the hammock, so I'll try. Make the WS loop small as suggested. This means a long tail coming out of the bury, ending in an eye splice. What you do at this point depends on the hammock, but think of your line as a fixed eye at one end, a few feet of cord at the other end, and an odd loop (the WS) which isn't used and probably gets in the way a little, but won't keep you from tieing off your hammock. Slippery bowline at the toggle would probably work in most cases.

know your knots!

**Boris Losdindawoods** · 05-03-2010, 14:46

Don't forget the third option which is the one suggested by WV. You can pull the end of your hammock all the way up against the tree huggers by just running the whoopie sling through the tree hugger and then back towards the center of the hammock. Pull both whoopie slings to the center, hook them together with a (nacra)biner, a toggle, or a big freakin' knot and you're done. You should be able to reduce your minimum tree spacing almost to ridgeline length plus the gap between tree and hugger.

I think this doubles the pull on your whoopies though so don't try to hang high and tight.

**phatpenguin** · 05-03-2010, 23:46

I ran into this just the other day. I wanted to hang the WBBB on the porch and do a little work (that is the good side of the house to get my wifi. I use UCRs not WS but the same solution would apply, when I realized that I was just too close (by about 10 inches, I ran inside and grabbed two chain links that I had made previously (8") larks headed them on the hammock with 2 wraps leaving about 2 inches to go over the toggles (did not even remove the UCRs). then since I had freedom to move the toggles wherever I needed I was able to snug it up on the foot end, and leave a few inches on the head end. So now I carry a couple of chain links just in case. I also carry about 50' of 7/64 amsteel just in case, a few grams, a lot of security.

WV · 05-04-2010, 09:32

Originally Posted by Boris Losdindawoods

Don't forget the third option which is the one suggested by WV. You can pull the end of your hammock all the way up against the tree huggers by just running the whoopie sling through the tree hugger and then back towards the center of the hammock. Pull both whoopie slings to the center, hook them together with a (nacra)biner, a toggle, or a big freakin' knot and you're done. You should be able to reduce your minimum tree spacing almost to ridgeline length plus the gap between tree and hugger.

I think this doubles the pull on your whoopies though so don't try to hang high and tight.

Or it might halve the pull on the whoopies, so they don't constrict enough!

(Tell you what, let's split the difference and say it has no effect.)

**Graybeard** · 05-04-2010, 20:03

Keep It Simple Suspension

2 parts: a ring in each end of the hammock and a length of AmSteel for each end. The Deluxe version includes an eye-splice in one end of each length of AmSteel. (The necessary length of the "lengths" of AmSteel will vary with tree size and spacing typical in your area.)

Steps:
1. Wrap the eye-splice end of a length of AmSteel around a tree and either (a) pass the other end through the eye or (b) push a loop through the eye and a forest-floor toggle through the loop. (If you're making do with the working man's version instead of the deluxe version, substitute a bowline for the eye splices.)
2. Repeat for the other tree.
3. Wrap the free end of a length of AmSteel several times through a hammock-end ring and tie off with a slippery half-hitch.
4. Repeat for the other end of the hammock.
5. If necessary (small tree or thin, smooth bark) cushion the tree from the AmSteel with forest-floor sticks, dirty old socks, empty Budweiser cans left behind by the previous user of the site, or custom-made high-density foam camo cushions hauled along for the purpose.
6. Adjust to your preferred height, sag, or whatever.

Troubleshooting:
If the tie-off at the ring tends to slip, either or both of the following will fix the situation:
(a) take more turns through the ring
(b) stick a forest-floor toggle through the slippery half-hitch loop, and pull the loop tight against the toggle. (I always do it this way anyway since it's so much easier to untie after hanging in it.)