Best Guylines for Tarp

**KevinDee** · 06-23-2010, 11:15

well i dont know too much about guylines so I was wondering what kind is the best. are there even different kinds or are they all pretty much the same? what do you all use?

**Hooch** · 06-23-2010, 11:28

Zing-it, Lash-it, Speer No-Tangle, mason's line, 550 cord, Ketly Triptease, accessory cord from your local outfitter, etc. Personally, I like Speer No-Tangle.

**Salty** · 06-23-2010, 15:17

The modern braided lines like Zing-It (what I use) are very light weight and strong, but on the con side, they are very slick and don't hold a lot of "normal" knots. It's not a huge issue, but something to keep in mind.

Mason line, paracord, etc. can be used with ordinary friction knots, are commonly available, and cost a whole lot less.

I recently built several sets of Zing-It guylines with silicon tubing self-tensioners. I'm all fancy, now.

But the paracord I was using before worked just as well...almost.

This may help:

http://whoopieslings.com/Tarp_Lines.html
http://www.jacksrbetter.com/STLs.htm
http://arrowheadequipment.webs.com/a...ategory/340431

Salty

**ricegravy** · 06-23-2010, 15:50

I have tried all types of line with all kinds of tensioners and for some reason I always go back to Ed Speer no tangle guyline tensioned with a Taut line hitch.

I'm not claiming that it is easier or lighter. It just seems to work so well for me. It is a little expensive at $26 / 100ft. +$9.50 shipping to my house evidently.

-Ricegravy!

**KevinDee** · 06-23-2010, 18:29

thanks guys. I went with the no tangle line

**Tendertoe** · 06-23-2010, 20:00

Add 1 of these per guyout. Image 1 is a closeup of each line. Put 2 marlinspike hitches in the middle of the guyline. Take some shock cord and run it through both marlinspike hitches and make a "hoop" of shock cord (make sure the hoop is shorter than the distance of the guyline between both hitches). Image 2 shows how to attach the guyline to the tarp. I use a girth hitch to attach the line to the tarp and also to the stake. This setup makes it extremely easy because I keep the lines "permanently" attached to the tarp. When I have to deploy the tarp quickly, all I have to do is make a simple girth hitch and and quickly attach to the stake (trucker's hitches took me too long to tie for my comfort and don't have the kind of adjustability I like too) you can pull more cordage through the tarp tieout or tie the stake closer to the tensioner and have an incredible amount of adjustability. Effectively, I have from 6 feet to 6 inches of adjustability. The last picture is the completed project.

disclaimer: I don't have great computer illustration or for that fact any illustration skills.

**TOB9595** · 06-23-2010, 21:08

Originally Posted by Tendertoe

Add 1 of these per guyout. Image 1 is a closeup of each line. Put 2 marlinspike hitches in the middle of the guyline. Take some shock cord and run it through both marlinspike hitches and make a "hoop" of shock cord (make sure the hoop is shorter than the distance of the guyline between both hitches). Image 2 shows how to attach the guyline to the tarp. I use a girth hitch to attach the line to the tarp and also to the stake. This setup makes it extremely easy because I keep the lines "permanently" attached to the tarp. When I have to deploy the tarp quickly, all I have to do is make a simple girth hitch and and quickly attach to the stake (trucker's hitches took me too long to tie for my comfort and don't have the kind of adjustability I like too) you can pull more cordage through the tarp tieout or tie the stake closer to the tensioner and have an incredible amount of adjustability. Effectively, I have from 6 feet to 6 inches of adjustability. The last picture is the completed project.

disclaimer: I don't have great computer illustration or for that fact any illustration skills.

I thought I understood what you were saying...up till the 6 ft to 6 in of adjustibility.
Can you elaborate on the function and positioning of your tensioners?
Regards
Tom

**Tendertoe** · 06-23-2010, 21:55

Originally Posted by TOB9595

I thought I understood what you were saying...up till the 6 ft to 6 in of adjustibility.
Can you elaborate on the function and positioning of your tensioners?
Regards
Tom

If your guyline is 6 feet long, you can attach to your tarp at the first green arrow in the picture and attach the stake at the last blue arrow (from left to right) and have a 6 foot long guyline. If you have less space to work with due an obstacle being close by or what have you, you can attach to the tarp at any of the green arrows closer to the tensioner and/or attach the stake closer to the tensioner at any of the blue arrows, giving you as short as about 6 inches or so and still have the full tensioner capabilities of keeping the tarp taught. Since both attachment points (tarp and stake) are just girth hitches, if you need to adjust the length of the total guyline, you can just loosen a bit and pull the line amount you want through and retighten.

I forgot to mention that you also have the failsafe guyline still in place if the shock cord fails and also the failsafe guyline prevents the shock cord from stretching too far. I used headchange4u's method but modified it by putting it in the center and using different knots. I couldn't find this link when I was originally explaining this.