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  1. #1
    Senior Member 3club's Avatar
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    my new big rain fly tarp

    Due to multiple requests, I am starting this thread on my fly.

    I confess, I'm a little befuddled by the interest. I really enjoy my hammock, but the fly's nothing but a big sheet. But here goes...

    My first hammock was the old WWII jungle hammock. It needed lots of tie outs, and they were always in the way. When I built my last fly... Who am I kidding. I didn't build anything. It was just simply a 5x9 sheet of sil-nylon, cut form the bolt. I draped it over a ridgeline, and used my walking sticks (old ski poles) as spreader bars.


    (A bit of trivia here, if you safety pin the very corners together, it creates the top half of a tetrahedron. This gave me four walls of protection and a little heat retention in the winter months. I named this my "Delta House Homeless Shelter")

    The nice thing about that, is that it was free floating. The weight of the poles held it down, but I could just lift it up to get under it. It dangled like a pendulum, and if the wind was blowing from one side, it would push that side closer against me, giving me ever better protection from that direction, while lifting up the opposite side for air.

    Then this spring I planned a two week long solo trip to a wilderness island. I knew I would have bad weather, and for that length of time I wanted something more spacious. And thus was born my new fly.


    The only sil-nylon I had left was narrower, but I had about 22' of it. (I'm cheap. I found this at Wal-Mart a couple years ago for a buck a yard, and so I hoarded it. lol.) So I cut it in half, and sewed the long edges together, making an 8x11 rectangle. Rather than living inside a triangle, I wanted a spacious dome, so I bought some tent poles from Quest Outfitters:

    http://www.questoutfitters.com/tent_poles.htm

    I sewed some pockets to the corners of the fly, and stitched about 4" of velcro to the very center. The poles cross in an X, and the velcro keeps them centered.

    (In this picture I just pushed one side down and stuck my ski pole behind it while I snapped the picture. You can see the silhouette through the fly.)

    I sewed loops halfway along the short sides, using the seam. I used string to pull those loops out to the trees, but you could also drape it over a ridgeline if you prefer.

    Here you can see that I tied a string maybe 13' long from one loop to the other, and then actually clipped that loop to ropes which I tied to the trees. My logic was that by hanging things from this string, it would help pull the fly taught. At this time, I knew nothing of HammockForums or Amsteel, so I was still using stretchy nylon mason line.



    The fly weighs 14 1/2 ounces, and the poles weigh 13 1/2 ounces.

    The flexibility of the poles allows the corners to be pulled together however much you want. I typically let them extend all the way when I'm lounging,

    but clip them together when I'm away. You can even fold it over backwards all the way if you want it out of the way.


    I prefer to have the fly a completely separate unit form the hammock, so they can be raised or lowered independently.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Bubba's Avatar
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    Thats pretty neat. I,ve done the same as your first pic but I like the big set up with the crossed poles. Very nice.
    Don't let life get in the way of living.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Pipsissewa's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 3club View Post
    ...but the fly's nothing but a big sheet. ...
    You are too modest!

    Quote Originally Posted by 3club View Post
    I draped it over a ridgeline, and used my walking sticks (old ski poles) as spreader bars.
    That is brilliant!!!

    Quote Originally Posted by 3club View Post
    ...if you safety pin the very corners together, it creates the top half of a tetrahedron. This gave me four walls of protection and a little heat retention in the winter months. I named this my "Delta House Homeless Shelter")
    Great name, but I don't really understand this...


    Thanks 3Club!!! I think you've got some super great ideas here!!!
    "Pips"
    Mountains have a dreamy way
    Of folding up a noisy day
    In quiet covers, cool and gray.

    ---Leigh Buckner Hanes

    Surely, God could have made a better way to sleep.

    Surely, God never did.

  4. #4
    Senior Member 3club's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pipsissewa View Post
    RE: "Delta House Homeless Shelter":
    Great name, but I don't really understand this...
    When viewed from the end, it has the shape of the Greek letter Delta: . And I always enjoyed the movie "Animal House". (Their fraternity, Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, was referred to as "Delta House".) Finally, it's what I live in when I'm away from home. Therefore: Delta House Homeless Shelter

    Seriously, this was just something I threw together at the last minute. It's not finished yet. I bought some cheap mesh type material, which I'm going to sew to the perimeter to create a big screened-in room. Then I'll spray it with permethrin and attach labels that read "Attention mosquitoes: WARNING! DEATH PANELS! KEEP AWAY!".

    The effectiveness of the warning labels has yet to be tested.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Pipsissewa's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 3club View Post
    Then I'll spray it with permethrin and attach labels that read "Attention mosquitoes: WARNING! DEATH PANELS! KEEP AWAY!"...
    That's nice of you to give the literate mosquitos a choice! Maybe include an icon like this: danger.jpeg for the illiterate or foreign mosquitoes!!!
    "Pips"
    Mountains have a dreamy way
    Of folding up a noisy day
    In quiet covers, cool and gray.

    ---Leigh Buckner Hanes

    Surely, God could have made a better way to sleep.

    Surely, God never did.

  6. #6
    Senior Member oldgringo's Avatar
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    I've brainstormed something similar, a sort of trail dome for a hammock that utilizes Dynaglide between opposing corners to provide dimensional stability.
    Dave

    "Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton

  7. #7
    Senior Member RePete's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by oldgringo View Post
    I've brainstormed something similar, a sort of trail dome for a hammock that utilizes Dynaglide between opposing corners to provide dimensional stability.
    Does your idea involve poles of some sort or am I just a moron? I can not imagine how rope between corners will do anything to ad structure to an otherwise floppy tarp. Im guessing you are implying the use of poles but I dont want to put words into your post that you did not type.
    Pete.
    The opinions expressed by this user are not those of a competent individual. If they were that would mean I know what I am talking about.

  8. #8
    Senior Member oldgringo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by otter46544 View Post
    Does your idea involve poles of some sort or am I just a moron? I can not imagine how rope between corners will do anything to ad structure to an otherwise floppy tarp. Im guessing you are implying the use of poles but I dont want to put words into your post that you did not type.
    Yes, a pair of crossed poles, just as 3club has used them. Picture a rectangular trail dome with doors on both ends, and no floor.
    Dave

    "Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton

  9. #9
    Senior Member 3club's Avatar
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    Ah, I think I get it, but correct me if I'm wrong: The dynaglide maintains the curve in each pole? Kind of like a bowstring?

  10. #10
    Senior Member RePete's Avatar
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    I think that is what he is shooting for. Dave have you seen 3clubs pic of his tarp with the line connecting the ends. Its kind of cool how when he draws one end closed the opposite end pulls closed as well. It is really neat. I thought about trying this with my ogee. That would give me doors as you described. Now if only I can find poles of the proper size to try this. Might have to raid my 3 man tent to see if the poles would work without modifying them.
    Pete.
    The opinions expressed by this user are not those of a competent individual. If they were that would mean I know what I am talking about.

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