Hi I am a total newby to all this swinging lark but was wondering if there was any good reason why I cant attach my tarp to the same marlin spike toggle/ tree strap setup that my hammock is attached to.
My thinking was to use an adjustable ridgeline for the tarp made out of hollow dyneema so it would adjust like my whoopie slings.
Many thanks
Chris
It will usually sag too much.
No need for whoopies on the tarp, just use a taut-line hitch back on itself. I usually have 10 ft of guy line for the ridge line. Some people use zing-it/lash-it which is splicable but tends to tangle. I like a no tangle line like Z-Line (I use 1.25mm). It's dyneema with a dacron sheath, so it's pretty grippy for using knots and hitches, and wont tangle.
You can attach the the hammock suspension, depending on the tarp and conditions. Some tarps, especially smaller ones, wont cover as well if they're pitched high. Usually the ridge line for the tarp is lower than your tree-straps.
Try it and see. If you're comfortable with the coverage then go for it.
I've pitched my tarp by taut-line hitching it to one of the whoopie sling lines. It held fine, and didn't sag. When you get in the hammock it will pull the ridge line a little tighter, so keep that in mind when pitching it. I wouldn't pull the ridge line super tight, just snug.
Last edited by Boston; 08-08-2013 at 12:38.
Whoopies don't work very well under tension. I tried using whoopies as a tarp ridgeline and could never get them tight enough. You need three hands (or two hands and your teeth) to tension them, and you still can't get the tarp taut enough.
And attaching the tarp to the tree straps will result in sagging once you get in the hammock, as swankfly mentioned. My Hennessy had the tarp prusik'd onto the hammock suspension and I didn't like it at all. Better to have an independent suspension so what is going on with the hammock doesn't affect the tarp.
Your idea is used in some Hennessey hammocks. A lot of folks have trouble with it though, because, they hang it tight, and then get it in the hammock and the tarp sags.Originally Posted by dodgersmate
But keep that thinking cap on. Many new techniques came from somebody asking, "Why can't I just ... "
"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.
Try putting some kind of a tensioner between the tarp and the hammock suspension lines.
This guy did just that:
http://www.tothewoods.net/HomemadeGe...ensioner2.html
I do mine that way sometimes, but with a twist. I have elephant trunks on my straps, to which I attach short whoopies that are fixed to my hammock. I can put the tarp line to the elephant trunk and pull it tight, it works because the strap from the tree to the elephant trunk is not very long and doesn't stretch, nor sag very much when I load the hammock. I have tensioners on my tarp tie outs to take up what little sag might happen.
One thing that you'd want to be careful about, is tying to the
same point, then when you load the hammock it could put too
much strain on your tarp and tear it.
It would make it more difficult to tension your tarp properly.
It somewhat depends on the size of your tarp.
One way to do it is to use a small tarp hung close to the ridge line like a stock Hennessy. The problem there is that you usually end up with poor access if you are using a zipper. Everything is low and tight.
If you go to a larger tarp you can hang it higher so you anchor it differently. That is where you can go to the tree strap or tree to get the height that lets porch mode be a comfortable walk in/sit under and still be protected from weather. It's all a balance.
As folks pointed out. You are better off with knots or hardware like fly's on the tarp line. Whoopee like splices have their own problems. Now an eye splice to hold a Hook is just elegant. ;-)
YMMV
HYOH
Free advice worth what you paid for it. ;-)
I would think any movement in hammock would also move the tarp, thus putting more or less tension on your tarp lines.. I'm not and educated man, and physics failed me in high school, but I believe the force that is applied when you enter the hammock would also add tension to your tarp. My ridgeline gets tighter when I'm in the hammock, so I would guess anything else tied in parallel to the hammock would tighten as well...
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