Quote Originally Posted by blackbishop351 View Post
an inner patch layer will help keep the stitching from ripping directly through the material.
first off, if you check out my earlier threads, you'll see that it's not as big of an issue as we seem to be making it here
my 1st tarp w/ pull outs is still in perfectly fine working condition, even after seeing quite a bit of use.
my second tarp, as i explained before, has seen a little more abuse... in the form of very high winds, & me stretching it tighter than i really should have at times.
also, on the 1st tarp i had tie out lines that came w/ the ray way kit & it seemed to have a slight stretch to it. the second tarp just had guy line cord w/ little or no stretch.
so having a little stretch built in (as headchange suggested) would be a good idea.

but the point i've been trying to make about the inside patch being helpful has to do w/ what bb said in the part of his quote i added above.
remember the pull outs i'm talking about here are being pulled more or less strait out, unlike a guy line tie out.
the principle i'm talking about is commonly applied in construction. the thread going through the silnylon, looping over & coming back through is plenty strong enough, but it's putting a lot of force in one small point on the silnylon.
so if you add something thicker & stiffer between it & the silnylon, it acts like a washer of sorts.
and that addresses the forces that i see taking place in my use of the side pull out tabs on a tarp.
...tim