>>2659322>>2659322Just finished it, so I took it to a local park to hang it. It’s not perfect, but it will absolutely get the job done.
I goofed up somehow and one side is about an inch longer than the other. Not sure how that happened.
Sewing the grosgrain ridge line was tricky. Basically I lined both panel lengths up with the side of the gross grain, then folded it all in half. The end result is gross grain with four layers of fabric sandwiched between it.
The end loops are excess grosgrain that’s looped back onto itself. It’s the same as my very old Warbonnet tarp, which has held up pretty well.
The material is noticeably stiffer than nylon. It’s lighter too, but the whole setup is probably close to the same. I made the guy lines pretty long, but I can always trim them and chuck the excess.
The beaks are really nice. They do require an additional stake and a small guy line, as well as a carabiner if I want them open.
The original plans didn’t call for a catenary cut but it’s easy enough to do. I was going to add panel pulls but now I’m not so sure. The extra tie out that’s propped up with a stick actually creates a good bit of room. Not as much as a pole mod, but a noticeable amount. I’m really glad I added them. Panel pulls do add a good bit of rigidity during high wind, but it might not be needed because it’s polyester, and combined with the extra tie out it might be good enough. I’m on the fence, but probably won’t add them.
The suspension is all 1.75mm Zing-It and two Loop Alien knockoffs. They look like they’ll work pretty good. They’re easy to adjust, weigh almost nothing, and seem to lock pretty well, but we’ll see. I originally planned on using the tarp flyz from my current tarp but was never crazy about them.
Not pictured: a hammock, lol. Also haven’t swapped the snake skin.
