I designed a tarp I did

[Squidders]

http://www.lightningstorm.co.uk/Portals/3/Images/Bushcraft/tarp1.jpg
http://www.lightningstorm.co.uk/Portals/3/Images/Bushcraft/tarp2.jpg

2.75m wide x 3.75m long so I can get 2 hammocks under it
Brown coz trees at tarp level are brown and not green innit!
Loads of connection points
about half the packed size and weight of my 4x3 tatonka

Anyway, I likes it and i'm very pleased with myself!

 

[bloodline]

You have definitely got the size RIGHT its a pity the "experts" who make them dont make them in those dimensions:You_Rock_

 

[lou1661]

Hi Squidders
That looks like a cracking bit of kit! just out of interest what is the material you used?
cheers lou

 

[Toddy]

Very neat
Is it ripstop? and how noisy is it? 'cos somewhere I've got 30 metres of the stuff in green and blue

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Gailainne]

Anyway, I likes it and i'm very pleased with myself!

As you should be, nice design, I especially like the multiple hanging points along the centre, looks like ripstop nylon ?.

Who did the sewing ? cause thats the only thing holding me back trying my hand at designing, and making a hammock.

Anyway, nice job.

Stephen

 

[Squidders]

It is brown ripstop... It only arrived today and I got all the cordage attached when I got home. It was pretty windy and didn't seem very loud at all.

The acid test will be next time i'm out, in the middle of the night when everything else is quiet and your senses are more alive.

 

[Tourist]

Nice, looks like ripstop - can I ask, what weight did you use?

 

[Squidders]

As you should be, nice design, I especially like the multiple hanging points along the centre, looks like ripstop nylon ?.

Who did the sewing ? cause thats the only thing holding me back trying my hand at designing, and making a hammock.

Anyway, nice job.

Stephen

Wendy at Kathmandu Trekking was good enough to make the tarp for me... She made some swanky custom hammocks for me a few years back now and is very good at reading scribbled designs and making them reality. These days, since the loss of her husband, she takes only small orders and demands a little patience.

Obviously fully custom sizes and designs cost a lot more but I've got through so many tarps now trying to find the one I am properly happy with, I figure it's worth it.

For basic sewing, I have a litte man and wife outfit at a local covered market who sort me out with most things from recently modifying a tentipi floor to making a heavyweight cotton canvas tarp - very reasonable prices.

These places exist everywhere I have found and can be a real godsend with industrial sewing kit and more types of thread than you can shake a stick at.

 

[Gailainne]

Unfortunately, one thing you will find with ripstop is it is noisy, (I think we touched on this in another post ).

At the moot the one night it rained, it rained all night, at various intensities, the rain on my KT tarp woke me a few times, but in wind as long as its tensioned its not bad at all. Once I had stuck in some earplugs, to drown out the snoring from fellow camp members, I didnt hear a thing.

Shrug like you said acid test is to try it and see.

Enjoy

Stephen

Edit just saw your reply, I'm glad Wendy is still active, their work is great, Addo got a tarp made by her and was well pleased with it.

I will have a look in the local papers and see if anyone is advertising, if not I can stick an advert in, as you say I'm sure someone local will have the necessary experience and tools, whether they can intepret my sketches is another matter.

Cheers

Stephen

 

[Squidders]

I had the same weight fabric on my 2.5 x 2.5 KT tarp... I found it ok then... unless i've got rose tinted memory.

 

[Greg]

Very Nice Tarp Squidders, I recieved my DD Tarp2(3mx3m) today and it has next to no attachment points and its quite heavy too!
Yours looks very lightweight, how small does it pack down?

 

[Squidders]

I haven't measured it but very small... about 8cm diamiter by 25cm the stuff sack is... as a guess. no exact idea though in reality.

 

[Greg]

I haven't measured it but very small... about 8cm diamiter by 25cm the stuff sack is... as a guess. no exact idea though in reality.

Tidy!!!!

 

[Squidders]

yeah... and about 900g including all the cordage... 6 x 4m long 2mm dia guy lines and 2 x 8.5m long 3mm dia lines, one as ridge line, one for hanging things under the tarps. plus one spare guy line incase I need a little more length.

 

[gorilla]

excellent design Joe!
what did you use for the corner attachment points - some kind of webbing?
time to find somewhere that sells ripstop near me!

 

[Karl5]

That looks like the perfect size, Squidders.
And its a lot lighter than my Tatonka tarp.

How did you get the centre (ridge) seam and the hangy-up-thingies (whatever you call them in english) along the ridge to be waterproof? Tape?
Don't want to get a drippy roof through the holes made by the sewing needle...

/ Karl

 

[Squidders]

All the attachment points are reinforced webbing and the trick is, I believe to use thread that will soak up the initial water and swell a little.

I am going to attack it with some seam sealer though because why not