We don't need no stinkin' cat cuts ...

[CorwinC]

I finally saved enough pennies and made the order to get the fabric and supplies to make my own complete DIY hammock setup.

I started with a simple gathered end 11' hammock made from 1.7 Robic XL in charcoal grey. It has an adjustable 7/64 amsteel structural ridgeline and small continuous loops on both ends. 12' x 1" tree straps using Beckett hitch complete the suspension. The very difficult to see ridgeline organizer is a 1-1/4" gauge net woven from 40# dacron ice fishing line and has a pink mason line top edge (the original black edge proved just too hard to see.) It is attached to the ridgeline via prusik loops so it can be moved anywhere along the ridge.
I just love this wide Robic fabric. My 300# ample frame feels secure in it, with no sign of stress whatsoever. It's going to take me a while to learn to lay diagonal enough utilize the full potential of it, but initial impressions are absolutely superb.


Next is the tarp. I will be using it for more than just hammocks so I needed to keep it rectangular. The main body is 11'x10' 1.9 oz. PU ripstop nylon in A-TACS AU color. It has 1/2" milspec grosgrain tie outs, one on each end of the ridge and five along the lower edge for flexibility in pitching. The ridge is attached to the suspension webbing via prusik loops and the tie outs are mason twine whoopie slings with shock cord tensioners. My only gripe is that the A-TACS pattern repeats too quickly. As you can see, the pattern repeats 5 times and starts a 6th in the 11'. I like the color (most of the places I pitch are not this green), I love the pattern, I just wish it didn't repeat.

Standard mode


Storm mode (I need to pitch the sides steeper so that the doors will close better and I may add another set of tie outs in the middle of the doors)



and Porch mode (costco down quilt will be replaced soon with apex tq/uq)


I'm very pleased with how it pitches even without cat cuts. I worried about being able to get the tarp tight without cat cuts, but now I think that if you don't really need that drum tight pitch, you'll be fine without them. This is this tarps first pitch and I'm sure that I'll be figuring out its idiosyncrasies soon.

A special thanks to everyone at ripstopbytheroll.com. Your website was informative enough that I was able to order without any assistance and I've been more than pleased with everything that I have received. I didn't order kits, because I tend to shun hardware, but your instructions and list of items included in the kits was very helpful. Also, a big thanks to the many members of this forum who have given me the ideas of what I wanted to build and the confidence to tackle this on my own.

Coming Soon ... bugnet, topquilt, and underquilt. Stay tuned.

[kitsapcowboy]

Good work. Nicely built kit you've made for yourself.

That's beautiful country where you live...

[Trail Troll]

Looking good till the tarp photos, then I felt like a kid again looking for Waldo. Never was much good at that. Lol. J/k your set up looks great. I always seem to enjoy hanging in my own gear(When I do it right), it gives a bit of pride and makes me sleep like a baby.

[oldpappy]

Nice job - making and using your own gear is great way to know your gear. I see you made your own TQ and UQ and plan to make an APEX set-up. Way to go - the CostCo UQ should stack nicely with your future Apex UQ for cold weather (I often stack a DIY down UQ with my Jarbridge 6 oz Apex UQ for cold weather).

[curlymaple42]

Having icefishing line here, I'm curious about your ridgeline organizer? Could you snap a close picture of it?

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[greyhound352]

Great job and liking your setup.

I also have some ATACS-AU print to make a tarp someday. I was thinking a rectangle design but longer 12 x wide as possible.

The one thing that has held me up is I want to add the inside double pole mod to the tarp.

[mathineer]

That's a very nice setup! Great job!

mathineer

[CorwinC]

Thanks for all of the encouragement everyone ... it really builds the confidence as I look toward the next step (TQ/UQ).

Having icefishing line here, I'm curious about your ridgeline organizer? Could you snap a close picture of it?

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I tried to grab a couple of pics for you curlymaple42, but the wind was blowing hard enough I was chasing the flapping organizer with the camera. I hope these are adequate.





The pink top edge is a braided mason line continuous loop that is 24" stretched out. Both ends are 4" continuous loops larks headed through the ends of the net and the top edge is attached with a clove hitch. As mentioned before, the net itself is 40# dacron ice fishing line made with a 1-1/4" gauge. The net hangs about 7" deep when empty. The prusiks (I didn't catch them on any of the pics I took) that are on the ridgeline are made with short dogbones and I use a becket hitch to secure the CL on the net to the dogbones (I hope that made sense.)

If you have any more questions, please ask.

[curlymaple42]

Thank you! That's pretty cool! I could see that being useful at the for the for stashing stuff sacks and clothes for sure!

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[mathineer]

And it could double as a gill net in a survival situation if you find yourself "Alone". :-)

I definitely need to make myself a better ridgeline organizer. I'm thinking a mini-hammock is a neat way to go...

mathineer