Recently finished my bridge hammock based on the Ariel. Dimensions include:
Head and foot: 50" fabric with 40" spreader
38" Suspension dogbone.
8" Curve cut depth
34" Middle fabric width
Arc length: 68 1/2"
66" Between spreaders
Fabric about 18" past spreaders on either end.
Hammock body is 1.7 oz MTN XL Hybrid Ripstop Nylon (Burnt Orange/Blue).
Spreader bars are .742 diameter and 40" long in two parts.
Distance between suspension triangles is about 129".
Assembled.jpg
I like to use SketchUp for drawing things out before I commit and I spent a lot of time with it, especially the parts past the spreaders.
I tend to sprawl a bit when I sleep so I wanted to expand the Arial. I wanted something between the Arials's 46/36 and Just Bill's Luxury Bridge which I think 54/44. I think it was FJRpilot who made one with 50/40 and that seemed like a happy medium. To be fair, I haven't slept in any other bridge hammock before, but these measurements made for a very comfortable bridge.
I also find I want to extend my arm above my head so I wanted more length past the spreaders. My first guess was to just extend the Arial design out another 10" or so, but I found when I modeled it that Grizz's straight line approximation didn't seem to hold true past 8" or so. The body width actually starts to increase and by the time you out to 18" it is actually wider than it is at the spreader bars. Another thing I found out was that the body width of the fabric changes based on what hang angle you use. At 25deg my body width was 51 3/8" at 18" from the spreaders, at 25 deg the body width was 55 1/16".
End Design.png25 vs 30 deg hang.jpg
I probably spent more time puttering around in Sketchup trying to figure this out than I did making the hammock. I thought about averaging them out and doing some complicated curves, but in the end decided to just extend the 50" width at the spreaders out. I can tell there is a slight dip right after the spreader bars and a slight rise towards the end, but that fits my extended arm very well.
Straight.png
I cut everything out using a soldering iron and the tip that seemed most knife-life. I didn't have a large piece of hardboard or anything so I just did it on the concrete basement floor. It was my first time cutting with this tool and I really like it. There were a few times I started moving too fast and had to go back over a part, but other than that there were no issues.
Fabric_Layed_out.jpgSoldering_Iron.jpgBody_Cut_Out.jpg
I've added 5 tabs on each side to help connect underquilts. I have two Costco versions, one with the faux baffles and one which I added similar cat cuts to match the hammock body. I got some plastic Double Ended Mitten Hooks from Dutch, but the tabs on the hammock want to slide right out of the little gap. I've added a dab of hot glue on each hook to prevent that for now.
Sewing_the_Channel.jpgSpreader_attachment.jpg
The only thing I couldn't figure out in Grizz's design was the bias tape. In the end, I picked up some double-folded 1/4". I think I should have used 1/2" because that was really tricky to sew onto the channel.
By the time I had decided that I wasn't looking forward to figuring out end caps, I really just wanted to get started. I had seen others had added shock cord on the top of the endcaps. I then saw Just Bill's brilliant way of making them adjustable and decided that was for me.
Endcap.jpg
I made my 'personal containment devices' a little bigger than what the Ariel's seemed to be based on what I like to keep in them.
Pocket.jpg
I made a very simple Fronkey style bugnet for it, just two rectangles of NoSeeUm sewn on three sides and shock cord along the bottom. I think it will work, but there is extra fabric along the sides. There are no underquilts in the photos so there isn't that much of a gap really. From the way the excess hangs I'm thinking of cutting the same curve in it as the hammock body has. I use a ridge line to hold up the bugnet.
Bugnet.jpg
I have taken a few naps and I really enjoy it. I still have to make a tarp since the one I made for my gathered end is a little small for this guy.
Just want to thank everyone who has gone down this road before and shared what they learned.
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