Tarp tie-out ripped in a storm: tips and advice wanted

**J2neuby** · 05-26-2019, 16:26

Hi all. New to the forums and hammock camping in general; please be gracious toward my ignorance (I probably won't know most of your basics if unexplained).

I've been haunting the forums trying to learn as much as I could before going out on my first trip. I did a few overnight hangs outside my house that didn't go perfectly and taught me much. Then on to the real thing:

On this trip, I used a 210T Polyester Tafetta tarp and polyester cordage (with the idea that they are waterproof and wouldn't stretch when wet). The tarp is 9x9 ft. I used it in a diamond pattern, hoping for better coverage from potential rain. I did not use a continuous ridgeline, but tied the corners to the trees, creating tension with a McCarthy Hitch. I staked down the remaining corners with some good tension on the guy-lines. There was some sag across the ridgeline.

So there was some light rain, much less than I had anticipated; but there was a lot of gusty wind, much more than I had anticipated. I suspect the strong gusts were enough to rip a ridgeline tie-out loop away from the tarp, but I can't help but wonder if I have made some novice mistakes. The tie-outs are sown with strap loops.
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Anyone have some helpful advice? Should one not put a strong tension on a ridgeline (considering sag was still present)? Should I have used a rope with some stretch instead (seems silly to have a stretchy ridgeline)? Should I have used an A-frame setup instead? Should I have staked the corners to the ground instead of using guy-lines?

Also, I now need to attempt repairing this tarp tie-out. Any advice on how to go about this task? Any thoughts on how to improve/strengthen the tarp's inherently built-in tie-out structure? Perhaps replying with pictures would be more effective than words, since I'm not so familiar with these things yet. Or if a damaged tarp tends to run downhill quickly, would it be smart to convert it into an underquilt protector instead?

**bluesam3** · 05-26-2019, 16:59

I can't really see where the damage is. Is it just the loop itself coming away from the tarp? If so, I'd be tempted to blame dodgy stitching, and the solution is to sew it on better than the manufacturers did - there shouldn't be much in the way of problems going on to the rest of the tarp. Nothing that you've done seems wrong to me, unless you put truly ridiculous amounts of tension into things.

**J2neuby** · 05-26-2019, 17:24

Originally Posted by bluesam3

I can't really see where the damage is. Is it just the loop itself coming away from the tarp?

Sorry, those are pictures of the intact loops, so more experienced eyes could tell if it was a suitably good manufacturing setup. To answer your question, yes, the loop itself simply ripped off the tarp. Although I don't have it in front of me now to take a picture, I believe this must mean that the tarp has ripped where the thread stitching pulled through it.

Thanks for your reply!

**cougarmeat** · 05-26-2019, 19:31

I try to have the least expensive, easy to replace, part be the weakest link so it breaks first. So I have cheap split rings on my tarp guy points and ridge line. Once the wind was strong enough to completely open the split ring. Another time it deformed it pretty bad.

Consider putting something "weak" in your suspension/guy. For the side guy points, you could use bungee with cordage backup. So bungee takes the initial tugs, but if it breaks, the cord will keep it from flying wildly about as you go to deal with it.

I hope you just have a stitching problem with that loop. Sometimes a piece like that just escapes the sewing needle. If so, it's an easy fix.

**cmc4free** · 05-26-2019, 19:58

It doesn't look like the tie out ribbon was sewn on as well as it could have been. If you repair it, consider stitching a "box" with an "X" inside. Also consider doing this on all the tie outs, not just the broken one.

If the fabric is torn, you should still be able to repair it by using a small piece of fabric to make a reinforcement in the corner.

While your tarp has the tie out ribbon stitched directly to the tarp fabric, a lot of the vendors here add a reinforcement in the corner and sew the tie out to that.

**J2neuby** · 05-26-2019, 22:58

Thank you all for the thoughts. Here are the pictures of the damaged section. I appreciate the photo of the "Box with an X." I suppose I must learn how to sew...

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**J2neuby** · 05-27-2019, 02:10

Originally Posted by cougarmeat

So I have cheap split rings on my tarp guy points and ridge line. Once the wind was strong enough to completely upon the split ring. Another time it deformed it pretty bad.

Would you mind providing a picture of what this split ring is, please? How did you figure that this object would break/deform before your stitching would rip?

**Bubba** · 05-27-2019, 05:53

I don't think you need to do anything different than you did. The stitching did not look adequate and the material not reinforced enough. That could be repaired but that's harder if you do not sew.

**bluesam3** · 05-27-2019, 06:20

Originally Posted by J2neuby

Would you mind providing a picture of what this split ring is, please? How did you figure that this object would break/deform before your stitching would rip?

Split rings are otherwise known as keyrings. They're really weak.

**cougarmeat** · 05-27-2019, 12:57

My guess is you have a split ring on your keys. They come in different diameters and strengths. I'm guessing those in hardware stores are going to be stronger than those in fabric/hobby stores. Though they hold my tarp guy/suspension lines fine in normal conditions, in high wind I've had one pull apart. Which is what I want. Better the ring deform than the tarp tear. Then I can reassess the situation; do I want to stay here, should I (can I) re-orient the tarp, etc.? In the ongoing, but infrequent, "setting up a tarp in strong wind" battle, the score is Wind 2, cougarmeat 0. This summer (we are still getting snow dusting on our ski mountain 23 miles away), I'll look into using skins so I have more setup control in high wind. My usual CRL suspension made using snake skins awkward but adding 8 inch extension dogbones to the ends of the tarp ridgeline allows stringing up the tarp ridge line while it is still in skins and gives the skins a place to slide.

See split ring, key ring, here: https://www.uline.com/BL_357/Split-Key-Rings