HH ridgeline

[the_watch_guy]

has anyone had any success in making the ridgeline shorter ? If so how did you do it ?

[nothermark]

not hard to do but I am not sure it's a good idea. To try it use a variant of a spanish windlass to eat up some cord. Just put a loop in the cord, put a stick in it and wind it a but. Tie off the end of the stick to the ridge line. You will take out a couple of inches that way. Try it and see what happens. IF you want to know how much you changed it put tape or a mark either side of where you are experimenting and measure between them before and after.
I think that doing that with any hammock with a built in bug net has limitations. OTOH I also know a few inches can make a significant difference in the hang. The circumfrence of the stick will give you an easy gauge to start with what you are removing. Once you are done experimenting remove one end cap and make adjustments permanently.

[Roche]

Why do you want the ridgeline shorter?

[the_watch_guy]

To change the pitch of the hang. Thanks for the idea.

[Knotty]

If you remove the end caps (cut the zip tie) you'll see how the suspension is attached and how the ridgeline has a loop at each end through which the suspension runs. Just undo one end, pull out some line and retie. Shortening the structural ridgeline will increase the sag in the hammock.

In my picture the stock line has been replaced by a whoopie sling but the idea's the same. The black line is the SRL.

[the_watch_guy]

Thanks Ron

[Hangandy]

Do you have a top entry? If so, I think the Dutch mini-biner was designed so you could cut the RL, tie two loops (or more if you want to have different length options) and then clip and unclip your RL. The nice function here is that on clear days and nights you can disconnect and throw your netting off to have a clear view above. All about options.

[mtn2sea]

If you want a semi-permanent method without doing any destroying of the ridgeline or taking anything apart, just tie a alpine butterfly in the middle of the line (or somewhere out of the way). It can be tied in a bight without taking the ridgeline off, and you can make the loop bigger or smaller to make the ridgeline shorter or longer (respectively). That way you can revert to the old length, and it's less of a commitment than cutting.

The down side is that you have a random loop in the middle of the line... but maybe that's a pro! You can cling a biner to it and you've got a handy little hangy-thing!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_butterfly_knot

/Shane

[the_watch_guy]

Thanks for all the great ideas, what I finally did was use a Night Ize Knot bone. I didn't have to cut the line and I can take it out anytime I need to.