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  1. #1
    Senior Member heescha's Avatar
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    Oh Noooooooo!!!!!!!!!

    OK, so the only thing i've done to my HH hammock so far is to put straps on instead of the ropes...that's it! So what the heck happened!?!?!?! i sat down in my hammock and WAMMIE! MY RIDGELINE SNAPPED! and not only that, since there was no weight supported by the ridgeline, the no-see-um net ripped because of the pressure!!!!

    would this changing of the main support ropes make the difference? i slept with the new support lines for a couple of nights now and everything was fine....why did my ridge line just snap!?

    What am i to do!?!?! i doubt HH will take it back because i modified the main support lines....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
    This is the day that the Lord has made-let us rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24

  2. #2
    Senior Member Hooch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by heescha View Post
    OK, so the only thing i've done to my HH hammock so far is to put straps on instead of the ropes...that's it! So what the heck happened!?!?!?! i sat down in my hammock and WAMMIE! MY RIDGELINE SNAPPED! and not only that, since there was no weight supported by the ridgeline, the no-see-um net ripped because of the pressure!!!!

    would this changing of the main support ropes make the difference? i slept with the new support lines for a couple of nights now and everything was fine....why did my ridge line just snap!?

    What am i to do!?!?! i doubt HH will take it back because i modified the main support lines....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
    Way to go, Mr. Bill. Call or e-mail Tom Hennessy and let him know what happened. He'll probably send you a new hammock.
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    Last edited by Hooch; 05-05-2008 at 23:00.
    "If you play a Nicleback song backwards, you'll hear messages from the devil. Even worse, if you play it forward, you'll hear Nickleback." - Dave Grohl

  3. #3
    Senior Member GrizzlyAdams's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by heescha View Post
    OK, so the only thing i've done to my HH hammock so far is to put straps on instead of the ropes...that's it! So what the heck happened!?!?!?! i sat down in my hammock and WAMMIE! MY RIDGELINE SNAPPED! and not only that, since there was no weight supported by the ridgeline, the no-see-um net ripped because of the pressure!!!!

    would this changing of the main support ropes make the difference? i slept with the new support lines for a couple of nights now and everything was fine....why did my ridge line just snap!?

    What am i to do!?!?! i doubt HH will take it back because i modified the main support lines....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
    That's a shame, to be sure.

    When you use suspension lines or straps other than the stock ones, normally HF folks are also putting in rings or cinch buckles or trucker's hitches...things that all make it easier to significantly increase the tension on the suspension line if you tighten it up hard. That's tension that is carried to the ridgeline also. There's a formula for this, if you really want to know.... My guess would be that you did that, and when you added your weight to the hammock the increased force took the ridgeline out.

    Hard lesson to learn, but the lesson is to avoid a tight suspension. You can get the ridgeline to do what it's supposed by adjusting the height of where you put your tree huggers. Geometrically, the angle from the ridgeline to the tree has to be flatter than the angle of the hammock to the ridgeline. To get the ridgeline "taut" you need to adjust the angle from the ridgeline to the tree. Cranking up the tension pulls the ridgeline up to make that true, and increases the force contained in the system. Lowering the tree huggers (and taking in the slack) gets you to the same place, but without the temptation of adding so much tension.

    Do get in touch with Anne at Hennessey. They've been very good to lots of people here.

    Grizz
    Last edited by GrizzlyAdams; 05-05-2008 at 23:17.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by GrizzlyAdams View Post
    Cranking up the tension pulls the ridgeline up to make that true, and increases the force contained in the system. Lowering the tree huggers (and taking in the slack) gets you to the same place, but without the temptation of adding so much tension.
    Grizz, I'm not sure you said what you meant to say there. Let me try to rephrase it: You want to attach higher on the trees and put initial slack, or sag, in the hammock suspension lines rather than attaching lower and pulling the hammock suspension lines tight.

    For different hammock setups, how high you attach to the trees for various spans between supports vary. I think for most of the smaller Hennessy hammocks and hammocks without ridgelines, that attaching shoulder high for 12 foot spans, head high for 15 foot spans, and as high as you can reach for 18 foot spans (and longer) is a good place to start. For the larger Hennessy hammocks with ridgelines, you will want to raise them another 6 to 12 inches (where you can), depending on which model it is, as Hennessy sets those up with larger sag angles.

    Another thing that might have happened was that heescha accidentally sat on the ridgeline. I have heard of that happening and breaking the ridgeline.
    Youngblood AT2000

  5. #5
    Senior Member GrizzlyAdams's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Youngblood View Post
    Grizz, I'm not sure you said what you meant to say there. Let me try to rephrase it: You want to attach higher on the trees and put initial slack, or sag, in the hammock suspension lines rather than attaching lower and pulling the hammock suspension lines tight.
    What you said is true. I think what I said is also true. Lemme try again.

    For the ridgeline to give a minimal sag it is necessary for the angle of the hammock meeting the ridgeline to be larger than the angle. One can see that in your diagram.

    If you had a setup with a ridgeline under tension already, then moving the huggers lower would indeed increase the tension, which is not what we want here. What I was trying to address is the situation where the ridgline is not under tension. You can put it under tension by tightening up the suspension line, lifting the hammock and ridgeline, and eventually getting the ridgeline under tension (and the ridgeline-to-tree angle smaller. Might also need a step ladder to get into the hammock. So the business about lowering the tree huggers given that the ridgeline is not under tension is trying to keep the hammock at the level where it is, but bring the ridgeline to a tension where it is doing what it is supposed to do.

    All that said, I do use a ridgeline, but mostly just so that I can quickly find the level of tree huggers for the given distance between trees that puts the hammock where I want it. Once I find this spot I stop increasing the tension, and indeed once I get into the hammock the ridgeline tends to droop a little (particular after I hang a pair of hiking shoes over it!)

    Grizz

  6. #6
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    Grizz, I'm not following all that. I have no doubt you understand it.

    I look at the ridgeline as a limiter. It limits the 'minimum sag angle' of the hammock as long as the sag angle of the hammock suspension lines are less than what the ridgeline sets the hammock sag angle to.

    The more the ridgeline is doing its 'limiting thing', the lower you can tie the suspension lines on the supports to get the hammock to end up at the same height above the ground. You put more force on the hammock suspension lines (and the ridgeline) the more the ridgeline does its 'limiting thing' as well.

    From that, I conclude that you don’t get something for nothing when you use a structural ridgeline. One way to look at it is that you are lowering how high you attach your hammock on the supports by applying brute force tensioning on the suspension lines. Another way to look at that is that you are applying brute force to raise your hammock rather than just tying it higher on the supports.
    Youngblood AT2000

  7. #7
    Senior Member GrizzlyAdams's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Youngblood View Post
    Grizz, I'm not following all that....
    and to think that I teach for a living

    oh well. Everyone--just look at Youngblood's diagram. Everything you need to know is implied by it.

    Grizz

  8. #8
    Senior Member heescha's Avatar
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    thanks guys! i will definetally try to get in touch with hennessy...though on their website the email is gone...
    i just feel back contacting them because i had a problem with my rain tarp (the plastic o ring snapped) and they sent me a brand new one for free (like just a week ago). i feel like i'm really being hard on them!

    as far as tensioning the hammock and such i have been really careful to not over tighten like you have been talking about. I don't beleive that i have been over tightening at all (in fact, alot of times my ridge line is quite lose, sometimes even saggy) so i don't think that that was the problem...i just don't know i guess...does anyone ahve HH email? (i think my school laptop is messing up their site and i can't get the email address)
    This is the day that the Lord has made-let us rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24

  9. #9
    Senior Member Hooch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by heescha View Post
    thanks guys! i will definetally try to get in touch with hennessy...though on their website the email is gone...
    i just feel back contacting them because i had a problem with my rain tarp (the plastic o ring snapped) and they sent me a brand new one for free (like just a week ago). i feel like i'm really being hard on them!

    as far as tensioning the hammock and such i have been really careful to not over tighten like you have been talking about. I don't beleive that i have been over tightening at all (in fact, alot of times my ridge line is quite lose, sometimes even saggy) so i don't think that that was the problem...i just don't know i guess...does anyone ahve HH email? (i think my school laptop is messing up their site and i can't get the email address)
    [email protected] or just click on the "Contact Us" link on the right hand side of the page.
    "If you play a Nicleback song backwards, you'll hear messages from the devil. Even worse, if you play it forward, you'll hear Nickleback." - Dave Grohl

  10. #10
    New Member billslade's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by heescha View Post
    thanks guys! i will definetally try to get in touch with hennessy...though on their website the email is gone...

    ...does anyone ahve HH email? (i think my school laptop is messing up their site and i can't get the email address)

    The e-mail address I used to contact them is

    hennessyhammock [AT] gulfislands [DOT] com

    Good luck getting it fixed!

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