Such an awesome design. I think I'll be running by the lumber company after work tomorrow. I have a few ideas for tweaks on the design, most of which you mentioned.
A bolt in the bottom to act as a hinge, I'm hoping that would eliminate the need to dig a hole and count on the walls of the hole to support the load.
A permanent ridge line to set the angle.
Adding an extra set of tie outs to hold the structure upright long enough to stake the main tie outs. Think one from each end to a single point to the side of the center. Basically enough to lift it to just before vertical, and hold it there while staking in the main tie outs.
This is a great idea!
I seem to remember seeing a variation of this configuration that used a single board on one end and a tree on the other. I think he also dug a hole for the bottom end but drove a stake or two straight down into the ground to prevent the end from slipping. The other difference was he only used one rope on the other end and staked it down with several stakes. However, that allowed the upper end to swing around quite a bit.
I really like the simplicity of this design. Especially the fact you can build it with no tools.
“I held a moment in my hand, brilliant as a star, fragile as a flower, a tiny sliver of one hour. I dropped it carelessly, Ah! I didn't know, I held opportunity.” -Hazel Lee
Yes indeed! The netting weighs very little, so I take it backpacking also. The netting is actually two pieces, each of which cover one side and two thirds of each end. Therefore, on the ends, they overlap. This provides better bug blocking than if they were to simply meet in the middle.
The only downside is that I needed a separate netless tarp for winter, or ice could build up on the netting and rip it off. So to that end, I made a "Michigan camouflage" (a.k.a. white) tarp without netting for winter, and am working on a new forest camo one with netting for summer.
Yes, in fact, I've done it in the woods where I found only one suitable hammock tree, but found another fallen tree about a dozen feet long and about four inches in diameter, and relatively straight. So at one end I had a standing tree, and at the other, half of this design. It worked fine for a few minutes, but unfortunately at that time, I did not have any high strength string, and the string broke where it was tied to the stake. I later had a friend hold the end of the tree down, and estimated that the force on the string was probably around 50 to 100 lbs. So you don't need super strong rope, but hardware store mason string won't work.
Yes, a bolt to hold them together would negate the need for a hole, or even just cutting end ends so they sat flat against each other (though I wouldn't trust them to stay that way.) Really, anything to prevent the head board from sliding along the ground toward the foot end, and vice versa.
As for the fixed ridge line, the length of it would depend on your preferred hanging angle, but once that's determined, yes, I'd make it permanent. Let me know how it turns out!
During the week you were using this, how many times did you have to re-plant the stakes?
What kind of stakes were you using?
How stable did it feel when you were in the hammock? Was it wibbly-wobbly side-to-side or felt pretty solid?
“I held a moment in my hand, brilliant as a star, fragile as a flower, a tiny sliver of one hour. I dropped it carelessly, Ah! I didn't know, I held opportunity.” -Hazel Lee
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