As much as I love a Hennessy Hammock, I am not in love with his rain flies. He offers the hex fly which will, I think, eliminate the rain coming in when it's raining sideways. The standard rain fly will not. ( Mine is the Expedition A-Sym http://www.hennessyhammock.com/comparisonchart.html )
Last week, on the Au Sable, I tried a different rigging. Using a Cooke Custom Sewing fly of 10' X 14', I 'sperimented. I wanted more covered area next to the hammock. I put up the hammock in standard format, but without a fly. I rigged the Cooke tarp right onto the guy line of the hammock. Loops are every 2' along the 14' sides. ( http://www.cookecustomsewing.com/tundratarp.htm Mine is the 10' X 14' 1.1 oz four panel)
I hooked the little sliding hooks (that are there for the rain fly) into the third loop up the edge. (More later) That divided the tarp into 4' and 10' sections - one on the left and the other on the right side of the hammock.
I used 5' lines and staked down the 4' side. Later, I propped up the center of that end for better ventilation. A canoe paddle or half of a kayak paddle works nice here. The 10' side stretched out like a large, patio cover. I tied the corners out to handy trees, could have run 20' lines out to stakes at ground level. I affixed a pole tot he four loops int e center of all Cooke tarps, and tied it down to a stake in the ground.
This provided a larger area for sitting, cooking, sipping of dago red, smoking seegars, and telling truthful tales. This set up would work every bit as well with a 10' X 12' fly, but with a smaller covered patio for relaxation.
Back to the little hooks for the rain fly. There are two of them, one on each end. They are tied with Prussic knots so they slide along the large rope, but sit still when under tension. They are originally for adjusting lengthwise tension on the original rain fly. They now adjust cross wise tension on the large tarp. A 10' wide tarp is a perfect fit here. The longer hammocks - Explorer and Safari - will require a wider tarp.
Last week, on the Au Sable, I tried a different rigging. Using a Cooke Custom Sewing fly of 10' X 14', I 'sperimented. I wanted more covered area next to the hammock. I put up the hammock in standard format, but without a fly. I rigged the Cooke tarp right onto the guy line of the hammock. Loops are every 2' along the 14' sides. ( http://www.cookecustomsewing.com/tundratarp.htm Mine is the 10' X 14' 1.1 oz four panel)
I hooked the little sliding hooks (that are there for the rain fly) into the third loop up the edge. (More later) That divided the tarp into 4' and 10' sections - one on the left and the other on the right side of the hammock.
I used 5' lines and staked down the 4' side. Later, I propped up the center of that end for better ventilation. A canoe paddle or half of a kayak paddle works nice here. The 10' side stretched out like a large, patio cover. I tied the corners out to handy trees, could have run 20' lines out to stakes at ground level. I affixed a pole tot he four loops int e center of all Cooke tarps, and tied it down to a stake in the ground.
This provided a larger area for sitting, cooking, sipping of dago red, smoking seegars, and telling truthful tales. This set up would work every bit as well with a 10' X 12' fly, but with a smaller covered patio for relaxation.
Back to the little hooks for the rain fly. There are two of them, one on each end. They are tied with Prussic knots so they slide along the large rope, but sit still when under tension. They are originally for adjusting lengthwise tension on the original rain fly. They now adjust cross wise tension on the large tarp. A 10' wide tarp is a perfect fit here. The longer hammocks - Explorer and Safari - will require a wider tarp.
