Catamaran trampoline

cherod

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We had new tramps made for our DF920 by Cowes Sailmakers. He used mesh from Bainbridge, and made the edging, wire channels etc. He was very reasonable.
TY 👍
How tense does it need to be? Don't forget it also has to do a good impression of a hammock on a nice day.
very firm , a loose one is dangerous and the wilder the conditions the stiffer the better , been doing a lot of research today and apparently it is not uncommon to tension every couple of years , even on dyneema ones 😳
 

Chiara’s slave

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TY 👍

very firm , a loose one is dangerous and the wilder the conditions the stiffer the better , been doing a lot of research today and apparently it is not uncommon to tension every couple of years , even on dyneema ones 😳
Ours are tensioned every sail. A couple of years is a joke. We had a Strider cat, I used to re tension whenever bored on a mooring. 4 - 5 times a year I am sure.
 

Neeves

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38' Lightwave, Australia made, cat.

You do not need grommets if you use Ferrari. Buy over size and simply fold over the edges and then lace through matching holes. Our foredeck, or the hole for the tramp, was made from a flange from the deck moulding and a flange from the hull moulding, glued together to make the 3 sides to the hole. It was then drilled every 15cm and took small shackles for each hole, pin through the hole. The tramp was then lashed using individual lengths of, maybe 2 or 3mm, polyester for three sides. Each lashing went through a number of holes in the Ferrari, spreading the load, and then each lashing, now made of many lengths was then whipped and the end tied off, one continuous length. The cross beam was a mast section and effectively the same fold over, a 'hem' was made with the bolt rope on the edge of the hem and then slid into the slot. It never fell out, see below. We fitted the bolt rope first and then lashed the edges (don't use a continuous rope, even for one side - much easier - but if it fails ...... ). We found that once any slack developed, its must stretch a bit, you simply re tension until its 'right' and then we never needed to touch it again. The bolt rope, double braid, was too long and it was lashed tight at each end, bigger shackles at each end. Rather than double braid you could use dyneema it would be less compressible - but dyneema was not common place 25 years ago.

The hems look a bit ugly, though they are underneath - simply lace the hem neatly, one long single line, woven through.

We did find that the bolt rope flattened and squeezed out of the slot of the beam (which was an unexpected surprise) - we used a bigger bolt rope and secured the ends, tightly. I never thought about it at the time but you could use sailtrack slugs for the cross beam.

It was good for 25 years in the sunshine of Oz.

The trick is getting you measurements right. Getting the bolt rope so that its a tight fit. Sitting down and making lots of individual lashings.

You must fit the bolt rope first, once you lace one side its impossible to instal the bolt rope - Ferrari is not very tactile.

Even if you had one made for you, with welded edges, I'd still suggest individual ties round the 3 sides. I have heard of lines failing. We did not use ours very often as a hammock, we were either sailing or trying to reduce UV exposure. We had enough exposure to the sun sailing - without adding to it! You want to get it as tight as possible, you don't need to be prancing about on a saggy tramp in seas when the furler for the screecher fails (forget using it as hammock, its part of the deck, and you would not want a soggy deck). If you want to lie out, buy some cushions and a yoga mat :).

Jonathan
 
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cherod

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Hucknets do a poly version made to size and shape - was about £300 for my 50 foot cat
Ty 👍… the ( trawl ) net company in Fraserburgh cut mine to size ( for square mesh as opposed to diamond , a bit of an art 😳 ) and cost me £40 👍😆, ( 3 mm cord X 40 mm sq ., @ 13 X 15 ft,, 36 ft cat ) i did have to trim and fit / lash it myself, which took me a week 😩😩( sore knees , couldnt walk for another week 😩) , fitted and looked lovely but was / am disappointed jn how much it has sagged in just a few months . But have since discovered that they do need re tensioning occasionally / regularly . I may stitch my orig Ferari on top for comfort purposes as it stjll looks good but after soooo many years i dont trust it 👍.
 

cherod

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Are there many reports of Ferrari nets failing, not the securement - but the nets?

Jonathan
I have no idea , i have not seen any ( iirc ) , i didnt even know what it was called until yesterday . Although cosmetically ok mine has some tears in it , it maybe as old the boat , @ 30 yrs 😆👍
 
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