Canvas tarp question

I'm in the process of making a PC tarp and could do with some advice.

This is what I'm planning


I was going to use the pebble/clove hitch method of attaching guy lines, but to make it a little more convenient and versatile, I thought I'd use canvas loops instead. That way I'll be able to string a ridge line and use it as an open wedge tent.

I'll be using it in the fur trade era for doing wood and leathercraft demos under, possibly personal cooking under and generally sheltering my old bones from the great british rain.

Any advice or comments welcome.

Eric

Get a copy of "The Sailmakers Apprentice" this is a good book about historic nautical methods of making sails. People in all time periods would have been exposed to sailing ships, some might have a lot of knowledge about sewing sails and that knowledge would have translated directly into sewing tents. A rope border would make the tarp very strong and the rope can be looped as required to make your loops.

I have used the information in this book to make my own tarp and also repair torn tents.

Many Klatch

Thanks Many. A rope border sounds interesting. I can get hold of Hempex fairly readily (There's a really good Chandler about 20 miles from me and they supplied Hempex to The Grand Turk, that's the ship used in the TV series Hornblower.) I know all tall ships these days have to rig with Hempex for insurance reasons, so I suppose it's PC enough for our purposes.

Eric

"so I suppose it's PC enough for our purposes."

Eric,

Hold fast...think about this. (and please forgive me if I sound preachy...)

I can understand using a modern engineered plastic rope when dealing with rigging ships where a sizable financial investment and peoples lives will be at stake. But for hitching a boltrope to a camp tarp...dont cheat yourself.

Real Hemp rope is readily available, just pennies more per foot and is the RIGHT stuff. Why compromise by using a synthetic material, when the real thing is just as easy. (Sermon over...)

Whatever you decide, good luck on the project.

Tom Rodgers

Yea, you're right Tom. Still got my Health and Safety head on :surrender:

I can get pretty decent hemp rope just up the road, and it won't melt, and I can use bits of it as tow for tinder if I need to.

Eric

Edit: Oh, and I can use any short lengths left over to make some Cat o nine tails. Put them up on Ebay under the kinky heading for the BDSM crowd.

Cat of ninetails; Thats pretty funny. But I digress. If your worried about being that PC then your frist idea is the most correct( pebble and hitch). I don't think that to many mountaineers had much more than just a chunk of canvas, and I doubt they came with loops already attached. But for ease and convenice loops are the best way to go and I doubt that anyone would call you on it.
wil

if you're using cotton canvas...you might as well use hempex rope.
Now..if you could find hemp canvas..that's another story altogether.

Whoa...found a source for hemp canvas...it's in Europe and the canvas.. 10oz is 27 bucks a yard.
Now I know why mine is made from cotton canvas!!!

I'll go for hemp if I win the lottery, and then only after ALL the rest of my kit is completely authentic - and I have a ways to go yet.

I finished a different 9ft x 9ft canvas tarp two days ago. I'll be taking it up to the Lanark Medieval Festival tomorrow to give it a thorough work out. It's been raining heavily in the UK for the past week or so, the ground is saturated and there was a severe weather and flood warning announced on the news tonight.

I'll set the 9x9 tarp up to work under and I'll have a cooking fire under there too, so I'm going to pitch it about 8ft high in the middle and have a shallow wedge shape.

I'll put up some photos next week when I get back (if I don't get pneumonia first).

Eric