tarptent for two and a few others

You did a great job!

When pinning, how far apart do you space the pins and does it make a big difference depending on the fabric?

Also, your pics from your solo really make me home sick. I'm originally from Lakewood (so long ago it was still Tacoma) but have been in Las Vegas for 20 years. I love the desert, but, man do I miss the green!

i miss the dessert a little for the sand dunes and offroad racing. i was stationed in Yuma, AZ for 4 out of my 5 years in the Marine Corp. I dried out and needed rain, mountains and snowboarding… we pinned about every 4 to 8 inches depending on the piece. my dad also has a fancy machine that has a foot to move the lower fabric at the same time.

after i build my solo tarp, i might toil with the idea of sewing the noseeum on the tarptent to the bathtub floor. since getting my girlfriend to sleep under the stars with no "shelter" will be like pulling teeth, which elliminates the need for the floor to be removable. something else i've toiled with is if i make another i'll make it so that both sides raise up 6 inches or so to give a little more room between the tarp and sleeping bag for the second person.

i drew it up really fast on paint, because the grid paper i drew it on wasn't going to scan all that great. let me know if you need a larger version i can post it on photobucket.

here's an article on making the bathtub floors corners. i just used some shock cord in the corners because i couldn't find any plactic and such to shove in there.
http://www.backpacking-lite.co.uk/diy/make-an-ultralight-tent-bathtub-floor.html

Thanks so much. This plan is accurate with the dimensions of the tarptent on Henry Shire's website correct?

it's less than the dimensions on the tarptent's plans of maximum floor space. this sets the floor under the tarp to attempt to help keep rain off of it. it sets back the floor 4 inches from the door and 4 inches from the back, and roughly 5 inches from the left and right side. with driving rain and no beak on the back some mist will still get onto the floor. another thing to note is that since it's a bathtub floor it needed to be further from the low side. i had to extend the mesh on the low side a few inches also to get a signifigant amount under the floor. if you are sewing the mesh to the floor it shouldn't need to be extended.

i am just getting ready to make a tarptent for one. will be starting thursday. i am thinking of making the back panel out of silny instead of mesh for windy and rainy conditions, and putting a beak on the front. i like how you cut that beak to fit around the pole. i hope mine comes out half as good as yours looks. if you don't mind, what was your total investment?

roughly $100, including the excess odds and ends for stuff sacks and such. the big setback was the grommet set, $20 for a whole bunch of them and the punches. I also didn't buy the cheapest sil I paid around $8 or $9 for it. the next batch of sil that i am going to use to make a couple bivys and a solo tarp i'll try noah lamport, at $2.75 a yard. speer fabric had good quality fabric and excellent customer service.
I wouldn't want to close off the back with silnylon, the breeze was the only thing that was helping keep the moisture down with the netting closed up on a rainy night. If it was completely blocked off with the combination of the no-seeum the condensation could be a lot worse. a rear beak maybe, but I wouldn't close it off.

well thanks for the insight. i'm normally not in too damp conditions as i live in NM. but maybe a beak would be a better idea, then i could fold it away if i didn't want to use it.

so for i think i'm in for about $70, i don't use trekking poles so i bought the aluminum poles. but i got a decent deal on the sil. i will let you know as the progress starts this week.

I decided on sewing the floor perminately in to make the setup easier. One more mod that will be done in the next week or so will be to add tension straps halfway down the middle of the floor to keep it fully centered with 2 people in the tarptent. With 2 in it you can notice that the longsides pull in a little and cramp the living space a little. It will also increase the storm worthiness of the tarptent by keeping it a more taught bathtub shape.