bilgy update

To avoid the floor slickness, try Jim Wood's floor treatment at http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/Silnylon1/index.html

I used his technique on a Henry Shires Tarptent with great results.

> This weekend was our first encounter with heavy dew however, and it has me concerned. Despite the generous ventilation, condensation formed inside and out, continuing through the night. By morning we had about a cup of water in a pool at the foot of the tent.

Would I be right in suspecting that there was a heavy dew outside as well? Sometimes it can be VERY hard to avoid condensation forming, anywhere, inside and outside. Under those conditions about the only thing you can do is to use a double-skin tent and keep the inner tent warmer than the outside world. Even a candle lantern burning all night can help.

Cheers

Don't be afraid of your down bag getting a little wet by condensation. I once did a week long trip through Lappland in northern Sweden. I found a lot of condensation on my homemade Tarptent (plans from H. Shires @ tarptent.com). Although there was dew on my sleeping bag also, especially after brushing against the roof, I never noticed a decrease of loft.
The sleeping bag fabric is ordinary Pertex without a membrane. I never aired my sleeping bag out, it went right back into the Stuff sack after breaking down the camp.

To prevent the pooling and the brushing against the netting walls you might consider moving the walls to the perimeter of the roof (essentially making a "Henry Shires Tarptent" out of it) and using a loose floor that leaves a bit of a gap between the netting walls and itself.
HTH, Christian