First Post and First MYOG Project

Welcome! and congratulations! MYOG is addictive. First of many projects and posts I hope. BTW I adore my aging Necchis.

This looks excellent. What are the tarp dimensions? And is that a catenary cut ridgeline? It pitches very taut.

My first MYOG project was a tarp, and I've been fortunate enough to enjoy using it on trips this summer. And MYOG is quite addictive. I have a half dozen projects in mind already. Now to find the time for sewing and extra cash for materials.

Thanks!

The ridge is cat cut, about 3 inches of deflection. The ridge line length is 10' and the base is 7 feet. The height of the side panel is 4 feet at the front and 3 feet at the back.

It does pitch pretty taut. I am considering adding tie outs midway between the corners. I am starting a bivy sack tomorrow. I was feeling pressure to get these two projects done for a trip next weekend.

It was very gratifying to pitch the tarp for the first time. I am looking forward to many projects to come.

That looks good!

Overhang at head end should provide rain protection. Your ridges look really good, should be good in wind.

"I was feeling pressure to get these two projects done for a trip next weekend."

Danger – overly hurrying can lead to poor reasults as described on another thread

My tarp took days of nothing but sewing (luckily, I'm a teacher, so some time off in the summer is not out of reach). I'd second the not hurrying part. There were several times that I made a serious error, stopped, backtracked, and started over. Yes it added many, many hours to the project, and yes, I had to take the TarpTent out when I would have preferred the tarp, but it was worth it in the long run.

Now I'm done, and I have something that I'm really proud of. It's not MLD quality sewing, but it should hold up in any conditions I would need to deal with.

Anyway, I'm excited to see what else you contribute to the MYOG side of BPL. In my opinion, it's the best thing the site has going for it.

I'm well aware of the dangers of rushing headlong into something with an unrealistic timeline. I do my best to avoid it. I never really rushed with this project as I had the option of taking my old standby tent on the trip. If things weren't progress, I could just set the project aside and head out anyway. Luckily, everything was very straight forward and I have a helpful wife that kept pointing me in the right direction. Another thing in my favor is I am off of work for two weeks = tons of discretionary time to execute the project.

Thanks for the welcome and encouragement. I'm sure I'll have questions along the way.

Wow, that thing pitches beautifully!

She looks great. Nice design and pitch.

I finished up seam sealing the ridge line and tie out points. I also used the scraps for a small stuff sack to hold the tarp, lines, and stakes.

All told, 11 ounces once everything is packed in the stuff sack. Packed in the stuff sack, dimensions are 10 inches by 2.5 inches. I can't believe how little volume it occupies.

I'm really happy with how this first project has turned out.

My tarp has exceeded my expectations. I've had it out for three trips now. The first two both involved rainy nights after which I woke up dry. Tis past weekend saw 40+ mph winds from midnight until late morning in the mountains. My friends tents were repeatedly flattened by the heavy winds and they slept cold if they slept at all. I, on the other hand, slept well with a two year old snuggled up with me under the tarp. One of the corner tent stakes did pull up at about 7am, but was easily fixed from under the tarp. I'm sold on the reality of MYOG.

Getting to test you designs against the elements is the best part! Congrats