Well, since I knew I wouldn’t have to be anywhere on Labor Day, I thought it was the perfect excuse to put the hammock up in the back yard. I still hadn’t had the chance to try it out in the rain and hoped I’d get my chance.

I have to say that I had a horrible night until I finally got to sleep around 2am. One thing I didn’t have that would’ve been a great help is ear plugs. The frogs were something else! Not to mention my neighbor’s AC kicking in every time I was ready to fall asleep.

I also realized how crucial tarp placement is. I thought I’d done a good job. Unfortunately, I created a sauna. The tarp kept right up against the netting and I got almost no airflow. I was just hot and uncomfortable. I got out at one point to change it but the skeeters ate me alive. I rushed and didn’t do much better.

I did finally get to sleep and must’ve been out good. I didn’t wake up until 9. The wife wanted to go to the beach at 9:30 so we didn’t quite make that. I think a good pillow is a must. That’s now on my shopping list.

After the beach we came home, ate lunch, and it was time to nap. I know, it’s rough, but somebody has to do it. 😀 I did a much better job with the tarp before my nap. I separated it from the ridgeline and connected it to dedicated lines via Figure 9 biners.

*Ignore the rope on the tree. That’s from another project. 🙂

This worked well and I got a great deal more ventilation. However, I think I’m going to try running a separate ridgeline as a single piece between the trees instead of using two shorter lines.

As luck would have it I got the rain I was hoping for. I napped for a couple of hours and then it came down. It wasn’t real heavy and didn’t last too long, but I was pleased to see that the tarp worked great. I’m a little worried about the stock Hennessy cut as it doesn’t seem to provide quite enough coverage. I did get a little water on the side of the hammock towards my head but it wasn’t bad. Had the wind been harder I think that’d be another story.

I did have some cleanup to do after the rain. The tarp had a lot of pine sap on it so I had to remove that for storage. I hope the Goo Gone and mineral spirits don’t have an adverse affect on the material.

I’ve started using the Figure 9 devices everywhere. I’ve added them to the tie-outs for the hammock and the tarp. They really make it so much quicker and easier to get things taut.

Well, that’s it for this Labor Day.