Making a trampoline

For starters, you will need access to an industrial duty sewing machine. A typical sewing machine won't be strong enough to do the sewing necessary.

I am currently working on restitching my weathered 6.0 trampoline and fortunately have a friend who just bought an industrial sewing machine (he claims it can actually sew plywood together). I'm looking for ideas on trampline storage - anyone have any? (I think I'll start another thread on the matter).

Hi Jake Thanks for the reply,
A industrial machine is easy to buy on the web, I saw a few for only a few Dollars.

PS. what do you mean with storage ?
Protection during the summer or winter ?

you mentioned adding a spinnaker bag to the trampoline. I mean storage like that. I want to sew in some pouches and places to store typical items like water bottles emergency gear, etc. I want a place to securely put a couple of water bottles, paddle, and two trapeze harnesses (for days buoy racing when the wind dies).

If you have a tramp that does not have lacing down the middle, I think the best (and easiest) idea is a fairly deep flap all the way across the front of the tramp (open edge facing aft), with the front and side edges sewn to the tramp. As far as whether you want the thing to be totally open all the way across the back or divided into compartments or use velcro or grommets or whatever, that is an individual, creative thing. If you have a mesh tramp but want the stuff in the storage area to be able to be kept relatively dry, you can make the whole flap section, bottom and top, out of a waterproof material.

I like a similar flap, just mesh, not as deep fore and aft, all the way across the tramp at the aft end, but with the open part facing forward. That would be for storage of items that do not need to be kept dry and are not too bulky. And it would be nice to have that aft flap closed with velcro or something so things cannot get washed out of it or washed into it and so you can't trip on it or whatever.

These are just my opinions as a crew who likes a clean deck and the ability to stuff something quickly out of the way, but be able to have it easily accessible.

(If you have lacing down the middle of the tramp, you would have to divide the above into two compartments on each side both on the front and back of the tramp.)

If you want a spinnaker-storage "compartment" sewn onto the tramp, that would be separate from the generic storage compartments, and design and location would be a matter of personal preference.

I HATE tramps with little storage flaps sewn on with the open side facing forward. They are so tight you can barely get anything into them, and when you try to get something out of them, you risk losing it overboard over the front beam.

Hi Mary Ann,
I totally agree with you on the subject " little storage flaps sewn on with the open side facing forward "

This is one of the main reasons that I want to create my own tramp.

You end up stuffing more goods/line's than the little bag can handle, ending up destroying the zipper.

Rob,
go to the yahoo beachcat group or the TheBeachcats.com and contact Tami Shelton (i think she may have a web page also). She is an experienced sailor (18 square) and she can sew. Several postings I've seen recomend her highly. Give her a rough idea of what you are looking for and she will probably make it better than you can imagine.
nt

Rob,
I've been sailing since the late 70's and never bought a tramp, (in fact making your own sails can be a lot of fun too).
Before you go out and buy an industrial sewing machine for your tramp, give your domestic machine a go.
I've made tramps with domestic machines before I got my industrial machine.
Provided you are using chickopee mesh, the weave is much easier to get through than sailcloth , (because it is a fairly open weave and it is not impregnated with resin like sailcloth).

Someone else mentioned they had problems repairing a tramp wih a domestic machine. Repair work is usually much harder, partly because the fabric has aged and partly because it can be impregnated with salt.

Now if you are thinking of doing more work like making or repairing your own sails buy the industrial machine.

Just my 2 cents.
Regards,
Phill

All you guys who keep recommending to try using your home "domestic" sewing machine had better check with the wife first. Rick used my sewing machine a couple of times to try to sew patches on denim pants, and he broke the machine twice (after breaking several needles), and Sears finally said it was no longer repairable. So I haven't had a sewing machine for at least 20 years. I'm afraid to get another one for fear he will try to use it for something.

One of my friends "inherited" his wife's machine after using it to repair a mylar sail. that one repair cost him about $300. now he has his own machine (his wife's slightly used machine) and uses it all the time for sail repairs.

The older, heavier, metal machines will work out well enough. I just read an article in "Good Old Boat" about using old domestic machines with thick marine cloths. He went to a used machine warehouse with material and thread and found ones that worked the best. He ended up with a White brand machine, a big old metal beast.

You can contact Good Old Boat and buy the January/February 2003 issue if they have any left. Heck, if you sign up for the free trial issue you might be able to get it for nothing.

Where do you guys get your mesh material from

So far I only found this supplier in the far east, I don't think they will sell the fabric per inch.
Perhaps an idea for the webshop ?

http://www.theyusco.com.tw/mesh_fabric/mesh_fabric.htm

Hi Rob,
Making your own trampoline is not a big deal. The problem is not the machine but the thread you should use.

A good thread is Dabond 2000(V92) available from Bainbridge. Just do a search, they are on the net.
For the Trampoline material, have a look in the classified adds of a 'Multihulls' Magazine. Someone(for > 10 years now) is selling extra wide trampoline material, good for one piece diagonal cut trampolines.
Bainbridge also sells the same mesh but narrower(Polypropylene **the real mccoy)

Orrrrrr just call your local canvas guru and get a price for the job. I would build one for ~$350-400US , not sure what Nacra is selling them for these days.

Good luck
Marc

I am currently making a trampoline, I am based in the UK so this may not be of great use to most of you but here goes.

I found a great company pointnorth.co.uk, I rang them and explained what I was after.

They reccomended using Trampoline Mesh, (Polypropylene basket weave, UV inhibited monofilament mesh) for the main body, this is then edged with PVC coated fabric (codes TM1 and P16). They also sell the grommets and will hire the tool to fit the grommets.

I approached a local boat cover maker who will stitch the PVC fabric to the trampoline very cheaply especially if you glue the pvc edging in place first which reduces the set up for them.

My trampoline is rather large approx 4m by 2m and cost me under £100 all in.

I haven't used it in anger yet but it all looks OK.

Thanks Grob you just made my day ..........

I found them on the web and I am sure I will be able to in making my own trampoline now.
I will ask them to ship to our office in the UK.

Thanks Grob

John

Seeing as how this was usefull I thought I would attach a photo of the trampoline material and edging. In case it is not what you were expecting.

It is a closer weave than I expected and so may not drain water or spill the wind like a coarser mesh.

As you can see I cut the PVC into 8" wide strips, folded them over the edge of the trampoline once then glued them in place.

All the best

Gareth

Hi Gareth,

Somehow I have the idea that the mesh is grey, is this correct ?
Or is it the lighting ?

Yes its grey, my boat has white hulls and a dark grey carbon fibre tube frame, I thought that colour was a good balance, but there are a number of other colours to choose from, give them a ring or ask them to send the free brochure. I am sorry I can't be more specific but I left the brochure at work.

All the best

Gareth

Here's a list of a few companies in the U.S. that can supply polypropolene mesh fabric. Might be a good starting point. I also recommend trying a local boat cover manufacturer - they can get quite an assortment of specialty fabrics.

Thomas Registry - search Polypropolene fabrics

Sailrite is a company in the US known for kits to make sails and other boat-related projects. They sell trampoline mesh -- in black only I think.

Sail Rite Mesh

Not sure what kind of PVC-coated material you would use for edging, as I haven't researched that much yet. Was thinking about making a mesh tramp for one of my boats. I have a home-use machine, but it's a high-end one (Bernina if you're interested), and I've done all kinds of canvas work, tramp repair, etc. I just made a snorkel so I could leave the jib on my Hobie 18 up on the boat. I don't expect to have any problems when I go to make the trampoline. I already have a grommet kit, and it's very easy to use.

If you were looking for a first-time project, I can't think of anything much easier than a tramp -- basically two squares of material (3 if you want to do old-style), with edging sewn all around. Then you add the grommets, and any pockets, and you're done.

Go for it!
Shambie

well - I've got experience working on a mesh trampoline now and it didn't go as well as expected. We were trying to restore the trampoline on my N6.0NA because a lot of the stitching had come loose. However, upon further investigation we found a lot of frayed areas and more cigarette burn holes than should ever be on a trampoline (previous owner) and I figured I would have to replace it soon anyway. We also discovered the limits of my friends industrial sewing machine (industrial in the fabric sense with a 1.5hp motor, slip clutch, cast iron head & housing, etc.). It was unable to penetrate the corners of the trampoline where there were more than one layer of vinyl around the mesh. It was also unable to get through double layers of edging on the pockets in the corners (where it was probably about 3/4" thick). We later found that it might have helped to spray the areas to be stitched with "Amour All" to help lubricate the needle and thread. We got the trampoline back together enough in order to sail the boat but regretfully it's time for a new one!

We did sew on a pocket at the rear of the trampoline like was seen in the other post "trampoline modifications" and that's is an AWESOME storage spot. It spanned the area between the hiking straps, forward about 24" and opened forward like Mary suggested. I also put a stitch halfway through the opening to divide the opening in two. Not only does it work great for storing stuff on the water, it makes a great pouch in which to roll up the mast rigging when the boat is on the trailer.

PS - be sure that you use a wide stitch when sewing the mesh material. On one run of the new storage pouch, we used a small straight stitch and it has torn a small hole in the mesh material.

I'm currently making a tramp as well. I went to our local sailmakers and picked up 2 metres of material for $50, (AUS), or thereabouts. The sewing machine I'm using is an old 40's electric Singer. It does only the one stitch, but it does it well. A few things I've found:

Thread matters. I've chosen a strong nylon thread, as I figured it would cope better than cotton with the conditions. I was looking for a fine fishing line, but this is pretty much the same thing. I even found one in "smokey", so it is almost invisible on the tramp material.

The Singer is perfectly adequate to the task, but I did have some trouble getting the tension right. Once it was ok, I found that it has no problems, even through four layers of tramp material. The stitch is very strong, but I am triple-stitching everything for added strength.

I'm not using an edging material. This was traditional, but the edging seems to deteriorate faster than the tramp material itself, so I decided not to bother. I'm not sure yet if this is wise or not. As a result the edges won't be as strong as on some tramps, but I am making up for this with extra care in the stitching.

I spent some time with a soldering iron melting back the edges where I cut them, to prevent fraying. As a result I figured I can get away with just folding one edge over, rather than the two I would normally do with material. This keeps the overall thickness down, which helps with the sewing.

I still have two problems - I think it will be a tad thick where the rope is to slip into the holder on the hulls, but I will see about that later. Anyway, hard to fit is better than too thin. And I haven't found any eyes yet that I'm happy with for the rope to run through - I found some brass plated ones, but I'm hoping for something better.

Overall, it seems to be working ok, but it's a fair bit of work. The good bit is the $400+ I'm saving on the tramp can go into other equipment. btw, a while back I was a professional Teddy Bear Artist. I would be more comfortable making the tramp if I could make it out of fur.

Have fun!

Nylon thread? Keep her covered up! Nylon is lousy in the sun- you really need good UV resistant thread. See the suggestion above- Dabond 2000 for resewing!

Sunbrella also makes a thread used for...well...Sunbrella fabric. It's black or blue or white, readily available, and UV resistant.

My Venture Cat 15 tramp was badly sun-damaged through neglect by the previous owner. About the third trip out on the lake, the material split along the seam line.

My first attempt at repair was to take it to a local upholstery shop. He resewed the split seam, adding a reinforcement patch. It cost $20.

This worked for one trip out on the lake and then the material split along the fold in which the crossbar fits...this time the split was not near a seam...the material itself was too badly degraded.

Not wanting to spend another $20, I decided to fold over the remaining material on itself and put grommets in rather than trying to resew it. Thus, instead of a fold in which the crossbar slides, I now had a row of grommets that allowed me to lace it with 1/4" line to the crossbar. It has not shown any sign of ripping.

I'm so impressed by the ease of simply grommeting the edges that I'm thinking about making a new tramp with no sewing at all. I should be able to triple fold each edge, hiding the edge inside the hem, and then putting in grommets every three inches.