I posted in my old thread about having a catastrophic tramp blowout so now I need to rebuild the tramp. I want to build a three piece that laces down the middle and has bolt rope up the two sides and back then a bolt rope piece in the front with eyelets to lace the front. Problem is I cant afford to but a new tramp or to buy bolt rope strips right now. I'm wondering if anyone knows where you can get it cheap, or how to make it and have it strong, or an old tramp that is no good anymore that has salvageable bolt rope. All suggestions are welcome!!

-Matt

Hi Matt,

My first question is do you have available to you a very
strong sewing machine? A normal machine won't sew the tramp
material. I know a little bit about what you are going through because I converted an old P16 tramp to fit my
Venture. Mesh tramp material is relatively cheap. The bolt
rope and grommets will add up. My thought is that you can salvage some bolt rope from a destroyed sail or tramp. You will need spur grommets and they require a special tool which costs about $35 bucks. I know cause I bought one. I
bought what I needed from Sailrite. Hope some of this helps.
If you were close by I would help you build it.



--
Pete Knapp
Schodack landing,NY
Goodall Viper,AHPC Viper,Nacra I20
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Sorry, I can't see anyone building there own tramp from scratch unless you happen to be a commercial seamstress or tent maker, but then you wouldn't have these questions.

If I remember correctly, you aren't sure what type boat you actually have, that will make it hard to buy a replacement.

If you still aren't sure maybe you could contact a tramp maker (like Earl at http://www.tamapcats.com and see if they would make you a tramp if you mailed them what is left of yours.

Since you are in Canada though you might try a local tent or awning maker and show them the tramp and see if they could do it, but you'd probably be a lot better off giving the job to someone who makes tramps for a living.

You have experienced first hand how bad it is if a tramp suddenly fails, it's under a lot of stress and not something that lends itself to do-it-yourself.

--
Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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I agree with Damon except his URL is wrong http://www.tampacats.com. I know one guy locally near Winnipeg who makes Hobie trampolines and could make you one if you sent him the old one but I think that you should talk to Tampa first. Looking at thier prices it will likely be cheaper to send it to them. If you are interested in the local guy PM me.

D.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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over a long winter i laboriously re-stitched my 28yo nacra tramp. the easy part was the front and 2 sides which was mesh to mesh. that just needed waxed robline whipping twine and a large needle doing a running back stitch

the back section on the nacra has a solid? nylon sheet for the plastic bar that is tensioned to the rear beam by line. the nylon sheet after 28years was almost impossible to get a needle through without breaking the needed so i bought a hand awl as below

since then i've found a nylon tent maker with a commercial sewing machine who i would have been happy to pay an hours work by machine instead of 10? by hand

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.marinetrader.com.au/photos/a/20100206/320_SPEEDY-STITCHER-AWL-Sail-Repair-Hand-Sewing-Leather_140380275410_0.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.marinetrader.com.au/boat/319996/SPEEDY_STITCHER_AWL_Sail_Repair_Hand_Sewing_Leather_/&usg=__QR7h-JdZFrKoM-V12ROfPOBbwC8=&h=332&w=320&sz=16&hl=en&start=2&sig2=f7vwl1X4_bg73tbrtuLI3w&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=8tTDbWiATdsV4M:&tbnh=119&tbnw=115&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhand%2Bawl%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=4HIpTOKbB8GLkAWjqaSLAw

My uncle actually has an old commercial sewing machine that we will use to do the stitching, and I found the fabric at sailrite for 15 bucks a yard. just having trouble finding bolt rope strips for the edges, They have the bolt rope that you stitch to the sail at sailrite, would this stuff work for a tramp as well?
Thanks pknapp66 about the grommets, Ill look into that. I know my uncle also has a hydraulic grommet punch machine at work so that might be what we use, but have to check out what kind of grommets he can use.

i'm no pro

but why wouldn't any cheap stiff nylon rope work as a bolt rope

you'd need to size it carefully and probably hand stitch it loosely to the mesh

but once you fold the mesh over and sew with the machine it should be fine

what kind of cat is it again?

I have been waiting over 11 weeks for SLO to build my new tramp.... (now i am just hoping he will return my old one) Soooo i had to get my current one repaired. here is what i learned:

the bolt rope size has to be exact.. or you risk it coming out under stress (i.e. when your walking a mast up or down)

on my tramp the side bolt rope has dacron sailcloth as the outer jacket wrapped around it. it then has mesh wrapped inside that (i think).. this is heavy duty to sew... and you must have a very special single walking foot to get the stick close to the side bolt ropes...

also the grommets should be 100% brass.. (NO LEAD) you can test this with a magnet.. should not be magnetic (or they may rust)

my boltrope from my last shredded sail was a Styrofoam type material. the bolt rope (sides) on my tramp was like a very thick fishing line..

not sure what kind the cat is, bought it cheap and got no info on it. Completely redid everything before the season but we left the tramp hoping it would make it through the summer, no such luck. The guy from Tampa has given me a few tips about how to make the bolt rope. He said just poly twisted rope sewn into the tramp fabric should work as long as its sized right. Now I've just gotta research the grommets and I'll be ready to give it a shot.

Matt, I would suggest using the #2 stainless grommets from sailrite. They are a little harder to put together than the brass ones but are stronger and will last long.

D.

I totally forgot that I cut the old bolt rope out of the
bad tramp and bought some pre-folded dacron from sailrite
and made my own bolt rope. You don't have to get the stiching as close to the rope as you would think. Just make sure have like three rows of stitching. Don't skimp on the
thread. I used v69 from sailrite. I think you will want #4
grommets. Reinforce the grommet area by either doubling over
the tramp material or using the pre-folded dacron like I did. You should have a decent tramp for under $100. Just think of the satisfaction of sailing your cat with a homemade tramp.

--
Pete Knapp
Schodack landing,NY
Goodall Viper,AHPC Viper,Nacra I20
--

thanks for the tips guys. This is great stuff. Going to get some of the things ordered and get started on it!! I'll keep you updated with pics once I begin!!

I did my own tramp for a Nacra 5.2 before this season started. It has held up well, with two heavy adults and F6 (one rear beam mount didn't do so well). Raising and lowering the mast has not been a problem.
I did use a walking foot machine like sailrite sells (the cheaper unmodified model) and V69 UV stabilized thread. All seams were sewn seven times, for good luck
The boltrope I used was 8mm tough polyester on the sides and 10mm in front. I pasted it with basting tape, folded the seam down and stitched using the regular foot. Close stitching is only needed for mainsails where you hoist and lower them a lot and minimal resistance is essential. Covering the whole seam with sailcloth on the outside is common but usually only done in combination with re-stitching.
Unfortanately for you I didn't do grommets because I hate lacing and only fitted aft lacing with a pvc puipe through a pvc sleeve.

Mattie, is your Dad an AME with Air Canada? I ski with a chap who rebuilds old airplanes in his spare time, & can resurrect just about anything that was manmade, & some that aren't. Early this spring he was with another fellow looking at a powerboat. He spotted an old unknown Cat out back & bought it for next to nothing, & knows nothing about the boat.
He has never sailed anything, but told me he always wanted to own a Cat.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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Ed, nope must be someone else. Sounds like the same situation though, except I was looking at a Catalina 22 day sailor when this popped up. Sure is fun getting it out in good winds!!

After adding up the cost of the materials, shipping charges, taxes, and work involved we've decided to go with a custom made tramp from the guy in Tampa. Sending him the measurements tonight so hopefully wont be too long!! Its supposed to be really windy over the weekend though and about 30 degrees Celsius so were going to have to rig something up to get out on the river...

Yeah I was doing the math in my head and couldn't figure out a way you could do it cheaper than Tampa Bay Catamarans and still have the same quality product. Good luck!

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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