Hobie Cat Forums

So I purchased a new vinyl trampoline from SLO Sail and Canvas for my 16. I upgraded to the teflon thread and had a pocket sowed in. I also ordered their lacing kit. This will be my first time lacing up a new tramp.

I have a question though, is there a test or general rule of thumb to determine the proper tightness of my tramp? Any suggestions are welcome.

BTW here is a link to the tramp I purchased:

http://www.slosailandcanvas.com/servlet ... ine/Detail

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Patrick

Hobie 16
Hobie Getaway

It should sound like a drum when you smack your hand on it.

sm

Rule of Thumb - " as tight as you can get it"

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1985 Prindle 16

Rule of thumb: As tight as you can get it.
and then put in a second set of lacings and lace those as tight as you can get them. Then wonder why the first set is loose. Retighten the first lacings.

Wait three weeks and repeat.

Alrighty then. And to think I was worried about over tightening..

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Patrick

Hobie 16
Hobie Getaway

Be careful when tightening the tramp. You want to apply tension to the lacings incrementally. If you try to do it all at once, you can overload a grommet and pull it out. Also, the "drum tight" recommendation is based on an OEM tramp. Aftermarket tramps may or may not be able to handle as much load. In any case, you want the thing to be tight, especially on a 16.

sm

I see your point. I have been reading about bowing in the side bars helps. Getting the tramp lacing nice and snug then release the side bars for an even distribution of tightness rather than on each individual grommet.

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Patrick

Hobie 16
Hobie Getaway

I had a second set of grommets added to the centerline and strung it independently from the original set. I alternated tightening (x2) for each to get a good tight tramp. Also it is safer because if one fails the other is there to take the load and keeps the main sheet from falling through the middle.

Thats cool, how much did that cost for the extra grommets and where did you have it done? I'd like to see a picture.

Anyways, I am installing the new tramp tonight so we will see how it goes. I am heading out to the lake tomorrow morning so hopefully it all goes smoothly.

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Patrick

Hobie 16
Hobie Getaway

My local guy builds some STOUT tramps. My tramp is so tight it pulled the rear beam in as the side bars do. No ripped out grommets here. I like using a water meter key with some vise-grips to hold the slack.

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2001 Nacra 20
84 H16 108123

I made a "tramp tightener" tool out of 1½" PVC pipe along with a pair of vise grips is all I need to get it tight.

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Tim
82' H16
Sail # 88863
Panama City Beach, FL

uh, how does that work?

I place the grove at the bottom of the Tee handle on the trampoline's line and then twist the top of the Tee. When the line is tight, I use vice grips to squeeze the line onto the grommet (located just before the Tee handle).

I then move to next segment of the line, twist the Tee, release the vice grips, and then twist the Tee a little more before re-applying the vice grip to the next grommet in line and then keep repeating the process until I get to the end (where I tie it off).

This can be done above or below the tramp and is easy to do by yourself.

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Tim
82' H16
Sail # 88863
Panama City Beach, FL

Instead of vise grips, I use a pair of large punches in the grommet. Pull tight, and place the punch next to the line in the grommet. When the line tries to loosen, it just pulls the punch deeper into the grommet. It is easier on the the lacing.

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Jeff
1986 Hobie 18 #13031
1977 Hobie 16 (As soon as I can get it out of a field...)

what line and how much is needed to do the tramp, I need to replace my tramp lines