Catamaran trampoline

[jimmi]

Hi-can anyone recommend a supplier of trampoline mesh or net material for a 30' cat in the San Francisco area?

[masalai]

Most riggers (Yacht), sail-makers, major sailing yacht chandlers in multihull marinas should know of some stuff that used to be called something like "Ferari cloth" - 5hit years ago since I was concerned about that sort of stuff - Go for UV resistant and QUALITY!, big pain in the butt if it rips and someone falls thru.....

[Meanz Beanz]

+1

Ferrari is good for 5 years plus, its welded & the weak point is normally the stitching, so thats good. They say its slipperier than others but I can't agree with that, I reckon its fine. Lets more water through than my old tramp, thats both good and bad.

[jimmi]

Thanks masalai and Meanz Beanz for the help. I have looked at the ferrari but consider it a bit rigid and heavy for my application. Was looking for something more along the lines of a fabric mesh that could be sewn rather than heat welded, I guess a marine fabric supplier may be my best bet.

[masalai]

Jimmi, If it is for the tramp, DO NOT use lighter material..... What is it for?

[Meanz Beanz]

I think he wants to make it up himself. The old black poly material I had was good, it was the edges and the stitching that failed. Its lighter than ferrari but I am not sure you would call it light. The sun will kill it Jimmi, make sure its up to the job, heck of a way to lose crew

[jimmi]

The tramp is for the front of a racing cat so I wanted it light and yes it would be a DIY job. Thought a non stretch polyester net would be good but having trouble sourcing some. Again thanks for your input.

[masalai]

jimmi, If weight is THAT critical, 1 - build a new boat LOTS lighter or 2 - don't have a tramp at all...... When racing, a man overboard MUST be picked up, and there is a guarantee that you will be leading and thinking of the trophy when you WILL HAVE a M.O.B. .........................................................

[Spiv]

Jimmy,
you could use a heavy duty fishing net with openings of about 40mm.
It will be a little tricky to cut and stich, but it was done.
You will need to stich a canvas edge all around with a good industrial/sailmaking machine and put some s/s eyelets.
It will be light and very cheap.

[catsketcher]

Hello

I like fish net - black with 30mm holes. Great stuff that is strong and tough. I don't really like Ferrari and the small cat black stuff personally - I don't wear shoes sailing and like to be able to hold on with my fingers and toes if I go over a wave.

As for the edges - the French run rope around the outside and tie onto this. I just thread PVC pipe in and out of the holes and sweat this tight. Mine has been on the front of my cat 8 years now and looks almost brand new.

Black is very important - although I didn't believe this (and used green and blue nets for about 10 years on my tri) black will reflect UV light and so will last longer.

I got mine from a trawler supplies - it is called Cod end. Great for tying kite bags on and lets water right through - a must for a bow net.

cheers

Phil Thompson

[Meanz Beanz]

The idea of running across 30 mm fishing net in bare feet leaves me cold. I have no issues holding on with either the black stuff or the Ferrari but that's down to the design of the boat and what ever hard bits are around to grab. I must say that the blunt end of a cat is dead easy for some one whom is used to the pointy end of a mono hull. Both the poly and the Ferrari drain as fast you could need and they are comfy to lay on when kruzin, not sure I would opt for the fishnet for that reason alone. I like my babes in fishnet but not on fishnet

Black does not reflect UV better, its more that the pigment can hold better UV stabilisers in a given material. By that I mean that it only really counts if you are comparing the same material in different colours. White reflects better but cannot necessarily hold superior UV stabilisers, but that does not mean that black poly will out last white Ferrari, that's a cross material comparison that's not valid. The black poly however will out last the blue poly that's a uniform comparison that is valid and where colour can count.They don't make black Ferrai so that's a mute point.

[tspeer]

Originally Posted by jimmi

Hi-can anyone recommend a supplier of trampoline mesh or net material for a 30' cat in the San Francisco area?

Net-Systems on Bainbridge, Is., WA. They sell knotless Dyneema netting that makes a great tramp.

[catsketcher]

Point taken with the UV. For net black lasts darn well - the black dye must handle UV better somehow. I understand the point about Ferrari being nice to sit on but on our cats we tend to sit in the cockpit and walk on the nets - I could go down to the boat and see the size of the holes - it may be down to 20mm - I could check.

There is background to my preference for net. As well as being cheap it does not need to have edges sewn on which can let go without warning. Net will break very slowly and give you ages to replace it.

A black tramp on a cat I used to sail gave way under my foot when the edging stitching gave way with no warning. This happened to a Schionning cat and left three of the four crew in the water with the boat under autopilot. I also felt like I slipped over the net with wet feet. I really have hung on with my fingers and toes on my own net when I have had to venture forward in rough offshore windward conditions.

Although our cat has high bows I wonder if a capsize a year or two ago in QLD was not due (at least in part) to the Ferrari net on the bows. This cat tripped on a bar which we have safely crossed many times. It has pretty low bows and a close weave net would have added to the pitchpoling torque. It would have given something extra to pivot around.

I was fortunate enough to go on board Sodebo in Newcastle before she left for New Caledonia. She and all the other French cats I see have fishing net tramps so their use is well proven for rough use.

Probably the use of nets is as much a personal one as anything else. I have tough feet and don't wear shoes so I can dig my toes on a net. I also know so many people who have flipped multis, fallen overboard or sunk monos (about 20 or so) that I am a bit paranoid on safety so I like an open weave net at the front of the boat.

That said one of the nicest times I had at night was lying on a Farriers Ferrari bow net calling the kite trim - very nice.

cheers

Phil Thompson

[Alan M.]

Craig Schionnings Spirited 380 at the Brisbane boat show had it's tramps made by lacing Spectra (or similar non stretch rope) like a tennis racket. It worked fine.

[Meanz Beanz]

Ferrari is 10 mm holes, you are probably talking minor % point difference in a A over T event between that and a 20 mm hole. I would not like to be relying on my tramp drainage to get me out of that corner, I would think that other factors would be out weighing relative tramp drag by that point. Yes stitching is something to be avoided if my discussions with sail/tramp makers are to be heeded. That seems to be the source of grief in most instances. Dyneema or Spectra (same thing) netting sounds good from a strength perspective. I like the idea of a net in the material as opposed to a weave, a weave can always separate. My tramp is now strung into place with Super Braid (Spectra) and that has eliminated all the annoying squeaky noises that came with the stretcher and heavier double braid.