Mark Balogh wrote: > The quick answer is I don't know if my method could be used on a Folbot > in the same way because of the difference in the coamings/washboards. > The Folbot skin attaches to the bottom of the coaming unlike many > folding kayaks where the skin wraps inside the coaming to attach to the > top. Since it would have to be done differently and because I don't > know how quick you would need to remove it, I am not sure. > I will give a quick overview of my set up but it is a work in progress > and I am constantly changing and improving my whole rig.SNIPPED > I seem to recall a similar tent set up mentioned on > a Klepper in Ralph's newsletter. Yes, In the Nov/Dec 1993 issue. Here is the description: A HOME AWAY FROM HOME-TENTING _ON_ YOUR FOLDABLE You’re paddling on a long cruise along a marshy coast or river. Perhaps it’s in the Everglades or a wetland part of the New York State barge canal. It is getting dark and you don’t see any spot on shore dry enough to pitch your small mountain tent. Just about at this point when you would be feeling very sorry for yourself Jack Flannigan of Bellingham, Washington, probably would have a smile on his face Jack has rigged his Klepper Aerius II Expedition with an on-board tent. He recently sent me some photos of his “baby.” I must admit that the photos put a smile on my face. The tent that Jack uses for his on-board tent setup looks strikingly like the old Conestoga wagons that opened up the American West. I can’t help imagining a train of these wending their way through a marsh or rafting up for the night off some inhospitable shoreline as the leader calls out “round the wagons”. When this issue is published, I know that I’ll get a call from my friend David Valverde who has everything else on his Batwing schooner-rigged Klepper double -- he’ll be wanting to get in touch with Jack to learn how he can make his own on-board tent setup. Fortunately or unfortunately, Jack will be down in Central America for the next few months and out-of-touch. But he was kind enough to detail how he went about setting up his folding kayak for attaching the tent. The Tent Jack started off with a North Face Mayfly, which is a non-free standing lightweight 1-person tent with two hoops. The Mayfly is 40 inches wide by 101 inches long with a 30 inch peak height. However, a call to North Face reveals that the company is no longer making that particular model. North Face does offer something similar right down to the 2 hoops. It is the 2-person Leafhopper, but it is 58 inches wide. This is too wide for the 36 inch beam Klepper. A closer size replica of the old Mayfly may be the Gossamer from Eureka. The Gossamer is also a one-person and is 32 inches wide by 96 inches long (price $109). It has two hoops similar to the Mayfly. The Gossamer may be a better fit for a folding kayak than even the Mayfly. It certainly would put the hoops under less stress. I discussed the issue with Helen Tuers of Campmor, which has a complete tenting department at good discounts (1-800-526-4784). She thinks that you have to be careful not to constrain the hoops of any tent. Jack also reports that even the Mayfly’s poles are a bit overstressed since he has to press them in to fit within the 36 inch width of the Klepper. The 32 inch wide Gossamer would seem ideal. Whatever tent you use be advised that you will have to cut out the floor. That’s what Jack did in order to fit it over the cockpit of his Klepper. Considering this, it may be best to go with a fairly inexpensive tent like the Gossamer. The last thing you would want to do is buy a $400 Moss or Bibler one-person tent and mutilate the thing. Attachment To Your Boat This is the hard part. Jack used a 1 1/2 inch wide strip of velcro for the tent itself. He sewed this strip all around the perimeter of the tent using a sewing machine. To attach the tent to the boat he sewed on 2- inch wide strips, approximately 6 to 8 inches long, in a ring around the cockpit. These he sewed on to the canvas deck by hand. Jack reports that this piece of work was very time-consuming and labor intensive. I bet. The idea of that much sewing is not only tiring; it’s downright scary. He beveled each of the 6-8 inch pieces so that they more or less followed the contours of the coaming. I have an adversion to sewing anything on the deck. My preference for attachment would be other methods that differ somewhat from the one picked by Jack. One of my alternatives would be to glue velcro strips to the coaming itself. (Klepper is planning to do something similar with a new line of spray decks. So some Kleppers may come equipped with such strips in the future. See page 9 in this issue.) The strips would adhere well to the wood surface. However, before I tried any of that velcro stuff, I would experiment to see if the perimeter of the tent material might be able to be tucked under the coaming similar to how the tuck-under spray deck attaches. Other Points Jack sewed heavy webbing patches to the deck at the points at which the pole ends would be resting on the canvas. These webbing strips act as reinforcement to avoid wear and tearing of the canvas by the pole tips. Jack also sewed in some extra webbing straps that are used to hold down the tie-down tabs at each corner of the tent. The tabs have two grommets each, one which the pole tip goes through, the other to which he attaches the deck straps using fast release buckles. The strap attachment to the tie-down tabs helps hold the tent in place. Jack also utilizes the rear deck D-rings (meant to help hold down a deck load) to stake out the vestibule and door of the tent. He also has lines running from each end of the boat to the top of each tent hoop. This helps hold the tent up since it is not freestanding. To attach these out on the water, Jack crawls out on the deck. The Klepper is stable enough to allow venturing out on the end decks. To use the tent, Jack removes the seats and lays out a Thermarest pad. To even off the spaces beneath the pad, he places books and other fillers. The tent has worked out well. Jack has slept some 20 nights on the water using this setup. END ARTICLE I hope this helps. ralph diaz *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Dec 03 1999 - 07:56:59 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:17 PDT