The original poster referred to tarp tie-downs (anchors), but the responses seem to be talking about guy line anchors. I'll respond on both:
Tarp anchors: If I want to secure a tarp to the Playa surface, to be used as a floor for a structure for example, I use simple smooth 6" nails and nail down through each tarp eyelet, putting a backwards angle on the nail so it puts tension on the tarp as it goes in. I nail them in all the way down, so they don't create a tripping hazard and the head of the nail pinches the eyelet against the Playa surface. I've been doing this for 8 years and never had a problem. The tarps hold down tight all week, and are easy to remove at weeks end. Tent pegs also work, but depending on the ones you use, they are harder to nail down flat than the regular 6" nails. Guy line anchors: I'm of the opinion that many people over-design their guy line anchors at Burning Man, like putting 18 inch rebar stakes in for a personal 2 man tent. There are many, many threads out there suggesting that this is what you need to do. That said, when in doubt, over-design is always preferable to under-design on the Playa, because there are serious potential safety issues at stake (wow ... a nice unintended pun there!). On Hammering: On of the key factors to establishing a solid guy line anchor is hammering your stakes in arefully so as to disturb the ground as little as possible, thus maximizing your purchase. When people hammer sloppily, bending their stakes, and resetting them over and over at different angles, the ground ends up being so disturbed even an 18" stake can be rendered ineffective. Here's what you do!: set your stake on the ground at an appropriate back-angle ( I use about 30 degrees) taking time to plan out the correct and final location (you don't want to have to relocate it 4" away). Hold it firmly with one hand, and use sharp, accurate blows with an appropriately sized hammer, starting with a small hand sledge, and moving to a larger sledge if necessary once you've established alignment. If your not good with a sledge, that is okay, but recruit someone who is! On Stakes. For my hexayurt I used six 12" #5 rebar stakes (in the US, the gauge number represents the number of eights of an inch, so #5 rebar is 5/8", #4 is half inch etc.). The stakes were custom welded with a tie down hook and a hammering plate. Having a good quality stake like this is important. First, a hammering plate (1" x 1.25" x 3/32" steel plate) ensures your hammer blows transmit more accurately, and your hammer doesn't skip off your rebar end (and hit your other wrist (ouch!)). Second, having a shorter length (12") and a thicker gauge (5/8") reduces the chance of your stake wandering or bending as it goes in, thus maximizing it's pull-out strength. Third, because #5 steel is stronger than the more commonly used #4 bar (1/2 inch), and because the stakes are shorter than the commonly used 18" stakes, they are easy to remove by hammering on the stake sideways gently in all directions (1/2" rebar will bend), then rotating them (with vice grips if necessary) as you pull them out of the ground. They are only 12", but their properties allow them to be hammered in almost all the way down, minimizing the tripping hazard and maximizing pull-out strength. My stakes were made by a long time Burner, brilliant welded steel artist and very good friend in the Northwest. He lives on a very modest income and designed these stakes for my purposes, but because I was so happy with them, he now makes and sells them for $4.00 each. That's more expensive than the ones linked in this thread, but they are also much better, and he does high quality welding and he is a hell of a good guy. He puts the quality of his work ahead of his profits. If anyone is interested, let me know and I can put you in contact with him. On Sep 14, 5:46 pm, Rhid <[email protected]> wrote: > I rolled the tarp in on itself till snug up against the walls of the > hexayurt then taped it in place... it makes a water tight seal.. > > Icarus wrote: > > How is everyone anchoring their tarps to the playa? Regular tent pegs? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hexayurt" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt?hl=en.
