Bill,
This is a really long post in response to your original question about a one-piece trampoline.
This year I was given a one-piece tramp for my Wave (technically, a two-piece if you count the narrow strip across the back for lacing), and here is my review of it, considering that all my prior experience has been with three-piece tramps with lacing down the middle:
My one-piece tramp is mesh, so no puddle, but it sags in the middle, even though it is laced as tight as I can get it in the back.
Due to the sag, in heavy air the tramp keeps ballooning up every time the bow lifts over a wave and the wind gets under the tramp. Even being mesh, the wind can't really get through it easily. That ballooning-up of the trampoline is very disconcerting and, in my opinion, makes capsize more likely and, at very least, has to slow down the boat when going to weather -- sort of like a spinnaker in reverse. With center lacing you have a tight tramp with less for the wind to catch and also a vent (through the lacing) for the wind to get through.
With my one-piece tramp my whole boat just feels kind of floppy. Maybe it is just psychological, but to me floppy feels sloppy and slow. As Matt said, with center lacing, it is possible to make the tramp tight as a drum, and that is what I like, because it makes the whole boat stiffer.
With my weight, even if I sit on the tramp itself, it does not seem to drag in the water, but I think a man might want to keep his weight off it. Also, I have the feeling that if I am sitting on the tramp and a wave happens to come up between the hulls, I am going to be catapulted off the boat. For this reason, I would not feel comfortable about taking a small child on the boat with me on this trampoline.
Without center lacing, there is no place for me to tie my tramp bag, a water jug, a jacket, etc. I don’t want a “clean tramp.” I want a way to secure all my “stuff.” And a place for my grandchildren to hold onto when it’s bouncy and breezy.
Without center lacing, I don’t have a place to catch my heel and stop myself from sliding down the tramp if I don't get the main released quick enough in a gust.
The hiking straps on my one-piece tramp are just one long hiking strap on each side, with a loop halfway back to keep the strap sort of in place. So you can't really rely upon your hiking strap to be a specific tightness, what with the tramp being saggy and the hiking straps being long and saggy and the tramp ballooning up and down. Just doesn’t make me feel very secure.
And, of course, for women especially, center lacing provides a place to pee through without leaving the boat or hanging over the side, which are not always safe alternatives on a singlehanded boat.
Rick likes the idea of the one-piece tramp because he doesn't have to worry about his mainsheet going out through the lacing. But he can easily remedy that by putting a strip of material down the middle through the lacing to keep the mainsheet from escaping.
Personally, I cannot think of ANY pluses to using a one-piece tramp, based upon my own experience with this particular trampoline. And, keep in mind that the Wave is a relatively narrow boat.
Even if it were possible for me to somehow get my one-piece tramp tight as a drum, I still would not want it, based upon some of the other reasons above.
This is just my experience and my personal opinions. I'm sure others LOVE the one-piece trampoline; and I would like to hear their reviews.
