Help Tightening Tramps Please??

I have a Hobie 21 Sport Cruiser and the tramps are loose.



Are there any special techniques to tightening the tramps or do I just re-tie the tramp lacing ropes as much as possible? Should I do the aft ropes or port ropes 1st? Can you make them too tight?



The rear tramp is white vinyl with lacing ropes in the rear and on the port side. The forward tramp is black mesh with lacing only of the front.



Also, I have a small hole in the black mesh forward tramp. How can I fix this so it does not get worse (or won't it get worse)?



Thank you, Doug

There was some posts a while ago where there were two methods of tightening the tramp.



1) Use a pencil or other conical object to hold the rope in the most recent hole while you tighten the current hole.



2) Get a PVC pipe "T" and attach some pipe in the bottom of the "T". Use this as a roller to tighten the tramp line.



David Ho

TheMightyHobie18 1067

There is a tool out there called an "uptight". It is hard to describe but it is basically a steel 2 pronged fork. The prongs are about 1" apart. you put the prongs in two opposing grommets and then twist the fork and it draws the grommets closer to each other.



Here it is www.murrays.com page 42 item #05-1100

$24.95

Hey Doug,



Why didn't you get Brad and his cronies at Hi Tempo to do that for you while you had the chance?



I actually saw you pulling that thing out of Hi Tempo, as I was parking over there, and was going to try to catch you to say hi, but you were too quick, and I didn't want to make a scene!



Catsail.com has a good article explaining how to build a simple tool with a two by four, and a couple of big lag bolts, that are spaced about the same as the tightening tool that Eric mentioned. I used to use that method on my old Hobie 16, and it works pretty well.



Good luck,



Tim Johnson

special tools this.... special tools that.... bah!



just use two pairs of vice-grips. and wear your sailing gloves.

pull REALLY hard on the line, and then snap (or have a helper snap) the visegrips onto the line just at the grommet to hold the tension while you set yourself for the next pull. and so on, and so on... walking the vicegrips down the line as you go.



Using this method I severely overtightened my H16 tramp. I've learned a gentler touch in the years since.