I know it's CALLED a trampoline but...

[schoonerdog]

... so we live aboard fill time with a 4-year old boy. And we have always allowed him and his friends to play and jump on the tramps of our catamaran.
But as they are getting bigger and crazier, I am wondering where I should draw the line?

Is there a certain weight/ age cut off you would impose for no longer being allowed to jump up and down on the tramps? Any ideas for strengthening the connections (we have white plastic sliders and elastic shock cord)?

Ideas?

Cheers
Cindy
(Schooner-dog's other half)

[David M]

Cindy,
If they are still relatively small I would not worry about it. Tramps are supposed to be able to hold the weight of a number of adults moving about. One solution might be to put Velcro on their shoes. Just kidding.

[courageous cat]

If you asked it ,you must have some concerns. mine is so old I crall on it like it a pain of glass. it has some tears by the eyelets.I'm thinking safety for him might be a concern. the older they get the harder they play.
thanks for reading and be safe

[BigCat]

You should read this article by Charles Kanter:

Surveyor's trampoline

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by BigCat

You should read this article by Charles Kanter:

Surveyor's trampoline

Lots of info but hate the green background. Why is it people do that? Plus upon returning here everything is pink for a while.

[BigCat]

Originally Posted by Therapy

Lots of info but hate the green background. Why is it people do that? Plus upon returning here everything is pink for a while.

If you really hate it you can cut and paste it into word pad.

[Nordic cat]

Originally Posted by schoonerdog

... Any ideas for strengthening the connections (we have white plastic sliders and elastic shock cord)?

Ideas?

Cheers
Cindy
(Schooner-dog's other half)

Hi Cindy,

First thing is that I would lose the shock cord, replace it with something alot stronger. I'm going to do mine in 8 mm Spectra.

If you could post a picture we might be able to give better advice, don't know what kind of tramp it is etc.

I regularly test mine by jumping onto it in port, it needs to be able to handle an heavy adult falling into it, as can happen under rough conditions...

regards

Alan

[imagine2frolic]

When I bought Imagine the tramp was 4 years old, and rotting. It's whole life spent in the Caribbean. There was a second tramp in a locker, so I replaced it in 03. It's life being in Florida, and the Bahamas.

This past June when sailing in the Bahamas my brother asked about it's condition as we stood on the bows. I was starting to explain when we got a wake from a poqwerboat. I being 5'9" & 220lbs ungracefully fell into the net, and rolled. It took my fall, and my roll.

My brother started laughing, and said THAT ANSWERS MY QUESTION. I plan to replace it this coming year, but with webbing. The thin tramo is hard on the feet. Although it lets the water pass easily when in weather.

[Roy M]

I guess I misunderstood the question. If it was, "How strong does it need to be?", then destruction test it with two fourteen year-olds strung out on glazed doughnuts. It's only a few feet drop to the water, and any damage that might have ensued could have happened offshore in a gale, anyway. If it was, "How weak can I make it and still survive?", get the fattest friend you've got, who won't sue you for trauma, and have him make a foot-first leap off the pulpit onto the tramp, with a bounce over the side. Hold up the score cards for form and check to see if anything broke on the boat. I tend to err on the side of the fourteen-yearolds, because tramps are irresistable playgrounds, for all types of play.

[fastcat435]

Hallo Cindy and Doug

we plastic runners with stainless steel inside and these never break.
Using plastic chock cord is an invitation for every kid to jump up and down so get rid of that and replace that with Dyneema lines , since your next tramp is Dyneema all the stretch will be gone making it a safer platform.

Greetings

Gideon