Hi,

I have discovered a 1 inch tear in my (vinyly not mesh) tramp near an attachment point on a hiking strap. Can anyone tell me if these tears tend to grow rapidly; causing sudden tramp failure? Or, is this not an immediate worry.

I do not have time to order a new tramp prior to my upcoming vaction and I am a bit worried about this little tear. As we all know, not all materials are "rip-stop". But, I hope these vinyl tramps are.

Any thoughts?


Thanks

Dave <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />


Dave

I have a 2 inch tear in the back corner of my tramp and it hasn't grown at all this summer.

If it is a time thing, you might check with Rick and see if he can get it to you as fast as I got my order, it wasn't a tramp, but I did get is 2day Fedex. If it is a $$$ thang, I can help there.

Sam

Thanks guys,

No, its not a $$$ problem - stricktly time.


I have ordered from Catsailor before and had great service.
For us Canadians, the problem with ordering from the States is Customs. Sometimes they send things right through, and sometimes they sit on them for weeks. You never know.

Dave

I had the same problem with my vinyl tramp. I tore it at a connection with a hiking strap in the very back of the tramp. I did not think it would get much larger, but I consistently kneeled there while tacking/jibing, so the tear got MUCH larger. Finally, I got so tired of it that I just brought the tramp to a local sailmaker and he stitched it up for $25 for me. The repair was well done and I think that would be you best bet if your are in a struggle for time.

When I worked for Northern Telecom in California we had a young lady that had a thing for a guy in the Belville, Ontario plant. She wanted to send him some wine from Napa Valley and, being kinda cheap, sent it via company mail and marked the box "Documentation."

The box was put on the company truck that went to all the North America locations. When the truck crossed the border into Canada the trailer was inspected and one of the boxes gurgled when shook. The truck was seized but finally returned after the company paid a $10,000 fine. Pretty expensive stamp.

I find that the when ordering from the US the best method is USPS (U.S. Postal Service). It is fast and customs tend to be not as problematic and also when you send with any of the couriers i.e. Fedex UPS etc, you get dinged with a Xborder "customs brokers fee" which the last one I paid years ago was around 40 dollars.

The only difficulty of course with the USPS is that they have size maximums I do believe.

Any tear in a vinyl tramp will get worse over time. By being careful not to put a knee, etc. in that area it can be nursed for a while but the best solution is to have it repaired ASAP. Sail loft, canvas shop or even an auto upholsterer can sew in a patch. Depending on age/condition it may just be the beginning of the end for that tramp.

I had a grommet pulling out and tearing an old tramp that I had. I repaired it with some 3" wide strapping and a Sailrite sewing machine. I realize your repair will be different, but maybe someone else can use a similar idea.