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How to Pitch a Basha, Hootchie or Tarp

Submitted by An Outdoor Idiots Team Member.



Page 2 of 6    Previous    Next    [Index]

Attaching Cordage to a Tarp, Basha or Hootchie

To enable quick-pitching of a tarp, it is best to have it fully prepared with all the necessary cordage attached. For the purposes of this article, we will assume the tarp is a simple, square or rectangular piece of fabric with appropriate attachment points for cordage. Here is one way of preparing such a tarp:

Attach Guy Lines to all Four Corners
For each corner, we recommend a 3 metre length of cordage. This cordage can be, for example, tent guy lines, paracord or accessory cord. The tarp should have attachment points on all four corners. These are usually in the form of eyelets or loops. We are going to tie some paracord to the loops, for this example. An acceptable knot for this purpose is a simple overhand knot, threaded back through itself. To do this, first tie a loose overhand knot, as in Fig. 1:

Attaching Cordage to a Tarp, Basha or Hootchie (1)
Fig. 1: Tie a loose overhand knot

Leave plenty of cord after the knot - a bit more, in fact, than shown in the photos above and below. Next, feed the end of the cord through the attachment point on the tarp (Fig. 2). Here we have chosen to use the loop as the attachment point, rather than the eyelet. This leaves the eyelets free should you ever wish to use the tarp a groundsheet, pegging it down with special groundsheet pegs.

Attaching Cordage to a Tarp, Basha or Hootchie (2)
Fig. 2: Feed the cord through an attachment point

Now start feeding the cord back through the overhand knot, retracing its steps. It should follow exactly the same path as the cord that originally made the knot, staying next to it all the time, but going in reverse. Note carefully how it first enters the loop (Fig. 3):

Attaching Cordage to a Tarp, Basha or Hootchie (3)
Fig. 3: Feed the cord back through the overhand knot (1)

Eventually you should get this (Fig. 4):

Attaching Cordage to a Tarp, Basha or Hootchie (4)
Fig. 4: Feed the cord back through the overhand knot (2)

Finally, make the knot neat, and tighten it up, to make it permanent and robust (Fig. 5). We like to leave at least an inch of free-end after the knot, which allows for a creepage over time.

Attaching Cordage to a Tarp, Basha or Hootchie (5)
Fig. 5: Tighten the knot up and make it neat

This is all that is required for the corner lines. You could, if you wish, add "sliders" to the end of each line (just like the sliders on tent guy lines) - making it very easy to adjust the length when pitching. Sliders are nice, and can making pitching a bit faster, but they are not necessary. We will be using the Clove Hitch to peg out the corner lines, and this will be demonstrated later.


Attach the Ridge Line
The cord for the ridge line should be particularly robust, and should not be overly stretchy (most cord will stretch very noticeably when a good length is tied between two trees then pulled in the centre). Paracord is probably a good example of a minimum thickness. Some people use even thicker cord for the ridge line. If you want to use particularly strong, thick cord, then you could do worse than to get 6 or 7 mm prusik cord from a climbing shop. It will cost you, but it will make you feel big, like Dirty Harry. For this example, we have used some perfectly serviceable cheap nylon cord that we found in B&Q. There is no snobbery here at Outdoor Idiots.com. We recommend a length of about 10 to 15 metres for the ridge cord.

First, feed the ridge cord through the appropriate loops on the tarp. There should, as a minimum, be two loops for the ridge line at opposite ends of the tarp, in the centre of the edges. Often there are more loops for the ridge line at various points along the ridge (i.e. down the centre of the tarp). See Fig. 6 for an example where there are a total of 4 loops for the ridge line:

Attaching Cordage to a Tarp, Basha or Hootchie (6)
Fig. 6: A saggy tarp

Fig. 6 above also demonstrates a common problem with tarp ridges. If you simply feed the ridge line through the loops as shown, then when it comes to pegging out the corner lines, the ridge will have a tendency to bunch up and the tarp becomes saggy. This needs to be prevented. Simply tying the ridge cord to the end loops of the tarp would do it, but this isn't the most versatile method. We recommend the services of the wonderful Penberthy Prusik knot. Two Prusiks are required, one at each end of the tarp's ridge. We'll describe how to do this in detail now.

After you have fed the ridge cord through all the appropriate loops (Fig. 7)...

Attaching Cordage to a Tarp, Basha or Hootchie (7)
Fig. 7: The ridge line is fed through all available loops

... it is time to attach a Penberthy Prusik to the ridge line. We won't describe in detail how to tie the Penberthy Prusik here - see the page that we have just linked to for details. We used a short length of paracord for the Prusik. Note the detail in the next picture (Fig. 8):

Attaching Cordage to a Tarp, Basha or Hootchie (8)
Fig. 8: A Penberthy Prusik tied around the ridge line

Finally, attach the other end of the Prusik cord to the same attachment loop on the tarp that the ridge cord has been fed through. For this, we used a simple re-threaded overhand knot again (Figs. 1 to 5 above). It is a good idea if the overall length of the Prusik cord, when tied, is no more than a few inches long (see Fig. 9 for the complete arrangement). This enables the tarp to be pitched between trees that are not much further apart than the length of the tarp itself - the Prusiks do not get in the way.

Attaching Cordage to a Tarp, Basha or Hootchie (9)
Fig. 9: A tarp, a ridge line and a Prusik in beautiful harmony

Once a Prusik has been attached to both ends of the tarp's ridge in this manner, we have a very flexible arrangement. The ridge of the tarp can be made taught by sliding the Prusiks along the ridge cord, away from each other. Not only that, but this arrangement means that you can tie the ridge cord between two trees without worrying about exactly where the tarp will end up: once the ridge line has been set up, you can then slide the whole tarp into exactly the position you want.

Seal the Ends of all Cordage
The ends of all the cordage should be melted (we are assuming the cord material is nylon or something similar - it usually is), in order to prevent fraying over time. If, like we at Outdoor Idiots.com, you don't have a hotknife or other professional rope cutter, then you can call upon the services of a tealight in order to provide the flame. We would not recommend the Thermonuclear Tealight for this particular application. Simply hold the ends of the cord close to the flame, just long enough for it to melt slightly. Be careful in case it catches fire - it can drip molten, flaming nylon, which is not ideal. It is also probably a good idea to do it in a ventilated area, and to not put too much effort into breathing the fumes. Don't overdo the melting, or you'll end up with a big, solid black blob at the end of the cord. Also, be careful not to melt a hole in the tarp, as this can make it less waterproof.









Page 2 of 6    Previous    Next    [Top of Page]

Page 1: Introduction

Page 2: Attaching Cordage to a Tarp

Page 3: Packing a Tarp

Page 4: Tying the Ridge Line Between Two Trees

Page 5: Pegging out a Tarp

Page 6: Advanced Tarp Pitching for the Connoisseur




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