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FlyingJ

Old round parachute for shade

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Has anyone out there rigged up an old military round for use as shade at the beach? I've seen it done a few different ways but I'm interested to see how any of y'all have done it.

I live near and spend a considerable amount of time at the beach, typically at least a couple days a week and I frequently spend 3 to 5 days camped out shark fishing.

I'm looking for something lightweight that doesn't take up much room that can provide a substantial amount of shade without requiring much structural set up. More simply...I want lots of shade, that fits easily in my jeep, that I can take down and move in a hurry when the tide comes up 30ft further than predicted. With near constant 5-12mph winds a parachute tied to a couple vehicles and staked down in the back seems like it would be about perfect.

The local Army surplus stores around here want upwards of $300+ for an old 35ft round which doesn't quite fit into my measly EMT salary, so I certainly haven't made the purchase yet, but I'm starting to look online and would love to see how any of you have rigged up old parachutes for shade.
Killing threads since 2004.

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The local Army surplus stores around here want upwards of $300+ for an old 35ft round.



They do?! For that much money I think I'd want it packed into a container and certified as jumpable! :S

I guess it's a little too late now for your local DZ to have any old round kit lying around, but if they did I'd expect them to be giving it away by now.

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Has anyone out there rigged up an old military round for use as shade at the beach? I've seen it done a few different ways but I'm interested to see how any of y'all have done it.



I haven't done it with old chutes, but have done a lot of shade/rain shelters while camping using tarps and rain-proof sheets. Having trees for anchor points is nice, which you won't have on the beach. Other than that, the wind is hell on them, which you'll have a lot of at the beach. When the wind blows the wrong way, the drag load will pull up many anchor points. We use sturdy telescoping poles which you can get at the hardware stores, and those require lots of guy wires. So you'll need a couple hundred feet of line to go around. It's a real pain in the ass. And working in sand you won't be able to just drive in tent stakes for guy wires. You'll have to use creative anchors, like taking empty sand bags and then filling them on the scene, or tying the lines to fallen tree branches and then burying the branches. What you're trying to do won't be easy, but it can be done. An easy way is to stretch it across the top of two vehicles with roof racks, but then you can't just drive off in the vehicles any time you want.

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Other than that, the wind is hell on them, which you'll have a lot of at the beach. When the wind blows the wrong way, the drag load will pull up many anchor points.

One of our friends camping with us at LP this year brought an old 28' cheapo for a packing shelter. It worked okay, but tended to pull stakes when the wind blew. It was definitely a work in progress as we tried new guy line and stake arrangements over several days. :D

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One of our friends camping with us at LP this year brought an old 28' cheapo for a packing shelter. It worked okay, but tended to pull stakes when the wind blew. It was definitely a work in progress as we tried new guy line and stake arrangements over several days. :D



Yes, that's my experience with such things. I tend to just carry my lawn chair to whatever shade is available and sit there. The shade shelter folks spend an hour rigging their tarp, and then the rest of the evening fiddling with it and adjusting it to try and make it perfect. Meanwhile, I've gotten a lot of good reading done in a book.

If you're going to be camped in one place for several days, I consider it worth the effort. But not for just an overnight camp. Unless it's threatening to rain and you need some place dry to hang out.

I recall with humor one lady who strung a shade tarp in late afternoon, and then couldn't understand why the shade underneath it was so tiny. I tried to explain to her about the angle of the sun, and how the tarp needs to be at a right-angle to the sun to maximize the shade footprint. I even held something up and tilted it different ways to show her how the shadow changed. But she never did "get it", and refused to tilt one end down toward the west where the sun was setting.

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Other than that, the wind is hell on them, which you'll have a lot of at the beach. When the wind blows the wrong way, the drag load will pull up many anchor points.

One of our friends camping with us at LP this year brought an old 28' cheapo for a packing shelter. It worked okay, but tended to pull stakes when the wind blew. It was definitely a work in progress as we tried new guy line and stake arrangements over several days. :D


Sheesh... didn't you have any SERE Instructors there from the school in Spokane..

One of the first things they used to teach in the Instructor Training Branch (ITB) was how to set up a 28' C-9 as a fire circle canopy and to tension it properly to shed rain and the sun.... and still be stable in any winds that came whipping thru the camp.
I had my student elements set up one on every training cycle... so we would have a place to retreat to... for all kinds of training blocks that I held in the fire circle..

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Sheesh... didn't you have any SERE Instructors there from the school in Spokane..

One of the first things they used to teach in the Instructor Training Branch (ITB) was how to set up a 28' C-9 as a fire circle canopy and to tension it properly to shed rain and the sun.... and still be stable in any winds that came whipping thru the camp.


Actually we did have a civilian contract instructor from SERE there, Charlene. She got Lee of to a good start, but it was still a little jury rigged. :D

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The shade shelter folks spend an hour rigging their tarp, and then the rest of the evening fiddling with it and adjusting it to try and make it perfect. Meanwhile, I've gotten a lot of good reading done in a book.

:D:D

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If you're going to be camped in one place for several days, I consider it worth the effort. But not for just an overnight camp. Unless it's threatening to rain and you need some place dry to hang out.

We used our 10' x 10' framed awning to cover up the gear and cooking area. Heavy to carry but easy to put up, it did us a great job, esp. with the side shades attached.

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I recall with humor one lady who strung a shade tarp in late afternoon, and then couldn't understand why the shade underneath it was so tiny. I tried to explain to her about the angle of the sun, and how the tarp needs to be at a right-angle to the sun to maximize the shade footprint.


There you go, trying to confuse her with science and the facts.:D Aren't you glad her vote counts the same as yours every four years?:P

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Don't get me wrong about sheltering at the beach. We have a bomb proof shelter set up that we use for long duration trips with an area that is always above the high tide line. We'll use that setup when family, kids etc come along. I have a 10ft 2x4 that clamps to my roof rack. It has eye bolts that match up to the grommets on my canvas tarps. Tarps are 10x20 and they overlap slightly, connecting in the middle and then to my buddy's vehicle in the same fashion. I made my own PVC extendable poles that are extremely sturdy. One goes dead center to make it the highest point and then three along the edges. I use oversized (1.5 ft long) and wide stakes that have never pulled out of the sand. I have smaller tarps that are connected at the top and run down the guy lines on each side of the canopy. They unclip easily at the bottom and are rolled up on the side they aren't needed. A combination of kayaks not in use and scrap plywood is set up on the outside of both trucks to block the wind from coming underneath. We've been out there in 20mph winds with barely a breeze underneath.

I'll be honest that I get pumped about bringing out something new and improved each trip to make the sheltering better.

In the case of the parachute...Just need a quick and easy shelter foe when it is just a few of us. This past weekend we fished a shark tournament and all stayed right down at the surf with the truck that has our shark tower on it. Unfortunately staying that close to the water you are much more impacted by changing tides.

I'll post some pics later when I'm on my computer.
Killing threads since 2004.

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I recall with humor one lady who strung a shade tarp in late afternoon, and then couldn't understand why the shade underneath it was so tiny. I tried to explain to her about the angle of the sun, and how the tarp needs to be at a right-angle to the sun to maximize the shade footprint. I even held something up and tilted it different ways to show her how the shadow changed. But she never did "get it", and refused to tilt one end down toward the west where the sun was setting.



Let me guess, she was a blonde? :D
"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

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I recall with humor one lady who strung a shade tarp in late afternoon, and then couldn't understand why the shade underneath it was so tiny. I tried to explain to her about the angle of the sun, and how the tarp needs to be at a right-angle to the sun to maximize the shade footprint. I even held something up and tilted it different ways to show her how the shadow changed. But she never did "get it", and refused to tilt one end down toward the west where the sun was setting.



Let me guess, she was a blonde? :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rNfZxgkH7k B|

This is for BV
http://www.mp3lyrics.org/j/julie-brown/im-a-blonde/;)
lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

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I have a military round that I bought off ebay to keep sun off my hang glider. I think I gave less than $50 including shipping and it looks new.
I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

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