The Pace of Nature

For the many years that I have lived just south of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I must have wished for the chance to buy a kayak more than 2,000 times. For one reason or another, however, it just didn’t happen… until now.
So, I bought a relatively cheap used kayak. It required a few repairs, which is as to be expected. But I decided to do a few upgrades while I was at it this weekend. I cleaned it, bleached the inside (to kill the mildew that was growing), replaced the webbing and bungee straps on the deck, replaced the padding in the seat, and then set about adding some special touches on my own. After all, what kayak is complete without a handy dandy camera mounted on its deck, right?
The first step was to find a usable camera mount. I found an old Targus mini-tripod that no one was using anymore and took it apart. The upper head was perfect for what I needed it to do, and had a nice standard gauge screw hole underneath for me to attach it to the boat.

Mini-Tripod

Next I had to decide where the camera would fit best. I wanted to be able to reach it while in choppy waters, which means that it would have to be pretty close within arms reach  (since reaching or sitting forward in the cockpit of a kayak while in choppy waters is the kiss of death). I also had to consider what I might have on the deck at any given point, so as not to impede the ability to store gear. Since it is a touring kayak, and I intend to do what I always do (long multi-day expeditions), I figured I’d better plan ahead wisely.

I put the frame to my pack on the deck, figuring that was the largest thing I could imagine strapping to the top of the kayak (the rest of the pack fits nicely in the rear hatch). Once I did that, I had only a few remaining options; basically on either side of the centerboard, forward of the cockpit. I took a few pictures to see what the camera view would be like mounted in a few different spots.

View from the deck

Once I was satisfied with the location, I marked the spot, and drilled the hole. I decided ahead of time on how to maximize the water-tight integrity of the hole. I used rubber washers on both sides, and will finish with a bead of silicone to prevent any leaking in rain or heavy splash.

Finished product

Once the hole was drilled, I simply had to screw the bolt to the camera mount (which seems anticlimactic now that I have said it). There really wasn’t much to it.

Notice the nice dent in the camera? (compliments of the country of Iraq)

I wanted a mount that I could put my camera on to record video of me splashing around in the open ocean, or milling about in some stream somewhere. I’ll tether the camera to the boat whenever I go out just in case it somehow comes loose. The camera is completely waterproof… but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t float.

The next chance I get I’ll try to get some video and see how it works.

Well, I guess I should qualify the title of this post a little. Beef jerky IS the easiest DIY project IF you have the right equipment. Without the right equipment, it could possibly be the second easiest.

Anyway, recently, in preparation for an upcoming move, I was organizing my stuff in the garage. In doing so I came across my dehydrator and its accessories, and so decided to whip up a batch of my quick and easy home made beef jerky. Just like maw used to make.

It's what's for dinner...

I start with a pound of ground beef. Ordinarily I will only buy the highest quality (aka lowest fat content) ground beef available, which is typically 93/7 ratio. However, for beef jerky, I ditch the healthy kick and go for the cheap stuff. This is somewhere around 85/15 or so. I have made jerky out of every kind of ground meat imaginable (except ostrich), and I have found beef to be the best by far, especially with higher fat contents.

Once I thaw the meat, I mix it up with the curing salt first, and then some seasoning. You can use specialized salt, or sea salt to cure the meat. There are loads of free guides that will give you the proper ratios and measurements for it all. I choose the easy way these days, so I buy the pre-packaged salt/seasoning, as seen below.

The easy way

This is available at both Wal-Mart and Target, and a whole host of other stores. NESCO is really the brand you’ll see the most often if you get into dehydrating much. They are a good brand, and pretty inexpensive. I use their four-stack dehydrator, and their jerky gun as well.

Once I mix in the ingredients for about five minutes, I am ready to start forming my jerky. With ground beef you have to form the jerky into something that will dry easily and be easily eaten. You can either make the “slim jim” style of jerky, or the flat style of jerky. If you have a jerky maker, like I do, this is as easy as stuffing the meat into the gun and pointing the nozzle. I make mine about four to six inches long each. If you don’t have such a contraption, you will have to try to roll it by hand, which is a pain, but is not impossible.

The meat gun.

Alternatives to this are to use flank steak or other cuts of meat that is thin enough to pull into strips and dry. You don’t want to have thick chunks of meat, however, because that will cause you to dry the meat for several days. Getting the right level of moisture left in the meat is a delicate process. This is why ground beef is so easy. Six to eight hours will give you the same consistency every time.

So, however you choose to form your meat, the next step is to put it on the dehydrating trays, like you see above. Take care not to put the meat too close to each other as you have to create enough room for the air flow to be effective. This limits my trays to about eight strips per tray or so. I am able to fit the whole pound of beef on four trays perfectly.

Beef jerky

For a pound of ground beef I leave the dehydrator on between six and eight hours, depending on where I am drying, and what the humidity is like. I usually use the garage, and I usually start it as I am going to sleep around 10:00pm, and get it at 6:00am. You can do less, but with less time you’ll approach a consistency where the beef will fall apart. If you leave it on for much more than eight hours, it will be very tough and will crumble when you eat it. The consistency should be soft enough to bend the jerky somewhat, but hard enough that you have to bite through it.

Mmmmmm... Jerky

When you first take it off the dehydrator it will have a lot of grease on it. I usually lay out a long paper towel, and lay all the strips on it. I then cover the strips with another paper towel and let as much of the grease get soaked up as I can. I then bag it quickly to preserve its dehydrated state, and enjoy with some friends, or add to my camping stash of food.

Finished and ready to eat

One pound makes about two sandwich bags full of jerky.

In preparation for springtime, and for the fact that I am about to move to a state nicknamed “Vacationland”, I have been updating my outdoor supplies. Last year I decided to scrap my internal frame backpack, along with about 30 other items, at a yard sale. This was mostly because hiking around where I live is either one of two things: a walk on a sidewalk through the woods, or a walk through a brier-filled swamp. So, I figured I’d make some money (and some room in my garage) and lighten my inventory somewhat.

Now that I am about to go back to an area where hiking and camping is actually possible, I am super excited. In preparation, I bought a new rucksack. I decided to go with the external frame this time around for a multitude of reasons. If you are familiar with hiking at all, you have probably read about the internal/external frame debate ad nauseum already, so I will abstain from arguing one way or the other. (Personally, I find the external frame far superior in terms of comfort, weight distribution, functionality, and versatility.)

The pack I bought is amazing, but it didn’t come with a rain cover. Some might argue the necessity of a rain cover for their pack, citing that a tent or tarp would do just fine. The only trouble with that is that you cannot very easily pull out your tent or tarp and cover your gear while continuing to hike in the rain. For this you need a rain cover that can quickly fit over your gear and allow you to continue on the hike despite the foul weather.

Eager to get back into homemade fabricating again, I decided to sew one myself rather than buy one.

If you would like to try this, you will need the following:

• Fabric (preferably ripstop nylon)- Measure for at least 1 foot clearance on all sides of your pack
• Bungee cord- Measure the circumference of your pack, and make the bungee just a bit smaller
• Sewing machine and basic sewing skills
• A lot of patience, and some Tylenol for the aching joints you’ll have when you are done

Pack on top of pre-cut nylon

The first step was to cut my nylon to the size I wanted. I used a pretty thick 440 ripstop nylon with a waterproof coating on one side as the fabric of choice. I cannot remember where I bought it, but I have TONS of it left over from my homemade hammock and other projects I tackled several years ago. For the bungee I used 1/16″ bungee, which I also bought years ago and have TONS of. I measured out the bungee cord (which you can barely see lying around my pack in the picture) to be just smaller than the frame. The idea is that the bungee will have to stretch just a bit to fit over the frame, and thereby provide enough tension to keep the fabric covering the pack. The fabric has to be a decent size larger than the pack to allow for size differences in gear loads, and also for extra items that might be hanging off the frame (like an iso mat, tent, etc). Once I measured and was comfortable with the size, I cut the piece, rounding the corners to make it easier for the bungee to keep its oblong shape.

The next step was to iron the creases, which I prefer to do over pinning. If you pin the creases, you have to stop every few feet to remove the pins as you sew, and it also takes longer. I used the lowest setting on the iron, and ironed two creases. The first crease was about half a centimeter from the edge, which becomes just the folded under part to prevent unraveling later. The second crease is actually where I intend to sew the sleeve to fit the bungee.

With that done, I started sewing. Unfortunately, I was too focused on this task to remember to take a picture during the act, so instead I flubbed and took a picture after the fact. (Picture added for dramatic effect)

Yeah, I sew... so what?

The next step is the long, laborious task of threading the bungee into the sleeve that you just sewed. Trying to sew the bungee in the fabric is impossible and will only result in broken needles. You have to sew the sleeve, then thread the bungee through. Trust me, I have tried.

To thread the bungee through you can either inch it along unaided, or you can poke a safety pin through it and thread the safety pin through first. Sometimes the safety pin makes it easier to thread. This project I decided to do it by hand. It took me most of a National Geographic special called “America’s Deadly Dozen” to finish the task. About an hour. Not too bad.

Simple straight stitch. Nothing fancy

Once I was finished I simply pulled both ends of the bungee through until they were even, making sure to even out the fabric as well. Then I pulled both ends through a simple cord lock and tied a figure eight on the end to keep it put.

The final product weighs about an ounce and a half, and folds up to about an envelope-sized bundle. It is large enough to cover the pack plus any additional gear I might have hanging off of it, but can be tightened down very easily to cover just the pack.

View from the back

It’s not very difficult or technical, but total cost was probably close to maybe $2.00 and took me about two hours total to complete. For me, that’s worth it every day, all day long.

View from the front

Now I have a nice and simple rain cover for my brand new pack that I can throw into a tiny pocket and have available any time I encounter bad weather. If you give this a try, drop me a line and let me know how it came out!

Some time ago I remember lying on a macrame hammock and thinking to myself, “I bet I could make one of these if I tried.” A few years later I happened across the Hennessy Hammock and decided to invest some time and money into making my own. With varying degrees of success over the years, I have made a few hammocks that I’ve been proud enough to show off and that I’ve trusted enough to bring with me on extended trips. I brought one of them with me out here to Iraq, counting on the hot summer nights to make it come in handy. (It’s only April and I’m already making plans to use it soon. Still, I’ve often thought of the weave design of the Macrame hammock and wondered if I could make one.

This past week we had three separate sand storms, which meant that I had a lot of extra time on my hands, owing to the fact that nobody can work when a sand storm comes. So, I decided to attempt the hammock. It took me a lot longer than I had anticipated, but I was so pleased with the outcome that I thought I’d put my plans on here for those of you who have wanted to make something similar. Here’s what you’ll need:

• At least 100 yards of 550 cord (or similar nylon cord that will hold at least 250 pounds)

• two four-foot poles

• two one-inch or larger steel rings (somewhat optional, but definitely handy)

• A knowledge of how to tie a square knot (aka reef knot), a figure eight, and a bowline (For anyone looking for a great how-to on knots, I recommend this site.)

• A lot of time and patience

I used 550 cord (some call it paracord because it’s the cord used to hold up parachutes) for my material. Although it’s not the lightest cord, it is far superior to any nylon or other synthetic rope product in terms of breaking strength. 550 cord is a nylon weave shell with 7 individual strands of nylon running inside of it. This makes it powerfully strong, especially for its size. The name “550″ comes from its weight limit: 550 pounds, although tests have been conducted that show it holding even more than that without breaking. Suffice it to say, it’s a hardy piece of string.

I found this 500-yard spool that some lazy Marine had ripped the top off of and let it become unwound and entangled. It had been sitting around for a few weeks, and earlier that day I watched someone pick it up and throw it away, despite the fact that there were at least 400 yards of good cord still left on it. I decided to invest some time into unraveling it, which is actually what got me thinking about making the hammock- what else was I going to do with all that extra cord? It’s amazing what I’ll do to keep me busy during a sand storm…

I didn’t have any poles that I could spare, so I used a 2×4 and ripped it in two lengthwise using a circular saw. This gave me two four-foot 2×2 poles. You can use any sturdy material, really. One-inch aluminum poles would probably work just fine, as would wooden dowels from a hardware store.

Next we need to drill 23 holes in the wood, two inches apart. This will make the hammock approximately four feet wide. If you want to make your hammock wider than mine, you can easily scale it up by increasing the length of your pole. Just remember, it must be an odd number of holes in order for this design to work. Additionally, if you can’t drill for some reason, you can secure the ends of the 550 cord by tying them onto the pole using a bowline- but it would be VERY difficult to keep the spacing even. I highly recommend you find some way to drill holes, for sanity’s sake.

Once the holes are drilled it’s time to begin the long and arduous process of tying the hammock together. The first step is to cut 23 strands of 550 cord approximately 12 feet long. This will result in a hammock that lies approximately seven feet long. There are many variables to how long the end result will be, most notably the distance you separate your knots as you go. Once you have cut your strands, insert each of them through their own hole in one of the poles and secure it using a figure-eight knot. The result will look something like this:

Again, for sanity’s sake, I highly suggest that you either bundle up each of the strands, or daisy chain them individually. If you do not do this, then you’ll have 23 12-foot strands scattered all over the place, and it will soon become impossible to track your knots and keep each line separated.

Before you begin tying your knots, I recommend finding a very comfortable seat with wheels, as you’ll be moving back and forth quite a bit. I also suggest hanging the pole up from something as it will make the process a lot easier in the end.

Once you have gathered up all of the strands so they are manageable and made all your arrangements, begin tying your first square knot with the first two strands on the left hand side. Tie the knot so it is approximately two inches down from the pole. This will be your guide as you continue tying knots for the rest of this row. You’ll want to keep this distance constant both because it will keep your rows in line and make it easy to tell where you are in the process, and because it will make the diamond weave uniform when your hammock is finish. If you do not keep the knots equally distanced, then the diamond weave will be small in some areas and large in others, which could affect the way the hammock lies.

Next, tie the third and fourth strand together in a square knot, the same distance away from the pole. Next tie the fifth and six strand, and so on and so forth. You will always tie two adjacent strands together.

When you come to the end you will have the right-most strand all by itself with nothing to tie it to. This is the beginning of your second row. Take the right-most strand (we’ll call it number one now), and tie it to #2 about two inches lower than the row of knots you just completed. Then tie #3 and #4 together, and continue moving back to the left side in this manner. When you reach the left-most side again you will find the left-most strand all by itself. Tie it to the strand immediately adjacent to it about two inches lower than the last row you just completed. Continue moving back and forth in this manner until you have made the hammock to the approximate length you desire (somewhere around seven feet or so).

When you have finished the knots for the bed of the hammock, tie the ends of each of the strands to the second pole by inserting them through the holes and using a figure-eight knot. With this completed you should have what resembles a hammock before you.

All that is left is to tie the supports. To do this you can use two approaches. I’ll start with the easiest.

Take your one-inch ring (if you have one), and lie it on the ground approximately 12-24 inches from the pole, centered horizontally. Using 550 cord, tie a bowline around the right side of the pole in between the first and second knots (it doesn’t matter which side really, just pick one). Run the line through the ring and bring it to the opposite side of the pole. Secure it to the pole using a bowline. Now you should have one strand of line originating on the far side of the pole, running through the ring, and ending on the near side of the pole. Repeat this process at least one more time, this time tying the ends a few inches from where you tied the last line. In this way you will create a fan of line going to and from the ring. Repeat the entire process on the other side of the hammock.

The alternative way would be to make your original strand length four feet longer. When you tie the strands to the poles (at the beginning of this whole process), instead of tying them at the end, leave two feet sticking out beyond the pole. This will give you 23 strands that you can tie to the ring. Admittedly, I didn’t do it this way, though if I do this again I will. Instead of giving all 23 strands an extra two feet, however, I might do every fourth strand instead.

Once you’ve got your rings connected to the poles, all you have to do is hang the hammock. I doubled up my 550 cord using a “combat bracelet” type of weave mostly just to put people’s minds at ease that it could in fact hold their weight. You can secure the line to the rings any way you like, but keep in mind that the weakest point of this hammock will be the knots at the end of the lines, so take care when you are tying knots that will be bearing a lot of weight.

If I were back home I would have drilled an eye screw or large hook into some trees and tie a few bowlines or double slip knots to secure the hammock. As I am in the middle of the desert and haven’t seen a tree in almost four months, I was forced to devise my own hammock stand. I won’t go too much into detail, but I basically recreated the type of stand you can see here.
Here is the finished product in all its glory:

This is not as much a survival piece of gear as my other DIY’s, but it could be. The poles limit its portability a bit, but I could easily see removing the figure eights and tying bowlines to create a loop and then inserting tree branches or something similar. In this way you could carry just the hammock rolled up. Ultra-light hikers will undoubtedly poo-poo this suggestion because 550 cord is not the lightest cord you can get. But, again, for its strength and durability, I’ll take it over any space-age nylon super cord any day.

Hope you enjoy this little project. It took me all of Ocean’s 11 and 12, and most of 13 to finish it completely- just to give you an estimated time. It’s a very relaxing and peaceful activity, and very rewarding when you finally set the whole thing up and are able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Let me know if you attempted this project. I’d love to see pictures too!

~ESV

TIPS:

1.    If you use 550 cord, burn the ends to prevent fraying.
2.    Don’t cut the line too close to the knot. With weight bearing on it the knot could slip and come loose. Always leave at least an inch, especially for the bowlines attaching the poles to the rings.
3.    When you first hang it and establish its ability to bear weight, spend at least 30 minutes in it. This will stretch the line and tighten the knots. The more time you spend up front doing this, the less it will stretch and sag later.
4.    Hang the hammock so it is chest high. It will stretch a lot initially, and will always sag a few feet at least. Remember, though, distance is better than height for hanging hammocks so they won’t sag too much.
5.    Don’t be alarmed by some of the square knots stretching. This is natural and will not affect the quality of the hammock.