[Ansteorra] [SCA-AE] Enough Room (WAS Need opinions about Panther Primitivesmodels)

[Ireland-delfs, Orilee]

NOTE - something else you need to take into consideration, especially
for Pennsic, is any space limitations dictated by your camp.  Pennsic
assumes 250 square feet per person when allocating space for each group
but many camps require a smaller footprint per person to allow for space
for common areas and such.  For example, one group I know has a space
requirement of 225 sq ft for 1 person, 400 sq ft for 2, and 600 for 3;
this space includes the 3 foot gap (see below) between tents.  So, a
14x16 marquis would actually be 17x19 in size or 323 sq. ft.

Also, Pennsic requires a minimum 3 feet wall-to-wall for every tent in a
camp for safety and fire issues.  Ropes for pavilions may overlap within
that 3 feet.

Orianna
 

>-----Original Message-----
>From: sca-aethelmearc-bounces at lists.andrew.cmu.edu 
>[mailto:sca-aethelmearc-bounces at lists.andrew.cmu.edu] On 
>Behalf Of Mike C. Baker
>Sent: Monday, August 21, 2006 1:56 AM
>To: atlantia at atlantia.sca.org; steppes at ansteorra.org; 'Kingdom 
>of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc.'; discussion at aethelmearc.org
>Cc: 'Aimee Kratts'
>Subject: [SCA-AE] Enough Room (WAS Need opinions about Panther 
>Primitivesmodels)
>
>> 1. How much room is enough room for 2 people & their stuff?
>	<SNIP>
>> Note, hubbie will probably do a lot of sleeping (which he 
>> does on vacation) in the tent. It won't be just a storage 
>> space while I'm off gadding about.
>> Amie Sparrow
>
>(Gee, I began writing a column on camping years and years ago.  Looks
>like it is time to update, extend, and re-issue...one piece at a time.
>Like the other pieces in this irregular series, I will no 
>doubt ask more
>questions than I answer...)
>
>Tarp-Mender's Tales #3:  Tentage, Storage, and Related "Fun"  
>FIRST DRAFT
>Copyright 2006, Mike C. Baker
>Permission for general publication in branch publications of 
>the Society
>for Creative Anachronism is hereby granted.
>
>	A great deal of comfort while camping in the SCA can be improved
>by good choices in tentage.  This is ultimately also a matter of safety
>and sanity.  
>
>	For most purposes, a mundane tent rated for 4 or 5 adults will
>barely be sufficient for two SCA adults with a "normal" 
>weekend array of
>costuming, sleeping arrangements, and gear.  However, floor 
>space is not
>the only measure of usability or comfort.  How much of the internal
>space is sufficiently separated from the walls? How much is made
>unusable by internal poles or other parts of the structure?  How tall
>are the expected inhabitants, and very importantly what types of
>costuming are they normally wearing? (a simple chiton or tunic&tights
>can be changed into or out of in much greater comfort in far smaller
>area than full Elizabethans / Italian Renn)  What type of bed 
>/ bedding?
>Is the most important function of the tent in your setup for sleeping,
>storage, hosting others, etc.?
>
>	Another increasingly important consideration:  what are the ages
>of the campers expecting to use the tent being considered?  What are
>their limitations upon movement, or requirements for a 
>sleeping surface?
>
>	With all of that in mind, here's Amra' Rule of Thumb for
>Selecting Tent Size:  look at the sleeping area of your 
>regular bedroom,
>adjust for your expected bed in camping conditions, and add 
>15%-plus  --
>and a separate fly / pavilion for cooking & other functions.  
>
>	Additionally, fully roping / pegging / staking the erected tent
>makes a major difference in maintaining the separation of the 
>tent walls
>from the contents AND survivability in inclement weather.  
>(Tent wall or
>roof touching contents of tent = eventual leak, with any breathable
>material.)
>
>(NOTE WELL:  if you are this far along, m'lady [or m'lord], 
>you probably
>realize that *total* footprint and usable internal footprint 
>are not the
>same.  Not everyone does, however, so I mention same explicitly.  Allow
>at least five additional feet of clearance on all sides for ropes &
>stakes.)
>
>"Basic" Design:  in more traditional tents the marquis, double bell,
>"Viking" A-frame, ger ("yurt"), and walled pavilion are all common
>sights which I can recommend for consideration.  A major choice in many
>traditional tents will be whether or not the roof and the walls will be
>sewn together.  While there are strong advantages to both designs, the
>relatively casual camper is probably best served by attaching walls and
>roof in those designs which allow you to do so.  With larger tents --
>anything over roughly 16ftx18ft -- I would advise you to reconsider,
>however, due to the total weight of canvas involved.
>	A huge consideration in the selection of a design is how you
>intend to transport and store it, followed closely by where 
>and when you
>expect to use it most often.  As most of us don't travel with the cargo
>capacity of a longship at our disposal, the Viking A-frame is not the
>best of designs for urban apartment dwellers (unless they have some
>serious storage available elsewhere, plus access to a cargo vehicle
>large enough to do the cartage...)  Similarly, a small, simple marquis
>is not usually appropriate for a growing household intending to host a
>hafla anytime soon.  OR anyone planning to do more than an occasional
>camping event in heavy weather
>	My personal preference, my mundane surname and admission that I
>have not personally owned one not withstanding, is a 
>modification of the
>modern design known as a "Baker tent". Instead of the 
>relatively shallow
>"depth" of the Baker design, this form is roughly ten or twelve feet in
>width and fifteen to twenty or more in length with hangings / panels
>attaching to the side poles and spanning bars or lines between side
>poles in order to create internal rooms.  This can visually appear
>similar to tents of the Bedouin with very little effort, and has the
>advantage of being expanded even further with very little effort.  In
>multiples of up to eight or so, it also can make for a striking
>household camp IF one can find a large enough area. (By overlapping the
>front flys, and perhaps adding a central pavilion, a sheltered common
>area can be easily created with minimum added material or equipment...
>Individual tents can be closed off by extra tarpaulins, or by dropping
>the front fly into place and tying / pegging / other fastening. By
>leaving one or more "spokes" empty or covered by open pavilion[s], this
>can be a very inviting arrangement as well.)  
>
>"Advanced" Design:  extra amenities or features may require rigid or at
>least semi-rigid framing.  Consider the advantages of the "yurt" roof
>frame of hub&spokes in combination with a relatively few 
>number of solid
>perimeter posts or poles and flexible resistance of the woven lath or
>branch walls.  Extra storage is readily available through suspension
>from the ceiling or the wall lattice that is not advisable with canvas
>roofs or walls that have not been carefully prepared in 
>advance for such
>purposes.  However, practically any traditional tent can have
>appropriately-sized netting added *inside* from which similar hanging
>storage is easily accomplished.
>	The "spanning bars" mentioned above are often omitted from
>traditional tents only intended for short-duration camping or other
>usage.  They can make a huge difference in the long-term campsite.
>Modern tents with external frames, such as were popular before the dome
>tent with flexible segmented fiberglass poles became popular, 
>may make a
>useful visual reference here.  In addition to the ridgepole, such
>externally-framed tents have what amount to secondary ridges which
>define the walls of the tent AND make the whole possible without guy
>ropes at every corner (and commonly at every side pole as well) needed
>in earlier designs.  
>	"Better" traditional design for long-term occupancy adds bars
>between corner and / or side poles as part of the internal framing of
>the tent.  (If it helps, consider the difference in strength and
>durability between a door with the hinges simply fastened to a wall and
>a door installed with a complete frame...)  While avoiding too much
>extra weight, or any large number of extra components, at 
>least consider
>such an extra bar between each pair of outside corner poles plus one
>between the two poles flanking the primary entrance of the tent.  If
>your design includes raising the walls to allow air circulation, these
>bars also provide something other than the roof canvas that can be
>attached to when opening things up.
>
>Material:  the canopy and walls should be constructed of a good- to
>high- quality canvas treated to "Sunforger" or an equivalent 
>standard of
>fire retardant and water resistance (if not better).  Modern materials,
>such as the ubiquitous nylon used for most "dome" tents, may be far
>lighter but in most circumstances it is far less resistant to fire than
>properly treated canvas of a decent weight.  There are some situations
>that may call for the use of more than just canvas, however, and
>reinforcing wear points with heavy nylon webbing may be a good modern
>alternative to metal of leather.  In general, metal grommets are far
>easier to repair or replace "in the field" than the plastic or nylon
>equivalents.  For serious long-term tenting, learning how to make a
>sailmaker's grommet, or even a gasket, with rope, fabric, thread, and
>the appropriate tools will serve well for several maintenance needs.
>	Always clean and dry the tent fabric before storing.  If you
>must pack wet, or even damp, brush off all possible debris and dirt
>before packing AND unpack and dry out as soon as possible. Clean any
>dirt you can by brushing off before hosing down the remaining. 
> Mudflaps
>/ groundflaps and a separate flooring system will generally be far more
>flexible / last longer than any sewn-in floor (or any fabric floor, for
>that matter). DETACHABLE / replaceable mudflaps (think of lacing them
>onto the tent walls using grommets) are even better!
>	Traditional cordage can work better than rope made of modern
>materials for most tenting requirements:  the natural fibers behave
>differently, and are less likely to be antagonistic to other materials
>used in putting the tent together.  Modern rope has the advantage of
>retaining strength even after being wet for days at a time.  Which you
>choose for *your* camp will depend upon multiple factors.  In general,
>for camping purposes I prefer hemp over sisal when it comes to rope due
>to fewer "splinters".  (While I have made some rope in my lifetime, for
>most applications commercially-available rope is a better investment in
>time and resources.  I wouldn't mind laying my hands on some linen rope
>if anyone can recommend a decent source...)  
>	ALWAYS take the time to properly prepare the ends of your rope
>before use -- it will last much longer, and be far safer.  "Whip" using
>thread or twine if you can't end-splice or eye-splice, or 
>spend a little
>time with a good knot-tying handbook to investigate other options. At a
>minimum, put a tight overhand knot into the line as close to the end of
>the piece as you can. Dipping the result in some paint or varnish can
>make for a touch of color, but will weaken the knot you just 
>tied in the
>long run.
>
>Frame, Poles, Staking:  invest in the highest-quality metal stakes that
>you can see your way clear to.  Include butt-spikes / caps /
>"stake-frames" for the main upright poles if possible.  Use as heavy a
>material as you can handle for the primary poles, and to the extent
>possible make them single-piece construction.  If you must use 
>segmented
>poles, the sockets / threading or other connections should extend far
>enough to make a complete, strong joint.  Among the best designs I have
>seen for segmented wooden ridge poles are those with a welded metal
>sleeve surrounding two tapered ends that overlap.  For uprights, I have
>seen the least breakage of the pole segments with a fully-sleeved
>flat-butt arrangement.  Generally, do not rely only on guy 
>ropes to hold
>the walls of a tent where you want them, particularly during any amount
>of rain or wind.
>
>Storage:  Inside one's sleeping tent is not the most useful space for
>storage, or at least not all of your storage.  A "structured" storage
>compartment that can be accessed without entering one's tent 
>is far more
>flexible in the long run than adding size to the main sleeping 
>tent.  It
>is ALSO far easier to make water-resistant over the long term than most
>equivalent fabric enclosures short of non-breathable options (oilcloth
>or rubberized fabrics, or plastics / heavily-coated fibers).  
>
>By creating a compartmented box for the tent and accouterments designed
>with an eye toward multiple functions, the whole system can also act as
>long-term storage of your camping "kit".  Further, ridge poles or solid
>uprights can be used as carrying poles for the box if you travel with a
>few husky young squires.  With a bit of extra work, the box system can
>also be given multi-use wheels:  solid "ox-cart" wheels can re-mount as
>tables or even be used as part of a tent flooring system, any axles as
>ridgepoles / uprights for the cooking / dining fly while 
>stowing flat in
>a trailer, large van cargo area, or truck bed.  A number of similar
>smaller designs are available for "chuck boxes" through 
>Scouting sources
>[http://comp.uark.edu/~rohughes,
>http://www.troop168.net/forms/patrolboxa.htm]; the tent-box system I
>describe here is something I've seen executed only a few times 
>and don't
>currently have a specific diagram for.
>
>I have probably left something out, for which I apologize in 
>advance.  I
>welcome your comments, and will try to include the best / most 
>important
>in any future revision of this installment of the column.
>
>Amra "Tarp-Mender"
> 
>Adieu, Amra / ttfn - Mike / Pax ... Kihe
>
>Mike C. Baker
>SCA: al-Sayyid Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri al-Amra, F.O.B, OSCA
>"Other": Reverend Kihe Blackeagle PULC (the DreamSinger Bard)
>Opinions? I'm FULL of 'em
>alt. e-mail: KiheBard at hotmail.com  OR MCBaker216 at cs.com
>   Buy my writings!:   http://www.lulu.com/WizardsDen
>   http://www.livejournal.com/users/kihebard/
>
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