Monday, November 3, 2008

Parachute Tepee






As promised I'm going to try to give enough info on how to construct a parachute tepee. The first part is the scanned pages out of AFM 64-15. Now keep in mind I only used 4 poles for my shelter.

This should give you some good dimensions to start with. The next pic is of the smoke hole. If you are going to have a fire you are going to need a smoke hole. I sewed flaps on my tepee so when I am not in it I can close it up. you can use poles or cord to open and close the flaps.

Once you have the size of your smoke hole, you can start to close up the seam. I sort of alternate between putting in stakes and closing the seam. It takes a pretty sharp peg to get through the chute. The key is rolling the two pieces of chute very tight, then stabbing the peg in and wrapping it so you don't lose the tension.
My tepee is not perfect. Yours won't be either. That's ok. As long as the chute is tight it will shed water quite well. It is not a totally water proof material. So eventually you might want to put a liner in it. I just bought some cheap tarps to do just that. I will post the pics later. If you have any questions please ask. If you want to see a certain skill or project, let me know. Now quit staring at the screen and go build a shelter!!!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like the borderd walkway leading to the entrance. It really adds a aire of civility to your camp...

Mark said...

The more I see parachute shelters...I need to get one.

Fenlander said...

Thank you for that. I am a little reluctant to cut my chute as they are quite expensive over here, so am considering whether I could fold the chute in half to make a semi-circle and then use that in the same way. I will let you know how I get on. Thanks again Fenlander.

Iowa Woodsman said...

Norseman, my camp is civil, but I used those Ironwood poles for a gear rack and beds. I'm going to have to go out in the fields and get some stones to redo the border!!!!

Mark, there are a lot of other uses for chute in shelter craft than just tepees. I'll post some at a later date.


Fenlander, your welcome. I hope your plan works out. If you need anything just ask.