| Open nets are made from cords, and have the least water resistance
of any of the nets we offer. All of our open nets are a knotless construction
(no knots at the cord intersections), and are vinyl coated for UV protection
and better appearance. Because of their openness these nets are not
as comfortable as mesh or webbing nets, however by making and installing
the nets so they have good support and tension, that discomfort
can be minimized.
One of the difficulties in fabricating nets in this material is that
when the netting in not under tension it is very flexible and undersized,
it can be easily distorted in shape. It is important in installing this
type of netting that it be allowed to stretch out in all directions
as it is being tensioned. For that reason we prefer to make these nets
with a tensioning border on all sides.
Open Net Border Types
Tensioning Borders
Grommet Borders are usually the best choice. We pre stretch the netting
when we attach the reinforced border so when you lace it to your
boat it will naturally stretch out to the proper shape. A grommet border,
made to the stretched tight finish length, can fold up or undulate
before
the net is tensioned, to match the un tensioned size of the net. When
the net is installed, all these sides can straighten out simultaneously
as the net is tensioned.
Rope Borders are another possibility that allow the net to tension
uniformly on all sides at once. This is where the netting is attached
to a rope at the border. As with grommet borders the net is pre tensioned
to the proper size as the border is attached, but with the rope border
the net can be laced around the rope at any point along the border
so it is not necessary to match fixed lacing points on the boat with
lacing
points on the net. Rope Borders are not as stiff as grommet borders
so it is more important that the net be tensioned from the corners
to prevent the rope from scalloping. This tensioning from the corners
should be to a strong, through bolted, lacing point and the corners
should be tensioned, with multiple wraps of line, prior to the tensioning
along the sides of the net.
Non-Tensioning Borders
We can also make open nets with non-tensioning borders like cable
sleeves and boltropes, but this should only be used on one side, and
preferably
one of the shorter ones. Long boltropes are a problem as the net must
be stretched out fully on this side, to get the boltrope inserted
into
the track, before any of the other sides can be tensioned. Cable sleeves
are not as much of a problem as they allow some degree of expansion
along
the cable after the cable is inserted.
Un Supported or Self Supported sides are also possible, where the
side is reinforced with a strong webbing that will be tensioned from
the
corners only. This is only recommended on security nets that will not
get much use, as this type of border will not offer as much support,
and the net will deflect a lot more when walked on. This type of border
should be laced to strong through bolted attachments at the corners
and this side should be tensioned first when installing the net as
the corner lacings will be under a lot more tension that those along
a supported
side.
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