I Want To Get The Kids A Zipline For Christmas, She Says.

"McMike" (mcmike) 03/28/2016 at 09:16 • Filed to: zipline, tutu153

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Tell me what to buy, she says. My answer? “Buy a house with two trees in the back yard.”

This is the conversation I had with my sister back in October. She was unaware that if there wasn’t a second tree, that this request might be a little more complicated than following the directions on the box.

I had to come up with a end-point, and found !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on the internet. Seemed simple enough. Pick a spot, dig a few holes..... Done.

Some assembly required.

I wanted to run it down hill so the take-off point (like the drawing on the right) wouldn’t be so high of the ground. All we would need to do is build some small platform the size of a pallet. Hell, we could even USE a pallet. for it, since the cable would only be 8' off the ground.

My BIL thought the drop in elevation would be dangerous if a kid fell off on the way down, so we ran it across level ground.

I told him if we didn’t use the natural elevation, that it would raise the take-off height of the cable to at least 12 feet.

Once he decided that would be safer, I told him that we would now need to sink that anchor AND build a treehouse. I started doing some research, and told him that we would schedule some time this spring and knock it out.

The kids got the zipline kit under the tree for Christmas, and have been asking Uncle Mike at least three times every time they saw him when he was going to put it up. :)

So three weeks ago, we started.

I wantedt a 4x6, but all they had was a 6x6x12. I forgot how heavy these were.

Day one complete. Post in, cable anchor concrete (not shown) poured.

Day two - Cable hung and platform posts set in concrete.

This is the point where my BIL looked at me with a concerned look on his face and said “Wow.. That’s really high”

Since the end-point elevation was actually 14" higher than the start-point, the cable had to start at 13'. I think I replied with something like, “Yup, just like the drawing.”

End of day three. It was 50 degrees and raining both days.

End of day four.

Platform ended up being 7' feet in the air. Made a 6" booster from scrap to help the shorter kids reach the handles.

End of day four.

I understand that when I left on Saturday afternoon to go home, that every kid in the neighborhood played on it that night and (for now) it’s the coolest thing in the world - and that makes the extra effort worth it.

My Sister hosted brunch yesterday, and everyone took a run on it, including my 71 year old mother.

McMom

I was hoping to get more people involved in the First Annual Easter Zipline Mimosa Challenge , but I failed. I was the only one to do it, and the challenge went unanswered - leaving me the 2016 Easter Zipline Mimosa Champion

Right now, the tension is loose to keep the speeds down, but as the kids get older, I left plenty of room for height/tension adjustments.

shop-teacher > McMike 03/28/2016 at 09:40

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Uncle McMike is a VERY cool uncle!

And your mom is awesome as well. We can’t get my 69 year old mother in law to get off her freaking chair for eleven seconds.

Also, I really like that railing detail.

Slant6 > McMike 03/28/2016 at 09:42

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My old neighbors had one that had to be 15 something feet in the air.

One time I tied the rope around one of the posts so it would only go halfway down. Kid broke his arm.

I was a pretty horrible kid.

Scott > McMike 03/28/2016 at 09:46

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Very cool, I have been wanting to put in a zip line on my property. I have a fantastic place for it, acreage, wooded, on a mountain side. My main concern is that I am right next door to the local elementary school. Also on my property there are some old foot paths and long ago abandoned roads that people go for walks on. I fear that kids would see the Zip line and come up and start using it without permission. Someone gets hurt and I end up in court. I'm sure I could come up with a way to lock it out, but so far too low on the priority list.

McMike > shop-teacher 03/28/2016 at 09:47

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Thanks.

Because of angle of the tree, the railings weren’t plumb with the deck joists, and I thought it would make the 2x2 balusters would have looked all crooked and shit. I was going to use rope, but thought coated cable would have lasted longer.

McMike > Scott 03/28/2016 at 09:52

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Put the trolley at the top, and put one of these in front of it.

Doesnt’ have to be tight enough to crimp the cable, just tight enough to keep the trolley in place. All you’ll need is a wrench or a socket driver to lock it up.

shop-teacher > McMike 03/28/2016 at 09:57

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That makes sense. I bet it will last much longer.