Great idea!

You could always buy a 1" plug cutter and cut some 1" plugs (or whittle 'em), then epoxy them into your holes. Then, cut your holes for the surgical tubing in the new plug and proceed as you described. A really dark walnut or a really light pine, birch, or maple would look great in those 1" plugs. You might want an extra little layer of glass over the plug/holes.

Oh! and make sure that epoxy doesn't stick to surgical tubing BEFORE you try it on your deck!

Shawn

> I've been kicking around this idea for low profile padeyes. The idea of
> having padeyes sticking up from the deck is unappealing to me for wet
> reentry as well as esthetics.. This may not be an original idea, who
> knows... Here goes. Drill two holes approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inch apart in
> the standard padeye position. Pass some surgical tubing slightly larger
> that the shock cord used to cover the hatches down and then back up
> through the holes. Flip the deck over and create a form around the loop of
> surgical tubing. Fill the form made out of tape or a dixy cup (help me out
> here) full of reinforced resin. Allow to cure and then pull the surgical
> tubing out. This will leave a waterproof channel through which the line
> can be run.. Clean, simple and sharp looking. Pretty sure thats what I'm
> going to do even though i have already drilled 10 one inch holes through
> my deck for my last great idea. OOps

> Happy sanding!