OK, I've cancelled my appointment in the orthopedic clinic to have one of my arms lengthened. You guys have a wealth of great ideas! Not only is this a rich thread, but I've been following the closely related thread started by Ashley Goddard discussing soft fittings for deck rigging. That thread references Joe Greenley's method of through-the-deck mounting of web loops to secure deck rigging. I'd seen that discussion when I was new to the bbs, but didn't know enough then to make sense of it. Now it's intriguing... Thanks for lots to think about. I'll let you know how the rigging gets secured (but I think the cheap plastic padeyes may be out now). Mike