I've had no problems with these deck fittings, they seem to be sufficiently strong for most deck line uses.

I have picked up one end of a kayak with (one) by grabbing the right and left grablines near the end where they meet at one fitting. while I do reccommend lifting a boat with these fittings they are strong enough to do so in a pinch.

The dowel is supported at both ends and securely epoxied in place in the hardwood shell. the most likely failure is the dowel pulling out of the shell.

Making the fittings is possible to do with hand tools in small numbers, I use a lathe to make mine.

: Those look pretty simple to make. They look great for deck lines. Has anyone
: used them for the bungee hold downs for gear? My only question is the
: strength of the dowel. When installing I would think you should add a
: little extra material under the deck to distribute the load over a little
: larger surface area of the deck (you'd have to do that anyway if you used
: nylon and screws).