: Brian,

: This is what I needed so I could get my mind going on this!

: You asked: " Earlier, you were talking about how it's important to have
: deck lines that are elevated above the deck; now you want to leave them
: off entirely? I don't get it."

: This is why I have asked here. I had always been looking at "flush"
: fittings as the "best". But I realized that they would not hold
: the lines in the "correct" position. Then I thought if the
: "best" fittings put the lines in a "poor" place for
: the intended use then something is WRONG with my thinking! And so begins
: another search:-)

Nothing wrong with that thinking.

: I have read you mentioning your differnt approach: "I prefer cord with
: sliding toggles for securing any important gear (spare paddle, etc)."

: I read on another thread your talking about this, could you explain the
: "fittings" more?? "Cord" is shockcord? (1/4"?)

No, I mean braided polyester (Dacron) cord. Bungees are too stretchy to hold anything large securely. Nylon cord loosens when it gets wet, but polyester is unaffected.

: Like Jack Sanderson just wrote on the "Do I need to pull it apart"
: thread

: "Interestingly my experience was that many of the things that seem
: crutial really are not and a few that seem unimportant really are. The
: trick is understanding the difference."

That's a fact.

: So much of this is out of my experience so I run into that a lot. Lack of
: expereince leave me just with "thinking" and sometimes I
: "miss the boat", ha, ha!! Thanks

There's nothing wrong with thinking and being analytical about it, though experience is the best teacher. For example, I learned the value of elevated deck lines on a winter paddle in a mild snowstorm. Fortunately, it was a pretty benign situation, I just needed someone to hold my boat so I could take off my PFD and zip up my drysuit!