: I am considering using the wood beads you
: can get in craft stores this time. I am thinking of just drilling out a
: larger hole, cutting them in half and gluing them on. I think you would
: want to sand down to the epoxy and epoxy them on. They will have the
: disadvantage of being a little larger and probably not as strong. Has
: anyone tried this before or does anyone have any thoughts?

I used a 1 inch round ball on a paddle park bungee a couple feet aft of the bow and it works pretty well. I removed a few inches of the inside rubber material which allowed the bungee to be pulled through a hole in the ball that was smaller than the bungee diameter, so it stays put without adhesive. Of course the gutless part of the bungee is discarded after installation of the ball. The ball was covered in epoxy and varnish and shows no wear after heavy use. I could have used a smaller or larger ball or more than one ball with no difference in performance.

I have padeyes along the shears and some bungees with snap hooks which I attach when I need to store something on deck like a compass or a thermos. I also have 1/4 inch line running from padeye to padeye. There are 4 lines, one on each side forward and aft. Each line is held by a bowline knot on one end and a rolling hitch on the other so that the line stays taught until a moderate tug is applied and then it slackens making it easy to hold onto while in the water. (An arrangement I tested just yesterday and found agreeable, though there is potential for a loose running hitch to disassemble)