Okay, let's backup. I am using 1/4 for the smaller diameter rope and bungie, I think the same as on John M.'s Pearl. I drilled 3/8" holes with a forester bit... I really don't like big chunky deck lines and trying to keep the smaller diameter. I now have 1/4 clear tubing with wire inside for the second go at it. This stuff took all I could pull on it and not break. No tight bends on my deck lines, 4" minimum loops.

Should I go to the larger diameter tube?

I knew you should have been the one to build this thang :) But then I would miss out on all this joy :)

Now what I do not have is the fiberglass tubes, I had to roll fiberglass cloth around my glue sticks and then wet out the cloth.

...and the heat has been brutal

: Oh no!! How warm was the shop? I know it's been brutal down in NC
: of late.

: I've noticed there is a small window in temperature for removal. At
: least with the ones I use. Too cold and they snap. Too hot and
: they stick. BTW: Don't try melting them out with a heat gun (One
: was really stubborn. THAT made a heck of a mess.). My shops
: about 65 F. I pull like hell until one leg necks down and then
: snaps off partially inside the tube. Then I pull the other leg
: and the rest pops out. The 5/16" sticks were easier than
: the 1/2" beasts. I can go up to a 4" spacing at a
: shallow curve with the 5/16" sticks. The 1/2" ones
: need to be short (less than 2" spacing on center). They
: also seem to pop out better after the epoxy has cured for a few
: days.