>>For my deck rigging 1/4" is a little tight.

Tight is good, if you're doing "tortured bungie"--that will keep out water.

>tight as in too large? I was looking at the mariner rig wish they had better
>pics on there web site. As far as rigging for paddle rescues the regular 1/4"
>inch is fine, I put the perimeter line through the same loops on the sides so
>that it holds a little more firmly that just bungie, I haven't found anything
>better than the "x" in a rectangle pattern.

Mariner has a great rig. After you start paddling and using the "traditional" criss-crosss pattern on the foredeck, you start to hate it! The three straight bungies on the foredeck are super. Mariner doesn't have perimeter grab lines, but they do use a painter that runs from a cleat in front of the cockpit up to the u-bolt at the bow. This nylon painter can be used for a grab line, or to run a kite or sea anchor up to the bow. It can also be unclipped and used to tie down the boat in case you forget your straps.

The x-in-a-rectangle configuration is good on the back deck for paddlefloat rescues. Seaward and Nimbus both have good side-release buckle straps back there for a very secure paddlefloat outrigger connection--their systems are worth looking at, as well. The Mariner system, though, is excellent. I'm not a Mariner owner, but I know what is wrong with the deck rigging all of the boats I paddle--they're flat-out not as well thought out as the Broze brothers' system. (and I even have to include myself in the "bad" subset as I put a crappy rig on the deck of my Chesapeake 17--hey, I was young and didn't know any better!)

>>I was thinking of running recessed deck fittings like the hutchenson
>>book or using the "tortured" bungie technique. putting large bungie in small
>>hole and tying a knot in the end. what could i use under the deck that was
>>bigger than the half ping pong ball in the hutchenson book?

You could cut a hole in a wood block--any size you wish, and run a brass, ss, or wood pin across the hole to retain line/bungie. Look at the photos Dean Trexel posted recently.