Yes, that is what they were designed to do but now they are "special" boat parts and the price can be marked up by 10.
I couldn't find any that were the correct size at the Ace Hardware so I ended up buying a bag of 250 which was still probably still cheaper than it would have cost me to buy 12 from Ace Hardware or 1 from West Marine. I still have ~200 so if anyone needs some for their lifeline project send me a PM and a couple of dollars to cover the postage and I will mail you enough for your project plus a few to drop in the water.