Work in shorter 2 to 3 inch lengths of PE railing/netting. Resist the urge to do the whole side just because you have a piece of PE that long. Measure the run with a pair of draftsman's dividers. Measure between logical end-points; previous runs, bulkheads, gun tubs, etc.
Cut & bend off the model. Make round bends with dowels/drill shanks. Square bends can be made with square-nosed pliers, opposed razor blades, or tool such as Etchmate.
Apply pin-point sized drops of white glue on each end of the run and every 1/2 inch or so of the length. Using a white glue, such as Aleene's Tacky Glue from the craft store will allow you to make final adjustments and to clean up mistakes with water.
When the glue drys, go back and apply a bead of CA along the gutter rail to permenantly attach it. I like the glue tips from Resin Shipyard -- Darren shows you how to make them here
http://www.resinshipyard.com/pages/tip_pages/glue_tips.html
I've turned out a couple of dozen for less than 5 bucks.
Apply a final coat of clear flat to kill the shine of the CA.
Aleenes will also serve to attach your crew figs. The pin-point sized drop of glue will hold the crew to the deck. Since they are not structural you likely won't need the CA.