Is a 8.5' sit-on-top kayak good enough for near shore ocean?

Then we got on the road. This is the first time I have such big things on my rack; previously I only occasionally haul long lumber with it; this time I feel like I have a sail on my truck. It was kind of windy Sunday, and going north from Monterey I was against the wind, so wind was felt. I drove at 55 mph the whole trip back.

One question I have is: Is it better to put these 12' kayaks on top of the rack and take the wind's torque, or put them on the bed for a lower profile and have the end sticks out 5-6' behind the truck?

I carry my kayaks upside down with non-ratcheting straps, but cinched tight, so they are well connected to the crossbar that I've looped around the kayak to make it double strapped, in the front and the rear.  I also add a front and rear tiedown to further steady my kayaks while traveling.  I have a bit of a lead foot if i'm not towing my trailer  So I commonly reach up to 80 mph with this setup unless it's windy, and then it's a very good idea to slow the f down.  . I'm sure in the back of your bed it's going to be less drag and "sail" due to aerodynamics.  It's also usually easier or faster to unload from the bed vs the whole tie down stuff I previously mentioned.  Good luck, see what works for you either way!  A good friend of mine on this site always used rope to tie his kayaks, and he never had an issue.

When I was tying the kayaks, I was stuck initially thinking how to do that securely and professionally.  It was not obvious.  The kayaks are sleek and anchoring ears on the kayaks are all very small.

I ended up having the 4 ratcheting straps and 2 sailboat sheets each go up through one drain hole of the kayak, then come down through another drain hole; both ends then hooked on the truck's anchors. To be extra safe, I used 2 ropes to tie the front handle to the front bar of the truck rack. This way they won't slip back for sure.

I'd steer clear of running anything through the scupper holes for tie downs since that seems to be the weakest part of a kayak and nearly impossible to repair. Find a way to run them through the side handles. I usually do one strap around all kayaks together around the side handles, one strap around the front, one around the back and bow/stern lines. Takes a bit more time but it's worth the piece of mind.

Btw, congrats on the purchase!

I believe this to be a great method for tie down - it shows a canoe, but the process is the same for a Kayak.

Screws? Rivets? How to mount stuff on the kayak?

On my kayak I see both. If I want to mount some additional stuff onto the kayak, let's say a heavy duty bracket for outrigger, what's the best way to attach the bracket? 

Ideally I'd use bolts, but in my case I have no access to the underside of the surface. The kayak is one enclosed compartment; no hatch or any other opening.

Looks to me it's just either screws or rivets.  Any other solution?  And if just these two, I assume rivets have more holding power?

I believe this to be a great method for tie down - it shows a canoe, but the process is the same for a Kayak.

I need to get the pads next time.

I'd steer clear of running anything through the scupper holes for tie downs since that seems to be the weakest part of a kayak and nearly impossible to repair. Find a way to run them through the side handles. I usually do one strap around all kayaks together around the side handles, one strap around the front, one around the back and bow/stern lines. Takes a bit more time but it's worth the piece of mind.

Btw, congrats on the purchase!

Yes side handles are good spots, and looks like are the only non-friction spots for mine

I ended up having the 4 ratcheting straps and 2 sailboat sheets each go up through one drain hole of the kayak, then come down through another drain hole; both ends then hooked on the truck's anchors. To be extra safe, I used 2 ropes to tie the front handle to the front bar of the truck rack. This way they won't slip back for sure.

Don't use racheting straps to tie down kayaks.  They put too much stress on the kayak's hull, and can damage it. And especially don't run racheting straps through the drain holes of a sit-on-top kayak.

Screws? Rivets? How to mount stuff on the kayak?

On my kayak I see both. If I want to mount some additional stuff onto the kayak, let's say a heavy duty bracket for outrigger, what's the best way to attach the bracket? 

Ideally I'd use bolts, but in my case I have no access to the underside of the surface. The kayak is one enclosed compartment; no hatch or any other opening.

Looks to me it's just either screws or rivets.  Any other solution?  And if just these two, I assume rivets have more holding power?

Few options that I can offer for you, although I'm not really an expert mounting stuff, I drill very little into my kayaks.  But since you have no hatches, you can first decide if you want to install a hatch, or you can go with the other more common options without having a way to reach inside.  Stainless steel rivets, good ones are $1 each, and would probably be the route I would choose, it's pretty simple.  Another option is well nuts, takes a bigger hole, but can also take a bigger screw.  A good friend of mine just used wood screws to drill into his yak and it worked too 

Nice score on the yaks! Those both look great!

For heavy duty use stuff, like an outrigger mount, downrigger, or even rod holder, I would suggest putting a backing plate of some sort on the underside.  I've installed a hatch in a kayak before, just for the purpose of accessing the underside of a Scotty mount. You can buy decent hatches on Amazon for less than $20, and they are super easy to install. I make the cut with a jigsaw, and use plenty of goop (almost any silicon based sealant will work, don't need to get too fancy).

I forgot where I saw it, but I did see someone use some large, purpose built, plastic toggle bolts to install a trolling motor mount.  Looked super sturdy, and seemed like the best no access option I've seen yet. Might be worth a search.

Nice score on the yaks! Those both look great!

For heavy duty use stuff, like an outrigger mount, downrigger, or even rod holder, I would suggest putting a backing plate of some sort on the underside.  I've installed a hatch in a kayak before, just for the purpose of accessing the underside of a Scotty mount. You can buy decent hatches on Amazon for less than $20, and they are super easy to install. I make the cut with a jigsaw, and use plenty of goop (almost any silicon based sealant will work, don't need to get too fancy).

I forgot where I saw it, but I did see someone use some large, purpose built, plastic toggle bolts to install a trolling motor mount.  Looked super sturdy, and seemed like the best no access option I've seen yet. Might be worth a search.

I am resigned to the fact that I need to open the hull to add backplate for the brackets, because they need to sustain 2.5 hp (wink wink). 

Just ordered two 8" hatch (actual hole is 6.5").  Only 12.50 each!

I ended up having the 4 ratcheting straps and 2 sailboat sheets each go up through one drain hole of the kayak, then come down through another drain hole; both ends then hooked on the truck's anchors. To be extra safe, I used 2 ropes to tie the front handle to the front bar of the truck rack. This way they won't slip back for sure.

Don't use racheting straps to tie down kayaks.  They put too much stress on the kayak's hull, and can damage it. And especially don't run racheting straps through the drain holes of a sit-on-top kayak.

I think I am going to try putting them on truck bed next time, and have them stick out 6' behind the truck bumper.  Will the highway patrol have any issue with that? 

If this works it would make securing them much easier.

I ended up having the 4 ratcheting straps and 2 sailboat sheets each go up through one drain hole of the kayak, then come down through another drain hole; both ends then hooked on the truck's anchors. To be extra safe, I used 2 ropes to tie the front handle to the front bar of the truck rack. This way they won't slip back for sure.

Don't use racheting straps to tie down kayaks.  They put too much stress on the kayak's hull, and can damage it. And especially don't run racheting straps through the drain holes of a sit-on-top kayak.

I think I am going to try putting them on truck bed next time, and have them stick out 6' behind the truck bumper.  Will the highway patrol have any issue with that? 

If this works it would make securing them much easier.

Just add an orange flag, and should be fine. I do this all the time, never drawn any attention.

Over the weekend we launched the kayaks to test them out.  All is really good; we paddled for 2 km round trip.  Both kayaks track well.  My only complaint is the Scrambler one-seater has drain holes right where the butt would rest.  Although I understand every low point is a logical spot to have drain hole, but right under the butt?!  My pants were wet because the water came right up to the edge of the seat.  This seems a common design as I see other kayaks have it on the seat as well.  Is there any special reason here for the design?

I am planning to plug them with a couple of 1.5" cork, then put some waterproof seat cushion on top of the seat.

Scupper plugs are optional, depends on what you like and things like where you are launching and landing.  If you say surf launch, and have scupper plugs in and get swamped by a wave, well, they obviously do not drain.  But if you are not likely to be swamped you might want to put in some removable scupper plugs.  Just in case you do get swamped, you can pull them.

Oh, there are more options too, almost forgot about the venturi plugs you can get to solve for both cases:  https://www.paddlerscove.com/ocean-and-oldtown-kayak-scupper-valves-short/

If you look most Hobies they have the seat plugs installed and I think some models have one you pull a cord and release water from as well.