Drilling into a sit-on top kayak

[RockFlag&Eagle37]

I've perused the forums and I can't seem to find a specific answer to some of these questions so I thought I'd ask them here. Apologies in advance if I missed a post where some of these questions were answered, or if some of this is/should be common knowledge.

I just bought my first kayak last week, the Ascent D10T sit on top. It doesn't have any attachments for fishing, so I'll be customizing it myself. The front of the kayak has open storage space as well, which was a huge deciding factor for me, as this will be a duck hunting kayak come October. I can strap decoys on the front and back with ease.

Can I install flush mounted rod holders behind the seat if I have no access to the inside of the kayak? All the installs I've seen are where people have had access to the inside of the kayak to put gaskets and waterproof. Would I be better off just installing the scotty deck mount style rod holders?

When installing an anchor trolley, cleats, paddle clips etc, where all I have to do is screw onto the top of the kayak, would self tapping screws or drilling a hole smaller then the screw provide a watertight seal? Or would I want to coat the screws or line a bead of 5200 in that area? Would I be better off just using rivets for these things, and are those water tight as well?


I'd appreciate any kind of advice or help anyone can provide. Thanks!

[DaveFX35]

Not sure about the flush mount setup, maybe someone else with a similar setup can help. Best advice I can offer is to thread every screw or bolt with marine goop to provide a water tight seal. Measure and measure again before drilling too. I ended up pre-drilling with a small bit and using a hand screwdriver to install my holders, trolley, gear tracs etc.

[dhawk]

I personally use rivets for every spot i cannot reach the inside of I have anchored a rod holder and anchor trolly this way with great sucess one is sealed with silicone the other isnt sealed at all havent had any signifigant leakage from either one

[Shady]

Put Flush mount rod holders on my Tarpon using pop rivets and some silicone caulk, works fine. 100% water tightness probably isnt completely necessary for the flush mount rod holders as they are generally put on top of the kayak where they dont get a lot of water splash or direct immersion. If you do use pop rivets, make sure to use the ones designed to be watertight.

For the anchor trolley, you may want to use a nylon locking nut and stainless bolt.

I've never used them but have heard of others using well nuts, they may also be worth checking out for your applications.

[daddyg]

All you need is 4" and you can install the yakattack gear trac ( they have 6 screws for a 4" piece they hold great } and they make all kinds of ram holders and the nice thing is you can change or add things like a camera mount.

[charlieru]

Pop rivets and silicone worked fine for my flush mounts when I installed them. Go for it.

[JKay]

All you need is 4" and you can install the yakattack gear trac ( they have 6 screws for a 4" piece they hold great } and they make all kinds of ram holders and the nice thing is you can change or add things like a camera mount.

Great advice. If you have areas on the boat where access inside is difficult, use of YakAttack's rigging bullet will get the job done easily. Check out YakAttack's products. I have the Gear Trac's on 2 different kayaks and will probably be putting them on a third boat.