Kayaks on a 26S.

[Russ Ward]

My son and I are planning a trip to the Mississippi and Alabama barrier islands soon and he wants to take our kayaks. I am considering tieing them outside the safety line with one end at the back of the bow pull-pit and the other end somewhere near mid boat. The kayaks are 10 and 12 feet, sit in style.

Have others done this?

I would rather not two them as they are sit in and could take on water easily.

Thanks
-Russ

 

[Macboy]

Are you sure you don’t want to tow them? You can get good sealing hatch covers to keep the water out and they would tow like they weren’t even there. We towed our tandem sit on top and it was trouble free. Plan to tow our sit on top tandem with two kids sit on tops bridles to either side of the big one this summer.

Otherwise I can’t see any reason not to do what you’re proposing other than if you’re going to see significant waves while under a good heel. Might be problematic.

 

[Tedd]

I've been thinking about getting kayaks, too. One option I considered was lashing them together with some sort of spreaders, to make a kayak-raft, and then towing that. It would keep them upright so they don't take on water and prevent them from banging into each other. Perhaps you could even find a way to use the paddles as spreaders. (Are they called paddles with a kayak?)
My boat's a Mac 26S. I can't see any way of attaching kayaks to it that wouldn't either be in the way of sheets or cause a problem with heeling.

 

[Macboy]

This is the one that got me thinking it was time to sell the RIB and stick with the kayaks......look at the second photo.....and then enjoy the entire site. http://analogengineering.com/sail/powell/

 

[Tedd]

Ha! But are we geniuses who think alike or fools who seldom differ?

 

[Macboy]

I'm one of the sheep...I saw that site and am following suit......