Don't compare your Otter with a sea kayak. They have about 1/3rd the cockpit space you have so some stuff has to go on the deck. You can strap stuff to your deck but it will have to come off if you are going to do a portage carry.

Overhead carries require a yoke to put the weight on both shoulders so that is centered over your feet. That seems to be the most practical way to carry. Your cockpit is rather large so you may be able to do a regular overhead carry and still see where you are going. But you will have to see if the boat is deep enough so it doesn't come to rest on your head before it lands on your shoulders. If the configuration is OK then you have to figure out what kind of hardware you'll need to make it all work. Strapping something as big and as bulbous as an Otter to your back seems to me to be impractical. The center gravity of the boat is too far away from the carrier's center of gravity.

: I hope this is the right place to post this. I just got my first
: Kayak, an Old Town Otter and I'm wondering about the storage.
: I've seen several kayaks with black elastic straps on the front
: and back of the kayak for storing your backpack, ect. I'm
: wondering if I should just drill a few holes and use some bungee
: cords or is there a better way to do it. I'd also like to make a
: paddle holder and can you make your own carrying harness for
: these. I plan on taking this back in as much as 3 to 5 miles at
: times. The weight right now of just the Kayak is 39lbs so I'd
: like to keep the weight down as much as possible. Any help will
: be greatly appreciated. Thanx, Jason