The kayak crate setup

Why a crate before anything else

A purpose-built kayak fishing crate costs real money. A milk crate costs almost nothing and does about ninety percent of the same job.

More importantly for anyone with a used boat: it requires no holes. Every drilled hole in a kayak deck is a potential leak and a permanent decision. A crate sits in the tankwell, straps down to fittings that already exist, and comes out entirely when you sell the boat.

It also consolidates. Rods, tackle, a dry bag, the anchor, a pump — all in one thing you carry from the car in one trip instead of five.

Choosing the crate

Measure the tankwell first. The well behind the seat is a molded shape and crates are rigid; a crate an inch too wide simply does not go in.

A standard 13-inch milk crate fits most fishing sit-on-tops. Some narrower recreational boats need a smaller storage box, and there is no shame in that — the principle is the same.

Look for a crate with square lattice sides rather than solid ones. The holes are what everything zip-ties to, and they are the reason a milk crate works better for this than a solid plastic tub.

Rod tubes

The classic approach, and it costs very little: lengths of PVC pipe, roughly 2 inches internal diameter and 16 to 20 inches long, zip-tied upright to the outside corners of the crate.

Three details that make the difference between a good version and a frustrating one:

• Cap the bottom. An open tube fills with water and grit, and the butt of your rod sits in it all day. A PVC end cap costs pennies. Drill one small hole in the cap so it drains rather than filling.
• Angle them outward slightly. Vertical tubes put rod tips directly overhead where they catch on branches and each other. Ten or fifteen degrees out solves it.
• Two zip ties per tube, spread apart. One tie is a pivot. Two, several inches apart, is rigid.

If you would rather buy than build, a proper holder like the Scotty 230 can be bolted through the crate wall rather than through the hull — same holder, same locking ring, no holes in the boat. That is the best of both, and it is what we would do.

What goes in it

The crate is the boat’s hold. A sensible loadout:

• A small dry bag for phone, keys and wallet — though the one thing that should not live in the crate is your phone, which belongs on your body. Crates go over the side with the boat.
• Two tackle trays, laid flat. Trays stack; loose boxes tip.
• The anchor in its bag, flukes contained so they do not catch line.
• Pliers and a line cutter — though the best place for these is a PFD pocket, where you can reach them without turning round.
• Water, and a bag for rubbish.

Strapping it down properly

An unsecured crate leaves the boat in a capsize, taking your tackle with it. Strap it to two separate fittings, not one.

Use the tankwell bungees if the boat has them, plus a cam strap through the crate and around a padeye. Cam straps rather than bungees for the main restraint — bungee is elastic, and elastic is exactly what you do not want holding a heavy object in a boat that just turned over.

Leash anything expensive inside the crate that would sink. Pliers, a fish grip, a camera. A short cord from the item to the crate lattice costs nothing.

Weight, and where it goes

A loaded crate is heavier than people expect, and it sits behind you at the stern.

Too much weight back there lifts the bow, which makes the boat wander in wind and slower to paddle. If the kayak feels twitchy after you add a crate, move the heaviest items — usually the anchor — forward into a hatch or between your feet instead.

There is also a scupper consequence. A heavily loaded boat sits lower, which puts the scuppers below the waterline and pushes water up onto the deck. If you were dry before adding the crate and are wet after, that is the cause, and scupper plugs are the answer on flat water.

The upgrade path

Fish the milk crate for a season. You will learn exactly what you reach for and what never comes out of the bag.

If you then want a purpose-built crate, you will buy the right one rather than the one with the most features. And plenty of people never bother, because the milk crate keeps working.