Milkcrate Question

Only time it goes in the yak is camping I fill with firewood and it makes an OK camp seat.

Dirty laundry.

Great responses so far.  Every milkcrate seems to have an interesting story to tell.  Most of us started out with one, many of  us no longer use one, none of them ever get thrown away as they get repurposed for another good.

I started out paddling a Cobra Triple.  In that Triple I had a double sized milkcrate.  In that milkcrate I had pvc rod holders hose clamped into place.  I also mounted my first fishfisher on the rim of the milkcrate.  Being a Triple, I would paddle in the back position and the milkcrate would be in front of me.  That thing took a beating.  It was with me on my very first kayak fishing trip.  It was with me when I caught my first fish.  It grew up with me as a kayak angler.  Many broken pieces later, it still serves a purpose in my garage holding kayaking gear.  Old and beaten, but not retired.  Thank you Darigold!

-Allen

Everything 

Vertical Pole Storage
Horizontal Rod Holders for Trolling
Downrigger Mount
Backrest/Lure holder
Flag Mount/Scotty Light Mount
Storage for Water, Lunch, Tackle Boxes, etc
And store FF, VHF, PFD, etc while at home

Being a relative newbie I'm still attached to my crate.
I bought one of those h20 proof boxes but access to it seems sketchy, especially when in bumpy seas.
Seems easier to reach into the trusty crate to get what I need.
Working on putting floaties on most of the stuff back there so when the yard sale occurs I might be able to recover some stuff.
I suppose I'll outgrow it someday, but until then nothing else comes close, and the price was right too!

I don't leave the beach without it. It has five vertical pole holders 1 for the net,1 for the club , the other 3 for poles. It is one of the large rectangular ones. It also has a plastic basket mounted to the front that can hold a live bait tank or my lunch. In addition, i can pack my tackle box,gps fish finder,vhf, seat cushion,reels,booze,gunny sack,fish gripper,water pump,life vest, wetsuit,booties and dry top in it. That way,when I want roll to the beach, I just throw it in the yak,set it up on the wheels and go. And all my shit is right there. When i am crabbing, I put five pool noodles spool with 100' of line and five bait jars and a gunny sack and gauge.Then i put 5 folded danielson pots strapped to the bow and I am reedy for some serious harvesting. And yes I still have room for a lot of crab. Sometimes i go out and drop crab pots, rockfish and abdive without returning to the beach to change clothes or gear. I will never give up my milk crate. Neither should you.

I never used one.  i always paddled a 2 hatch boat.  Still do.  Sounds like I missed it!

My two hatch kayak now has a tank well as well.

Three rod holder attached, my kayak cart straps, fish grips, brush anchor, usually one plastic tackle tray per species, bait, lunch, big bottle of water, all covered with a 99 Cent store bungie net.  Helpful tip, strap the milk crate down so that it is solid.  Don't rely on bungees as if you flip and especially in current, the milk crate and its contents will sag and drag in the water making it harder to roll the kayak back over with contents intact (took two rolls to figure that out). Now I can lift my kayak by the milk crate.

I've never used one. Always thought they were too cumbersome. I rarely even use my Plano box anymore, either. Anyone who has ever seen my yak ready for rock fishing knows I take the super minimalist route.

   That's funny, I just moved my crate from the "I might use it again" location in the garage to where it now holds paint cans,etc.    Now I use a Flambeau box (still have it Allen, thanks) with 5 (WSB will do that to you) plastic gutter downspout rod holders attached, along with my emergency paddle, & the crate is secured to the yak with snap shackles.
    I was a true believer in Crate-ism, even made a super-sized one to fill the entire tankwell.  Now I just make sure anything I put in the well is tied to something, so I don't see my jacket floating away and think "That's odd, someone's lost a splash jacket."