Fishing Kayak Milk Crate
Rigged With Cover and Rod Holders
This one is on Sean Curley's rigged Tarpon 140 but will fit any Sit-on-Top kayak with some modifications. You need two milk crates of same make and size, large zip ties, saw to cut the second milk crate, drill and drill bits, bungee cord with hooks. (Click on images to see detail pictures)
When you stack two milk crates they fit together and can be stacked. This is the feature we are going to use to make the lid. Start by cutting the side-walls of the second milk crate close to (flush) with the bottom. The easiest way to do this is using a table saw and set the guide so it cut's flush. If you don't have a table saw you can use others but the end result may not be as clean and neat. After you are done cutting you can use a file or rasp to clean up the edges, then polish with some sandpaper.
Drill the holes for zip ties used to attach the lid to the milk crate, see image 1 for where to drill. Close and open lid to see how tight the zip ties has to be, with correct placement there will be virtually no side play in the lid when opened. Now to secure the lid in place, close it and attach the bungee cord, measure so the hooks reach under the carry handle and drill 2 holes for the hooks (see detail image 3). The rest of the details is just how you can attach a rod holder or tool holder. See the old phone cord used for gear keeper and how the Boga grip is in the middle rod holder.
Another nice detail is the light for night fishing and it's attached with wing nuts on the inside.
Click on images to large version of each.  Image#1 detail lid-inside
Next step is to attach the lid to the bottom milk crate and drill some holes for the zip ties to hold the lid in place. Look at the images for drilling and hole placement. Four zip ties are used for the hinges and you have to drill holes in the milk crate to tread them.
 Image#2 detail lid-outside (back)
See the added bonus, mounting of the rod holder.
 Image#3 detail lid-outside (front) Attaching the Bungee cord
To keep the lid shut you can use a short bungee cord with 2 metal hooks, drill holes for the hooks, see picture for placement.
 Image#4 detail lid-inside
Se the telephone cord used to secure rod or tools.
 Image#5 detail back - rod holder - tool leash.
The leash from image 4 is attached to the Boga grip.
 Image#6 detail side with mounted light for night fishing.
The light is mounted with wing nuts so it's easy to remove.
That is it for building the crate, now you can outfit it to your liking with rod holders and gear keepers.
Sean found the idea to the milk crate lid on kfs, his version is different enough to be original. No metal hinges to rust out and detailed instructions on assembly.
occasional-chamber |
