It seems most kayak anglers have gotten used to rigging their fishing kayaks with a milk crate attached behind the cockpit. If you happen you own a SOT fishing kayak, rigging it with a milk crate would make sense, since SOT kayaks are basically hyped paddle boards that offer too little storage space and no real cockpit. Sit-in fishing kayaks offer a little more in this aspect, but not enough to drop the idea of adding a milk crate. However, if you own a W fishing kayak, you may want to reconsider the pros and cons of adding a milk crate – The only obvious pro that we can think of is that rigging your yak is fun, and attaching a milk crate to the top of a W kayak is an easy project that delivers immediate visual results… And here are the arguments against rigging your W fishing kayak with a milk crate:
When launching, a milk crate would block your natural way into the cockpit from the back side of the boat. This means you might have to get in from the side, and possibly step in water. Keeping your feet dry is one of those little pleasures you can afford with a W kayak, so why give it up if you don’t have to?
A milk crate catches wind, which can become a problem if there’s lots of it blowing around and you happen to be tired, and have a long way to paddle – A milk crate on top of a kayak demands more efforts from the paddler. Windage is essentially a tracking problem, and since W kayaks track better than SOT and sit-in kayaks they are less prone to windage issues, but nevertheless – it’s something to keep in mind.
Why store anything behind you, on top of the W kayak hulls, when there’s so much space available inside the W kayak cockpit and in its hull tips – within arm’s reach? It’s like attaching your luggage to your car’s rear bumper instead of just putting it in the trunk, or in the passengers compartment. The W500 offers 14 cubic ft or internal storage space, which is more than any kayak ever would, and probably more than you could ever use … -so why not use it?
SOT and sit-in kayaks have a very low deck – close to the water. Kayak fishermen who fish in salt water prefer to keep their reels as high as possible, away from the salt water, and they attach tube rod holders to their yak’s milk crate. This adds almost a foot of distance, and saves them some problems. However, the W kayak hull tips are normally higher, and you can protect your fishing rods by storing them inside the cockpit when launching, so there isn’t that much of a necessity for you to use a milk crate. Besides, you can rig the W kayak stern with deck mounted rod holders that pivot to any direction you want, and will position your fishing rods higher above water surface.
The milk crate adds weight to your fishing kayak. It’s not really important for paddling, but it could be for carrying it. It’s not that much, unless you’re tired and have to carry the kayak a long distance. The same is true when you have to cartop your kayak.
The following movie shows a W500 kayak fully rigged fro fishing – without a milk crate attached:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcEMYe43lGE?rel=0&w=480&h=360]
