How is your Milk Crate Setup / Tricked Out?

[rob.mwpropane]

I don't have a picture with me but if you cut the bottom of of one of the rectangle crates and then use heavy duty zip ties to attach it to the top of another crate you have a box that will hold everything but the tank. Just leave enough of the ridges on the bottom corners to keep it stable and remember to sand the cut areas.

Great idea, but wouldn't work on most boats here. They really like you to shove it under the seat.

 

[Ghost95]

Understood. When I was running a boat we had seats that would fit a 5 gallon bucket. We used pickle buckets from a local restaurant. I don't remember if the double crate worked on that boat or a different one.

 

[JoeTPhilly]

Ok, I'll bite. Why not just use a mesh bag? I have one with shoulder straps and it is so easy to carry on your back. Nothing can fall out and easily fits under a boat seat. I don't get this milk crate thing. What am I missing?

 

[Ghost95]

It always seemed easier for people to get stuff out of a rigid bucket than it of a mesh bag. Also, with all identical buckets or crates, everyone has the same space.

Where as I travel to the boat with my gear in a mesh bag, not everyone does. I can't tell you him many times I had people show up with checked bag size Wenoka style bags. Plus, allot of divers have stuff in those bags they want to keep dry so they pull all their gear out on the deck and then put the bag in the cabin. **** goes everywhere. The buckets/crates are just an easy solution to keep things uniform and efficient.

 

[greeniguana]

Ok, I'll bite. Why not just use a mesh bag? I have one with shoulder straps and it is so easy to carry on your back. Nothing can fall out and easily fits under a boat seat. I don't get this milk crate thing. What am I missing?

You're not missing anything. I cringe when I see people getting on rec boats lugging massive hard plastic bins. They slide around, they never fit completely under the seat of their owner, and usually contain too much stuff they don't really need. Hard plastic bins take up just as much room empty as when they're full. Common courtesy is not very common anymore.

 

[Ghost95]

Just to be clear, we provided the buckets/crates to the divers when they came on board.

Not all situations or vessels are the same but having buckets or crates worked on our boat and made things run smoother.

 

[mje113]

I cringe when I see people getting on rec boats lugging massive hard plastic bins. They slide around, they never fit completely under the seat of their owner, and usually contain too much stuff they don't really need. Hard plastic bins take up just as much room empty as when they're full.

Of course every boat will be different but in my experience the charters I'm on out of NJ have bench seats that seem to be designed for use with mil crates. The space underneath fits a rectangular milk crate perfectly. The sit right next to each other all in a line, nothing slides around. It keeps everyone to their allotted space. It's super easy to slide it out between your legs, grab what you need, drop what you don't.

On my last trip the guy next to me did bring a mesh bag and it was a disaster, it sprawled out and took up much more space than he should of... it was constant flopping out on the deck, and snagging in my crate when ever I needed to access it.

If I don't know what the regional expectation is I always contact the charter ahead of time and ask how they prefer I haul and store my gear.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Ok, I'll bite. Why not just use a mesh bag? I have one with shoulder straps and it is so easy to carry on your back. Nothing can fall out and easily fits under a boat seat. I don't get this milk crate thing. What am I missing?

It is a NE thing (as stated in my op). I think it's beneficial for cold water tech-ish style dives where you tend to need a lot more crap then what would fit in a mesh bag.

It's like a drawer under the seat, pull it out, see everything, slide back. Can stay pretty organized.

If I don't get blown out this weekend I'll snap some pics. Won't really do it justice as this weekend I'm on a larger charter and there's a good bit of room.

You're not missing anything. I cringe when I see people getting on rec boats lugging massive hard plastic bins. They slide around, they never fit completely under the seat of their owner, and usually contain too much stuff they don't really need. Hard plastic bins take up just as much room empty as when they're full. Common courtesy is not very common anymore.

Who said anything about large plastic bins?

 

[rob.mwpropane]

This is the best picture I could find of a normal NJ wreck boat (courtesy of Indy II FB page). You're given enough space for 2 sets of doubles (one behind the other), the seat, and enough space under for 1 milk crate and 1 or 2 deco tanks (sometimes there's a bin up front for deco tanks depending what boat). Everyone is in drysuits with thermals. So hoods, gloves, the whole 9.

It's pretty tight, but it works. It is very different then your typical warm water vacation dive boat where you can wear next to nothing.

 

[mje113]

It's like a drawer under the seat, pull it out, see everything, slide back. Can stay pretty organized.

Yea this exactly.

Found this from a couple charters ago:

If you look at the lower left you can see the orange crate tilted and slid out. Once you're done getting or dropping gear it just slides right into place with a little lip keeping it secure.