Trident Stern Well

I noticed that the stern well in my T13 is molded for a 5 gallon bucket, is there a specific product this is molded for? I haven't seen anybody with 5 gallon buckets in their stern well and I just wonder what made them do that instead of a milk crate or other product.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kayakfishingsupplies.com/catalog/9510_thumb.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kayakfishingsupplies.com/servlet/the-Bait-Tanks/Categories&usg=__Tmmmoax9JRWKp0LSknLZdvKr_6Y=&h=121&w=150&sz=4&hl=en&start=6&sig2=lCXMlYik8dltNiwoRoGNdA&um=1&tbnid=0h0zzoTd83qXdM:&tbnh=77&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3D5%2Bgallon%2Bbucket%2Blivewell,%2Bocean%2Bkayak%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1&ei=YkRRS56OMaeqtAOQza36Bw

Something like this perhaps?

Yeah, I suppose that could be it. Do I deserve the dunce cap here? Sure feels like it. 

I wouldn't beat yourself up. You'll notice that sort of thing on a lot of SOT kayaks designed with fishing in mind. On the X-Factor for example, there is a spot molded for a 5 gal. bucket that one could use as either a bait tank or gear bucket with rod holders mounted on it, and molded spots for full and half-size milk crates. That's just the manufacturers appealing to the sense of D.I.Y. that has made kayak fishing so fun. Some in the industry have designed products to fit in those spots on fishing kayaks though.

they used to fit a 5 gal. bucket, full size milk crate, or full size scuba tank.

naw, don't worry bout the dunce hat. only place i've seen a 5 gal. bucket on a SOT is in pics of east coast rigs, and a very small % of so. cal. pics. like they've said, it's there cause the mfr's are trying to help the DIY'ers.

I think they put it too far back in the tankwell.  I have a live bait tank made out of a 3 gallon bucket.  But I like it closer to me.  I use a plano box behind the seat, then snug the bucket up against it, which is a few inches forward of the circular indent.  I want as much space as I can get behind the bucket livewell to put the fish I catch.   

-Allen

On my Tarpon 140, I have a milk crate with rod holder tubes in the forward part of the rear well, and a 5 gal bucket right behind that. These are bungeed down snug.
A small soft cooler with lunch, and sometimes plano-type boxes of lures/tackle is in the crate, as well as a spare water bottle and anything else I might want handy. I haven't been launching thru surf, so i don't worry about doing a huli and losing any of this. I don't see myself rolling accidentally, either. But I'll have my stuff more secure if I ever have to launch thru the surf. I'm going to practice handling my boat (unloaded) in some smaller surf when I see a good day for it.
Retained Rockfish, etc. get lobbed over my shoulder into the 5-gal bucket if I see any seals or sea lions around when I'm fishing. Don't want to tempt them with a stringer of fresh sea lion goodies, as they have been getting bold in recent years. The stringer immediately gets hauled in and hidden in the bucket if I see any sea lions show up in the area I'm fishing.
At my local spot, the S Jetty at Westhaven, I can paddle in and stash my bled dead fish in a large cooler full of ice that is waiting in my rig, which is a welcome break to stretch my legs, and then head right back out. This is to jettison the sea lion bait, since there's a big bully seal lion bull that hangs out there whenever I'm fishing. He'll come right up behind you fairly close and check you out! Catching a glimpse of him in your peripheral never fails to provide that "edgy feeling" that makes the fishing so much more exciting!
 The Jetty is only about 1-mile long from the base to the outer tip, and my rig can be parked pretty close to my launch site.

I used a 5 gal bucket for years in my Cobra Navigator.  In fact, I didn't even own a milk crate until last year.  The crate is more versatile than the bucket, but the bucket does a much better job keeping your dungeness crabs from escaping.