: That's an interesting line of thought. I like John's box also, in particular
: the creativity to use a tupperware box lid, which I am interested to know
: how that works out for practical water tightness in the event of a surf
: dumpage and bail out. For my money, I'd back up my expensive electronics
: with dry bags. Lowest common denominator is "wet".

I've had my compartment, which is very similar to John's and in the same place, loaded to the hilt and mine is bigger and deeper than John's. There was no increased instability at all. If the weather or water conditions are questionable, the compartment is closed tight. If I have to deal with a simple rain shower with moderate winds but no real wave action, the compartment is open but the spray skirt stays closed. Since the compartment can't be accessed with a sealed spray skirt, you ain't gonna be using anything in there with an appreciable surf.

: I doubt the extra weight from the items John is carrying is enough to affect
: balance very much, but it could be I suppose. Probably no worse than a
: deck bag to be sure.

Nawwww! It's also a great place to store energy bars.

: I wonder what is better, a day hatch or a knee tube. The knee tube seems
: awfully convenient, but invites a flooded cockpit in some situations,
: which does affect stability in a major way. You just wouldn't open the
: knee tube in any condition where a wave might jump in. Same for a day
: hatch I suppose, although a flooded day hatch would be much more
: manageable in terms of stability.

I don't know what a knee tube is so I can't comment on it.

: I've greatly enjoyed my day hatch but things can move around and be difficult
: to find sometimes.

Everything gets kind of cluttered in the compartment but I try to predict what I will need most and keep it at or near the front. My compartment is about 16" long and custom designed to fit my Nikon SLR with a 300mm lens attached.

Robert N Pruden