....stuff deleted

Think about your stuff in three groups:

A) What you only need in camp, which can be tucked far inside the
kayak. When you get to camp you would completely unload. For bad
weather, the tent might be one of the first items you want to pull out
of the boat at camp.

B) What you need during the day, which whould be easily reachable.

C) Emergency gear, which should be both easily reachable and extremely
secure if you dump.

Geometry may force you to modify this a bit.

Gary,

Good advice and this pretty much sums it up. Still, with the down bag, I
really didn't want it wet. Putting it up, off the bottom of the boat, and
limiting the exposure of the top of the bag to water were pretty important
to me. I would put most of the soft stuff I'd need in camp into the bow
(clothes, food, bag, and water, which I located on the bottom, down near the
bulkhead). Stuff that I'd need only occasionally would tend to be in the
back. I'm probably a bit out of trim (light in the bow) as the water is used
up, but this isn't as much of an issue with a kayak as it is with a canoe.

And yes, geometry is, at times, an issue, but if you apply the old
backpackers draconian rules of what to bring and how to pack it, you are
much better off. People in canoes can be a bit more cavilier with their
gear.

Rick