I took my windlass out of the box. Stared for a lonngg time. Put it back in the box. Repeat x 3. Finally got the "gestalt" of how this thing worked, the separate wiring systems, deck buttons set up, etc. My '83 Catalina 36 has a little cabinet up in the V-berth. I put the power supply, battery and wiring in there with a power switch cut through the cabinet side. I set the windlass itself so that the drop just hangs over the anchor locker hatches, cut out a bit of the hatch and put Starboard backing underneath and on top. My advice is just to really figure out how it works and measure things a half dozen times before starting any cutting of holes, etc.