I have gone out of my way to keep the battery and all connections as high as possible. If something goes wrong, the last thing you want is for the electrical to fail (no electrical pump, no radio, no lights, no nothing). My battery is located on the port side on the aft side of the aft cockpit bulkhead, as high as I could get it. The shelves would almost have to be afloat before it the electrical system was done in. Access is through the port lassarette. Although it is aft of the center of gravity where you wer thinking, it does not have the leverage that it would if located in the motor lassarette.