If your boat has what I assume is some sort of vent between the bow and the windshield, that is the only spot that I have seen allow water into that compartment. So I just stuff it with a towel when washing down the boat. But because I have had that compartment get moisture sometimes, I went with plexiglass for my amp rack and about a 1/2 inch spacer at each corner. My thoughts were that the spacers would allow for the wet carpet to dry without contacting the amps, but the humidity that is created might still do the same harm. As far as wire tips, go to a local stereo shop, or maybe even a Radio Shack, etc. and pick up a distribution block to match how many amps you will have. This allows you to essentially connect one main power wire to all of the amps with shorters connections without running a ton of extra wire and it looks cleaner. I just used screw down zipties to snake the rest of the wire where I wanted it to go, but a lot more handy guys on this board probably have a better suggestion. My best tip: Turn it on and test it before you tighten all your screws. Good luck, and have fun!