Listees, I have restrained myself for months...I can't hold back any longer...here goes: I agree completely with Jim Fidler: I do not want a bubble of battery gases trapped under any battery box cover aboard my boat...No way,no how...It adds an unecessary level of danger, not safety....It's a CRAZY suggestion!! The website mentions a battery box top sealing in an "air" bubble to avoid a battery filling with seawater during a sinking is about the dumbest thing I've read so far....In fact I'd argue strongly AGAINST such a battery box top......And the statement about bring out cables VERTICALLY makes no sense to me...didn't they mean horizontally??? Anyway, the real reasons for battery boxes and tops include the following: to secure the battery firmly, protect terminals from shorting (as via a dropped wrench), keep surface acid from people, provide a physcial support when crawling over, contain acid if the case leaks. I always service my batteries and work with cabling with a fan running to push air around in the engine room...I have a 12v fan on a long cord and as I move around I place it behind me to move and disperse any possible gases....And the same applies when I equalize batteries...in addition, I try to equalize on mild days with windows, vents, hatches, open.... (Feeling a lot less vitriolic now, maybe I'll try to sneak out past the "admiral" and pick up an unecessary necessity or two for the boat....) Cheers, Rob Brueckner Hatteras Yachtfish