Everyone's gotta learn sometime...can't say i'd be too comfortable on a brand new boat though! ;)
www.bcae1.com will be a good resource for you David, but will probably be a bit too basic for you at first. If once you've finished reading that, you have some more specific questions (your manual should answer the ones you've asked so far), you'll probably get a more tailored response.
HTH man, good luck on your install!