I am aware that both motor leads and battery leads should be kept as short as possible, however, I am wondering if one has the choice what is better to have, either the motor leads or the battery leads the shortest.

On my current Osprey build I wanted to locate the ESC on the mount above the motor. This would give me the shortest battery leads but as the motor leads will be pointing aft then they will need to be turned 180 degrees towards the forward end of the motor. By having the ESC with motor leads facing forward the leads would be quite short but the battery leads very long.

If I fit the ESC to the starboard side of the hull adjacent my forward mounted battery trays then the motor leads will be shorter but the battery leads longer.

I would prefer the ESC mounted high above the motor mount to keep it hopefully out of any leakage into the hull.