Due to this we had to mount the pole a little farther back than we would have liked. The guys at the shop recommended just back of the center of the boat but said that most installations are quite a bit farther back of that due to gas tanks and other obstacles. This is our boat with the doghouse and rear seats removed. Our gas tank stops directly under the raised floor panel just in front of the engine. We had to position our floor mount further back than ideal due to the location of the gas tank.
Ideal placement is just slightly back of the center of the boat.
Here is a close up of the raised floor panel with the mounting plate installed just forward of the doghouse. The instructions tell you to use stainless steel machine screws if you can access the underside of the mounting area. If you can't you can use SS screws but it is not recommended. This is the underside of the floor panel, I purchased the 6 stainless steel machine screws, washers and nyloc nuts separately. Here is the finished mounting plate installation with doghouse and seats installed.