Nice boat. It should fly when you get your handling issues sorted out. Im with Chris on your XD. You should see a big improvement in handling with a 2" shortie. It will also take some custom prop work.
You do have room for tabs but it's going to be tight.
I changed mine out from the stock Bennetts to billet Eddie Marine single rams. My transom is tight too. I moved mine out towards the chines. I had to machine the transom mounting plate to clear the swim platform supports on the corners of the transom. These are 12" X 17"s and should work well on your boat.
www.eddiemarine.com I think they're model #500s.
Here's a few pics.
Regards,
Steve