Just got my Heat. Its a 2000 closed bow. Love the boat so far.
Questions I have that maybe you guys could answer. All the links I have searched for don't have pictures anymore on this forum.
Storage is non existent on this thing! Im thinking access panel under the V Birth cushion, behind the cabin seats, and under the cabin seats. Any ideas welcome!
Performance wise I will be putting more power to it. What do these boats run MPH wise with what power and how stable is the hull up to what speed?
I think I will need tabs when I get bigger power.

Thanks for any input!

If you don't have tabs right now, I suspect you don't have hydraulic steering either. IF that's correct, be certain that you budget for full hydraulic steering in you build plan.

I got 67 once (running with wind & current, 1 person, low fuel, cool day) with my 496HO, they are not particularly fast boats but being the fastest out there has never been my primary focus. I had tons of storage in my '02, in fact I thought the cabin in the 28 was better than ANY other 28 out there and many larger boats. There are a bunch of members here that have put much bigger HP in them than I did so hopefully they'll chime in.

With a 500EFI, at 900 feet, she will run over 70 pretty consistently. With a little research back in the day, which was a Wednesday, seems 600hp is the magic number to break into the 80s. What are your goals? A few of the guys on here with the 1k+ go boats will break into triple digits, and you can surmise what is needed betwixt those two numbers

Ive seen pictures of some that have cut out below the side cushion on the cabin and created space there. Although, I cannot find those pictures anymore, maybe somebody in here can post them or has done it.

I have an 03' with a 525/XR setup and have hit 72.5 with 3 ppl and nearly half tanks on both sides. Thinking I may get 75 under the right conditions.