Where do you want to put the most weight in the boat? If I'm going fishing, I'll have 2 ice chests, tackle box, trolling motor battery up front. Should I slide the ice chests toward the back, front or middle of the boat to get the best performance?

It's a lot of trial an error. What works for someone else might not work for you.

My boat is 17x48. I've got a 60lb battery in the back with my 200lb self. Up front I have a 9 gallons of gas, a 3500lb winch, tool box, and 30 pounds of misc gear. It bounces setup like this. Add a 48qt cooler up front and it runs great.

When I hunt, I put my 2nd man and dog a couple feet before the rake starts. I seem to get the best speed and handling with them there. I throw all my deeks and guns up front by the deck. If I’m stopped and in real shallow water, sometimes I have my buddy run up to the front deck for a minute.

I’m always moving people and things around to see what’s best though. I don’t have enough hours on the rig yet to know what is definitively best.

On my 18' rig I have battery and a large storage bin with tools props, ect under my rear deck over. Me 225lbs and console in front of that. I have 13 gals fuel and a 29 series battery up front.
The smaller the rig the more weight distribution effects it overall. And having a console I don't feel an uneven distribution of weight like in a tiller.

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The boat is an 18x51 prodigy with a 37efi gator tail tiller handle. I have a built in 10 gallon tank in the front, trolling motor battery in front, cranking battery and me (150lbs) in the back. Just trying to see where I should put everything or anyone else to get the best results. Guess I'll just have to play with it.

With that boat, your load carrying should expect pretty good and not as sensitive.