Handling of 1970 Monterey

[70monterey]

Hi all. New to big boats and I am trying to figure out some of the characteristics of a 1970 25' Monterey. It is wooden and is extremely top heavy or at least it seems that way to me. The trim tabs work but do not react very quickly - are they suppose to? The slightest amount of movement on the the boat while under way really effects the boat - is this normal? I have invested a lot of time and money into rebuilding this boat but am needing some pointers on how to handle the boat in the water. Any one out there familiar with this particular model.