Centurion Ri257 or 2017 G23

[Darkside 248]

not trying to hijack the thread but can you put a sack in the transom locker that is not included in the 5550 lbs of the 257?

Yes! It is a factory option. 500 pound bag and it's own reversible pump.

 

I think it's fair to compare 257 vs G23 as they are same price.

 

Boardco,

You guys are awesome! Thank you for useful information as always! Please keep sharing your knowledge.

[carguy79ta 67]

Darkside.. so the ballast from factory would then 6050 lbs? I am on it.

[Darkside 248]

I think the 500 lb bag is included. Which is why 257 has more ballast than 237. The Ram Fill is bigger, but the bow bag is also smaller...

[BoardCo 110]

The 5,500 lbs. of ballast in the 257 includes the transom bag - without it the ballast is right at 5k.

 

Do you need the transom bag? No.

 

Do you want the transom bag? If you want the biggest wave - yes.

 

How is the wave without it? Still the better than anything else on the planet.

 

How is the wave with it? Holy S%!# (those were actually my exact words the first time I saw it from the driver's seat - and I've seen a lot of surf waves)

 

What would I do? Run 400 lbs. of steel bags in the transom and put storage on top, but that's just me

[wheels 151]

Boardco, how would you recommend setting up the ri237 for the max potential and I'm fully for adding lead on top of all the factory and pnp ballast? I also ordered the bow bag however I heard very few use it. If you can provide quicksurf stinger and cats position for regular footed surfing that would be great also.

Thx

[Bawshogg 77]

The 5,500 lbs. of ballast in the 257 includes the transom bag - without it the ballast is right at 5k.

 

Do you need the transom bag? No.

 

Do you want the transom bag? If you want the biggest wave - yes.

 

How is the wave without it? Still the better than anything else on the planet.

 

How is the wave with it? Holy S%!# (those were actually my exact words the first time I saw it from the driver's seat - and I've seen a lot of surf waves)

 

What would I do? Run 400 lbs. of steel bags in the transom and put storage on top, but that's just me

This was my thought exactly. Could easily lay 400-500lb of leadwake across the floor of the transom bag compartment and retain 90% of the available storage .

Edited February 14, 2017 by Bawshogg

[Darkside 248]

This was my thought exactly. Could easily lay 400-500lb of leadwake across the floor of the transom bag compartment and retain 90% of the available storage .

But then there will be that one time you say, "let's fill the bag on too of the lead", then wave gets even better and still no storage...lol

(Maybe I am the only one who would do that, but I doubt it)

[Bawshogg 77]

No.... I'm that guy also. Already thought about that option also buddy, thus the reason I ordered WITH. I guess it really comes down to how the boat use goes once I have it.

 

Sometimes when you add TOO much weight you get to a point of diminishing returns. I ran into that with my 247 . It didn't like more than 3-4 people on board when it was fully weighted , not that it wouldn't push it with more people.... the wave jut didn't really get "better" with ore weight. I would end up draining off some to get it back to where it was optimum.

Edited February 14, 2017 by Bawshogg

[BoardCo 110]

Here is my optimal setup for a 2017 Ri237 (the 2016 is really similar but slightly different because of the different shaft angle):

 

Both PNP Rear bags full

 

NO ballast in the bow or center tank

 

Ramfill on side you are surfing at 100

 

Ramfill on opposide side at 90

 

200 lbs (4 bags) lead on each side in the rear locker located as close to the transom as possible.

 

Quicksurf at 60

 

Speed at 11.2 ish

 

Stinger Plate at 60 (this varies based on what kind of wave you want)

 

CATS at 0 to -20 REGARDLESS of which side you surf on (EVERY boat is different on this one and it varies depending on how steep you want the wave).

 

This is how I set it up to get a steep surf style wave but it can be changed to a skim wave by changing the CATS and Stinger. Set it up this way and your brain will melt.

[Gavino 10]

Now your setup for a 2017 Ri217?

 

thanks in advance

[racer21 4]

BoardCo.... how to you tweak that set up for the 2016 Ri237?

[BoardCo 110]

Ri217 setup is very similar to the Ri237, just doesn't run as much CATS. I would start with those settings and go from there.

 

The 2016 Ri237 is also really similar, the main difference is the level of the Stinger plate. My experience is that if people are having issues it is because they are running Quicksurf too high (70-80). You can do that if you are a higher end rider looking for something very particular in lip shape but otherwise I keep it at 60-70. The 2016 Ri series are essentially the same but the Stinger plate will be a bit different because the shaft angle pushes the boat slightly different.

 

On all 217 and 237s regardless of year I would start with those settings and then play around from there. The golden rule on all Ri series is that butt weight is king - if you are having any issues it is because you need to sink the back end more. If you follow that you will end up with the best wave on the planet.

[racer21 4]

BoardCo... thanks for clarifying.

[luluzer 50]

Boardco, love the info, thank you!! Do you see much of a difference in the 2016 Ri's waves vs. the 2017 RIs? Are there many differences in the two years? Drive shaft angle, gear ratio, stinger plates, ect. . .?

 

Thanks again

[BoardCo 110]

The waves between the 16's and 17's are identical, you just run a slightly different setting on the Stinger plate to compensate for the change in shaft angle. With a different shaft angle the running attitude is slightly different, but not by much. It took about 2 minutes when I first went out on a 2017 to get it dialed right and the waves are the exact same once you dial in the settings.

 

Then only difference between the boats is the shaft angle, otherwise everything else is the same.

[wheels 151]

Boardco, can you explain why the cats fin is the same for either regular or goofy wave. Also by changing the fin what is the difference it will make to the wave?

Edited February 16, 2017 by wheels

[Darkside 248]

Boardco,

Like wheels I am also curious? There are several of us moving into these from Malibu, and as a result we do not have the familiarity with centurions, (yet) Some of us are trying to get a solid baseline setup, so we can hit the ground running.

[BoardCo 110]

Why on the Ri does it run the fin on the same side regardless of which side you surf on? Um... good question... prop rotation maybe?

 

This topic gets a bit hairy but I will do my best. The CATS fin changes the running attitude of the boat across 2 axis points and it is greatly impacted by the rest of the settings of the boat. In other words you can't just say that by moving CATS 10 degrees it will for sure produce "X" result because "X" is heavily impacted by other factors such as ballast, Quicksurf, Stinger Plate, etc.

 

In a nutshell by taking a fully ballasted Ri237 (this is the boat I will use) with the setting I listed above and moving the CATS from 0 (center) to -10 it will change the pitch and roll of the boat to make the starboard side wave slightly less steep with a smoother lip and the port side wave a bit more steep and aggressive. Naturally the Ri237 (and most boats with surf systems in general) throw out a steeper starboard wave and a more mellow port wave and by changing CATS it changes the shaping of each.

 

You can run the CATS at 0 or even at +10 if you want but -10 or so (like I mentioned every boat is slightly different) seems to be a solid setting that allows you to customize the wave shape ideally for any rider just using the Stinger plate. We served up waves for beginners along with Ashley Kidd, Keenan Flegel and Caro Villeneuve with only changing the Stinger plate so not a bad mix.

 

I have to give Brandon Tollie some credit - he is the one that originally showed me the negative CATS setting for both sides and the wave is epic.