FS33 and SV233

[newtonabbie 1]

Help with knowledge about 2015 and possibly 2016 FS33 as well as same years SV233.  
new to surf boats (we don’t care about wakeboarding for now).  Is one of the two a better surf boat (regarding the wake).  It will be for preteen and high school kids mostly.  Maybe a few adults after a few!  
There seems to be a big deal about 300 engine hours on these two boats.  What does that compare to in miles on a vehicle?  36k miles? 100k miles?  
I realize there are probably big jumps in capability for newer model years, but if we go newer or newer model year we will probably just go 2019-21 supreme ZX232.  
Thoughts?

[Troy. R 198]

It’s hard to make the car/truck miles to boat hours comparison, but I’ll give it a crack. 300hrs x 60mph in a car = 18,000 miles. Now, cruising on the freeway at 60mph, your rpm is around 1500, where in a boat while underway, you’re probably averaging 3000 rpm or so. Also worth considering that when surfing, you’re under considerable load with the extra ballast weight. On the other hand, you will have considerably more time spent at idle in a boat than in a car/truck. All that is to say, 300hrs is no big deal. Especially on a 5-6 year old boat that has been properly maintained.

As for surf, of the boats you mentioned here are mine thoughts and reasoning:

#1. ZS232 - tallest freeboard, best running surface/hull for surfing, best wave of the 3. Its designed to surf fully loaded (ballast on both sides), which makes switching from side to side very easy and doesn’t require the extreme list or lean to produce a great wave. You can also produce an equal wave on both sides. The ZS is also the heaviest, which is a consideration for towing. The ZS will also have the most basic tech/display (which could be a positive or negative depending on your personal perspective).

#2. FS33 - great surf wave, taller freeboard than the SV, nice display/tech. The goofy side wave is not nearly as good as the regular. It’s a little washy, but can be cleaned up when dialed in properly. Though it does have optional surf tabs, the hull prefers to lean to produce a wave which typically means draining ballast from one side and filling the other to switch sides. Not that big of a deal with Ramfill though.

#. SV233 - Still a very nice boat. When it first came out it was probably  the best 23’ surf boat on the market. However, compared to newer boats, it has a very low profile (small freeboard). This hull, like the FS, likes to lean to produce a wave, so you have the same drain/fill issue when switching sides. With the low profile, that means your surf side rear corner is slammed in the water. This can concern some people, but never bothered me in my old Avalanche. The SV also notoriously has a tough time cleaning up the goofy wave.

For what it’s worth, being an old school Centurion guy, when I first started looking for a new-to-me boat a few years ago, I started looking at SV233/244s, then FS3/44s. I realized I could get a new boat with full warranty for not much more than the cost of an FS (at least you could 2 years ago), so I looked at all of the new sub-$100k boats and finally ended up with a ZS232. We love the ZS and are happy with our decision.

Hope that helps!

[newtonabbie 1]

Thank you, that is great feedback.   Kind of falls into the general thought process I was thinking.
probably going to go the Supreme ZX232 route. Now just have to figure out if there are any big differences between 19-21

[Troy. R 198]

5 hours ago, newtonabbie said:

Thank you, that is great feedback.   Kind of falls into the general thought process I was thinking.
probably going to go the Supreme ZX232 route. Now just have to figure out if there are any big differences between 19-21

In ‘20 they went to a larger display, added rider presets along with a few other display features like a “fill all” and “drain all” button, and changed the tower. Everything else is basically the same.

Not sure where you’re located, but I did see Boardco in Utah had a nice looking ‘19 ZS232 about a month back. There were a few other used ZS232s listed on Boattrader at that time.

[newtonabbie 1]

Thank you Troy.  Was guessing there was some features like that.  I could see the screen size, but it’s hard to tell what capabilities you get with that. Appreciate it.  Those sound like some nice features. We went and looked at a used 2020 and a new 22 here local (MN).  But they are very high price here.  I did see the one at boardco.  It looks very nice and not a bad price, but my wife is demanding heaters if we go with the Supreme and theirs doesn’t have them.  I was asking about the years because we have identified a 19, 20, and 21 we like.  Just trying to figure out if any one item or group of items are worth the cost gaps between the years.  It looks to be about $10k per year.  Seems like not many changes from 20 to 21.  But it does seem like there is slightly more ballast each year. And a few other small things.  But the 19 to 20 tech just seems like a big jump large.  Thanks again.  

[Troy. R 198]

10 hours ago, newtonabbie said:

Thank you Troy.  Was guessing there was some features like that.  I could see the screen size, but it’s hard to tell what capabilities you get with that. Appreciate it.  Those sound like some nice features. We went and looked at a used 2020 and a new 22 here local (MN).  But they are very high price here.  I did see the one at boardco.  It looks very nice and not a bad price, but my wife is demanding heaters if we go with the Supreme and theirs doesn’t have them.  I was asking about the years because we have identified a 19, 20, and 21 we like.  Just trying to figure out if any one item or group of items are worth the cost gaps between the years.  It looks to be about $10k per year.  Seems like not many changes from 20 to 21.  But it does seem like there is slightly more ballast each year. And a few other small things.  But the 19 to 20 tech just seems like a big jump large.  Thanks again.  

I have only played with the newer display (a '21 if I recall correctly) for a few minutes at the dealer. It is definitely an upgrade from my '19. $10k worth of an upgrade? I'm not so sure about that, but considering the resale implication (when you sell it will still have higher value), maybe it's a wash in the end. The ballast/weight didn't change until '22.

'19 - '21 specs:
Dry Weight 5450 lbs
Ballast 4600 lbs
Fuel 81 gal (approx 494 lbs)

'22 specs:
Dry Weight 5450 lbs
Ballast 4900 lbs
Fuel 70 gal (approx 427 lbs)

[newtonabbie 1]

Anyone know what the hitch weight of the 19-21 zx232 is?   My suv is rated well within the boat weight, but just checking?  I have the new style expedition max with the hd tow package, so it’s tkrated for 9k lbs.  just wondering if my headlights are going to point at the sky! Hahaha

[Troy. R 198]

I don't know the exact tongue weight, but a good general rule of thumb is +/- 10-12% of gross weight. So I'm guessing somewhere in the 800 lbs range. I will say, my 2017 Ram 1500 used to sag a little, so I ended up adding air springs to level it out.