Help with boat set up and new wakesurf board please?

[BigWillOKC 1]

Late last summer I bought a 2007 Centurion Avalanche, not sure what other model info it has, but this boat has the walk thru transom on the starboard side. It is all factory (except for the sound system ) and I learned to wakesurf last summer on the Hyperlite Broadcast that the guy gave me with the boat. Well, on the last trip of the summer the hyperlite flew out of the boat on the way to the lake (idiot i know), so I have two questions:

 

1. What board do you guys recommend? I have been reading the forums a lot and I am guessing an Inland Blue Lake 5'4"?? I'm 6'7 and 220.

 

2. What can I do to improve my wake this year? I have the stock ballasts in now and also have a couple of fat sacks. What i started doing last summer was filling the center and port ballasts, adding a fat sack on top of the rear port ballast and another fat sack on the port side in the nose.

 

I want a monster wake like the ones i see you guys posting here all the time, whats the formula? Thanks!

[BigWillOKC 1]

Will an Enzo sac fit on the port side and if so, is it as simple as removing the stock tank and using the same fittings and pump??? i rarely have anyone surf goofy so i was thinking just dumping the stock tank on the starboard side and replacing it with a 400# fly high. i have read that should fit.

[h20king 794]

If you remove the hard tank it is fairly easy to add a custom AVY sack for the most part it is just plug and play although not the fastest to fill and empty it is the easiest way to get the monster wave you see from BIG,Duffy,and lake's AVY'S I'm sure they will chime in as they have their boats dialed.Or on the cheep remove the tank put a 1100 in the locker and a 400 on the seat.As for a new ride the blue is a nice board and should work well for a guy your size............H

[LakeSurfer 10]

I would take out the hard tanks and add custom Avy sacs. This way you get about 1,500lbs under the seats. I would not spend the money on the Enzo sac for an Avy because the measurements are not the same and custom sacs really are not that much more money. If your Avy does not have side swipe, these sacs should work for you.

 

Note: kriskussee was nice enough to provide these diagrams for his custom sacs. Mine are just about the same.

Port Sac.pdf

Stbd Sac.pdf

Edited January 8, 2011 by LakeSurfer

[BigWillOKC 1]

I would take out the hard tanks and add custom Avy sacs. This way you get about 1,500lbs under the seats. I would not spend the money on the Enzo sac for an Avy because the measurements are not the same and custom sacs really are not that much more money. If your Avy does not have side swipe, these sacs should work for you.

 

Note: kriskussee was nice enough to provide these diagrams for his custom sacs. Mine are just about the same.

 

 

My avy has the walk through transom, but i'm thinking the port side diagram looks pretty close to what i have. the 12" height of the enzo sack just seems too tall to me, but my boat is in storage. I have 2 of the 250 pound sacks so maybe the best option for me at this point is to remove the port tank and replace it with the 1100 pound fat sack, then if i want i can always throw one of the 250's under the bench on the port side and fill it with my tsunami. That would give me 1350 pounds at less than $200 out of pocket and pretty close to the same thing the enzo would provide aside from having to manually fill the 250. I also have kids though so the permanent storage loss with the enzo may also be something to consider.

 

What about the wake plate? where do you guys have yours? and do you add weight to the front of the boat or just the rear? do you also fill the starboard tank when you surf or just the center and port? sorry for all the questions but i've got the basics down and want to really improve that wake this year.

[BigWillOKC 1]

PS I was also thinking about picking up one of the fat bricks to strap to the swim platform...is it that noticeable of a difference for those of you that do it?

[BigWillOKC 1]

regarding the boards, inland surfer website suggests the red woody, the blue lake and the squirt....what do you guys think about those three? The squirt is nearly half the price of the other two. i consider myself to be an intermediate to beginner (not doing tricks but can free ride) and obviously we will have a decent wake to ride...

[Carter13 69]

Big,

 

Congrats on the Avy and welcome to the family.

The wake plate should be all the way up. There are alot of guys here with Avy's that have sweet waves for surfing and I'm sure will chime in. My setup is 750 on the port, mid tank full, 350ish on the starboard, and 250ish in the bow. This gives us a good sized wave, a long pocket and a bunch of push. It certainly is not the biggest wave but than again I don't have to worry about rollers.

I have a blue lake and it works well for me.

Edited January 9, 2011 by Carter13

[LakeSurfer 10]

regarding the boards, inland surfer website suggests the red woody, the blue lake and the squirt....what do you guys think about those three? The squirt is nearly half the price of the other two. i consider myself to be an intermediate to beginner (not doing tricks but can free ride) and obviously we will have a decent wake to ride...

 

The blue lake is great for 175lbs - 230lbs, you can ride it at 150lbs if you have to. If you are going to have riders closer to the 150lbs range than the squirt would be great. But at 220lbs, my guess is that you are going to be pushing the upper end of weight. I would not buy the Red Woody unless you think you are going to have guys riding it that are 240lbs.

 

As for ballast, we surf Trevor's Avy with 1,100lbs surf sac in back locker and 340lbs sac under seat (my guess is that we get about 1,200lbs) 250lbs center tank and 155lbs brick on swim deck. It produces a very solid wave. IMO, the 155lbs brick on swim deck is equal to about adding 350lbs on back seat. It works great and gives you more room in the boat.

[Joe B 17]

I have the walkthrough transom. Let's talk Portside Fly High sacs:

 

1100 in locker

400lb in pass storage hold

750lb on the floor

fill starboard under walkthrough sac

4 people in the boat is the wave you see in my avatar.

 

Blue Lake is perfect for you and the Avy wave. Haven't ridden the squirt but at that price and being able to remove fins once you progress it would be my first choice. Don't get the Red woody at your size.

 

Sac on the transom does help, but police might not like it, and I just have a crew member sit out there if the lake is empty. More than 4 people and you gotta watch taking water in the vent. When wife and kids only, I don't fill the 750 and surf fine but 360s are much harder. Seat bases want 10" high but enzo sac fits fine and doesn't pop the seats. Custom sac fits much better than enzo. I took plumbing off my center tank and routed to storage hold so I'm all autofill. I'm adding pumps to get my center tank used again. Buy quick disconnects so you can put the 1100 behind the driver and 750lb in the walkthrough for a stellar Goofy wave.

[BigWillOKC 1]

I would take out the hard tanks and add custom Avy sacs. This way you get about 1,500lbs under the seats. I would not spend the money on the Enzo sac for an Avy because the measurements are not the same and custom sacs really are not that much more money. If your Avy does not have side swipe, these sacs should work for you.

 

Note: kriskussee was nice enough to provide these diagrams for his custom sacs. Mine are just about the same.

 

 

I'm starting to like the diagram for the port side more and more. Why does it have so many holes though and where do you mount your pump? If you don't mind, how much did that port sac cost? Pm me if you like?

Edited January 9, 2011 by BigWillOKC

[LakeSurfer 10]

I'm starting to like the diagram for the port side more and more. Why does it have so many holes though and where do you mount your pump? If you don't mind, how much did that port sac cost? Pm me if you like?

 

All of the different holes are for 2 fill, 2 empty and 1 overflow. These sacs are so big that guys are running 2 pumps to them. The extra holes just give you options down the line if you want to upgrade the pump system.

 

I would email Crew Admin about the Fly High deal and he can give you an exact amount. I would guess they are about $600.

 

http://www.centurioncrew.com/index.php?showtopic=2196

[WakeDoc 471]

Although it is an Enzo SV240 the concept is the same, this is a pic of our custom sac full.

 

 

We have the 4 ports across the top, 1 plugged, 1 quick fill fitting, 2 on the high side for over flow, we have two fills and two drains on the bottom

 

This is what we get with it.

 

 

Never a complaint...wish a warm weekend would push in for some...

[Bigcatpt 408]

BigWill..... Wow so many questions!!!!

 

Lots of great Avy waves on this site. We can help you. But you may have to join a 12 step program once we get you hooked!!!

 

I will answer a few of your questions.....

 

Board.... Inland Surfer Blue Lake or Grindwater Ginsu

 

Wave building.... Best option (not cheapest) is a custom Avy sac. Plumb it in for 1500# of raw ballast making power. Cheapest option get a flying high jumbo 1100# for locker and then throw 400# or so on the side seat. A fat brick on the platform makes a huge difference. No weight up front unless you have a big crew in the rear. You are big guy and you want a big wave with lots of push. Some of these lighter guys will tell you to put some weight in the front and to go faster than 11 MPH (GPS speed) to make the wave longer cause it works awesome for them at their weight. My crew is mostly 220# (guys day out.... not the ladies days out...). Our best set up is custom avy sac filled 1500#, 400# on rear seat toward port side, 155# fat brick on the swim deck, center tank full, and 3 guys in the boat all on port side and behind the windshield. Speed 10.7. When I am just out with the family we just fill the custom sac and its plenty big for the family...

 

If you want some reading material on installing a custom ballast sac from scratch go here.... http://centurionavalancheballastinstall.blogspot.com/ That will show you a few pics of my wave.

 

Hope thats helps!

[BigWillOKC 1]

Yes everything you guys are telling me is helping a great deal! I am waiting on crew admin to return my pm about the custom sac. Thanks again for all your help and I'm sure you will hear from me again when the sac arrives for installation advice

[BigWillOKC 1]

OK guys, I bought a new board.....decided to go with the Grindwater Ginsu. I have read great things about it and found a killer deal $399 with free shipping! Crew Admin hasn't responded to any of my pms, so i called fly high and the guy actually pretty much tried to talk me out of the custom sac and said to just get an Enzo and it will be fine. I may just do that. I'd like to hear from anyone with an AVY that is using the Enzo sac and whether or not they are happy or wish they had gone custom and why.....thanks for all the help!

[duffymahoney 10]

The enzo sac isn't very well shaped for the avalanche lockers. Custom isn't too much more. Talk to towanza, they know their stuff and have had avy sacs built before. I have custom avalanche sacs and my wave is the best I have ever seen. Even 200 pounds makes or breaks my wave. Hope this helps.

[BigWillOKC 1]

Yes it does, i'm going to bite the bullet and have a custom sac made. When I measure, do i give them the exact measurements or should i leave room for error? Do i add or take away a couple of inches to allow the bag to fill?

[LakeSurfer 10]

Yes it does, i'm going to bite the bullet and have a custom sac made. When I measure, do i give them the exact measurements or should i leave room for error? Do i add or take away a couple of inches to allow the bag to fill?

 

I would definitely measure your own, but they should be nearly the same as the ones we posted on this thread (mine are). The Avy had not changed in a while so your lockers should be nearly the same. If they are not, let us know. I think that would be strange.

[BigWillOKC 1]

How far up does the arm reach under the passenger seat? is there any storage at all under that seat or is it all sac?