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Showing most liked content since 08/19/2018 in all areas

  1. 7 points
    No August or September Pic and Video thread...? Shame on you guys! I just whipped together an edit from my ride last week and wanted to share it with y'all! I know I've been away from here for quite some time, but I still love the Crew! Hope everyone had a great summer!
  2. 6 points
    Post up pictures of your finished boat garage!I built my 24ft boat a new detached garage when I built my new home recently. I fully insulated and installed a wall unit so I could heat/cool the space. Its done a great job, only thing I did not realize when I bought it was that the lowest heat setting is 61 degrees and there are times when it would be nice to set it too 50 degrees. But its been very efficient since I was careful to insulate well and use a LOT of spray foam and I cannot complain. Moved in Sept 2018....and FINALLY just got the garage set up like I had been planning, just need to properly organize all my tools and boat stuff now. When I designed the garage, I wanted to be able to maximize the space since the boat is roughly 27ft long on the trailer with the tongue folded and swim platform on (I use it to get into boat) and about 9.5ft wide from fender to fender on width. The garage is 32ft long X 16ft wide with 12x12 garage door (ceiling of garage is 13' tall). Since it has 2x6 walls, inside comes to basically 31ft long X 15ft wide.I wanted to be able to bring the boat home from a day on the lake, and from inside the boat, remove everything if I wanted to without having to climb in/out of the boat. Same for loading up, so I can choose what surf boards, kids toys, etc.....that we want on the lake that day without getting out. I usually remove the seats to make sure the boat dries out and I never get any mildew or wet smell....so I built 3 wood racks on the side for the seat, and 2) 4x8 metal racks that hang down from the ceiling 42". This allows me to reach all the main things for the boat by either standing on the gunnels (I installed decking on gunnels for grip), or standing on the rear walk-thru transom. Then I also added as many metal shelving units at rear that I could (have 3 installed so far) those are for tools, boat supplies, oil change equip and all the other fun stuff....and am putting a "Gladiator" wall system up to hang things like rakes, shovels and other misc. On left wall, I still have 8 of those to install which will finish filling up that wall.I got this all done while boat was at the shop over the last 2 weeks...brought her home last night and backed her in for the first time and am pretty happy with how things turned out, everything fits perfectly, tho just barely in some areas. I planned to epoxy the garage floor in the Spring and think that I will put down something (maybe a colored line in the paint), so when I back in, I know to keep my tire on the line since I only have roughly 6" on each side of wiggle room to keep boat where I want it so I still have access to walk down either side of the boat since there will still be some things on the floor. I need to install some kind of "tire stop" as well so I can keep the depth correct.
  3. 5 points
    We put together a series of videos on how to best optimize the surf wave on your Centurion boat. The videos are broken down into Wakesurfing 101, 201 and 301. Here are some details on each video: Setting Up Your Wakesurf Wave 101 – This video is for when you are first getting started and goes through the basics of how to create a great surf wave that anyone will be able to jump on and enjoy. Setting Up Your Wakesurf Wave 201 – Once you have the basics down this video will help you take it to the next level. In the 201 video we show you how you can use all of the features on your Centurion boat to customize the surf wave based on the rider size, rider skill level, board they are riding on and more. If you are ready to take your wave from great to amazing this video will help you do that. Setting Up Your Wakesurf Wave 301 – In this video we go the extra step to show you how the professional riders and drivers set their boats up. This gets to a level of customization and intensity that is more than a lot of people want to get into but if you want to see how we set things up for pro riders, check this one out! We hope these videos will be helpful and that you can use them to get the most out of your boat. Happy Surfing!
  4. 5 points
    What’s up everyone, so it’s been quite a while since I first got my boat and started this old thread but I thought I would just give a little update. Ended up getting the Aviator tower and went a little crazy with the stereo among many many other projects on it haha. I will say that I am very appreciative of this site as there has been a ton of content that I researched and read through that really helped me out along the way!
  5. 4 points
    Brought the Fi home today. We did purchase it from Pat and his crew at Northwest Boat Sports in Oregon City. Very attentive hard working team. They are all ready to step up to help their customers. Ian took us for a demo to show how to set it up for wakesurfing awesomeness. Brian was great helping with the details. It has been a pleasure to do business with them. Looks like we might have light wind tomorrow so hopefully will get on the water. Picked up a new Soulcraft with the boat so ready to step up our game. All the best, Hein & Kim
  6. 4 points
    We are bringing our Fi25 home on Tuesday. I'll be happy to answer questions as we get to know it. All the best, Hein
  7. 4 points
    Been wanting to build some wall racks for my surf boards for about a year, and now that I have a dedicated boat garage I finally got around to making them. Designed it to hold 5 boards. I put together the surf board supports 2 separate nights (top 3 the first night and bottom 2 the second night). It evolved a bit the 2nd night and I am going to revise the top ones to match the bottom sets since it looks a lot cleaner and the racks did not need to be so long. First few I did at 30" long, mostly cause I bough 60" pieces of 1" PVC and just cut them in half, I did the others @ 24" and also did end differently and they turned out a lot better. Pretty simple design, used 2x4 as the base and drilled 3/4" holes into it and used a 45 degree PVC angle fitting on the 1" PVC pipe and then glued/screwed them into 2x4 to hold them in place securely. PVC is then covered in foam pipe insulation and I also put some strips of adhesive foam insulation over the face of the 2x4's to protect the boards since they rest against it due to how I did the angle. I have 13ft ceiling in the boat garage, and placed the wall rack high enough so after I back the boat into garage after surfing, I can just put the boards back into the racks from inside of the boat without having to climb in/out with them. Anyway, figured I would share the pics, I know I like looking at pics when others post DIY stuff, I have gotten a lot of ideas from seeing stuff like that. Just broke out the wet suits, supposed to be in the 20's next week, usually we ride till Thanksgiving just been raining a lot lately in this area making it kindof dreary.
  8. 3 points
    We brought home our 2019 Fi25 last week and had our first session the day after. I consider myself lucky to score a session on a new toy the day after I get it. It doesn't always work out that way. One result of that quickness to rally kept me from having the opportunity to mount the rear view mirror which came with the boat. That proved to be a challenge as we tried adjust the surf settings without really being able to see the wave change. I am not a fan of mirrors clamped on the windshield anyway and wanted to try a rear view camera instead. That is the upgrade that this first post is about. We purchased a rear view camera and display on Amazon a few days before picking up the boat from NWBS in Oregon City. https://amzn.to/2DEgZTg I spent some time figuring out how and where to mount the display above the OEM dash in good view of the driver without blocking the view in front of the boat. Scratched my head a bit, took some patterns, did some CAD work and machined some parts shown below next to the display for the camera. Figured out where to place the camera on the back of the boat. Wire was run along the right side under the seats. Then continued to fit the CNC'd mounts to the dash. Happy these were a perfect fit right off the bat. This step usually requires some iteration of CAD tweaks and CNCing of more parts until the fit is right. A bit of skill and luck this time around. Used some 3M VHB to attach the mounts to the back of the display. This camera is designed with some straps that normally wrap around a rear view mirror. I trimmed those off and removed the pads that rest against the mirror surface. That is were my brackets attach to the back with the VHB. Then I mounted the camera on the dash. I will add some VHB between the mounts and dash to hold it in place. This was just a test fit to verify the position. Here is the view from the driver seat. Back of barn and CNC machine are shown in the image. We will have to see if this is angled right when on the water but think it looks pretty good. Note that the display is actually upside down. The camera is designed to be mounted above a license plate on the underside of the cover that normally is above them. Having the display upside down actually improved the wire routing which I still need to clean up a bit. So this all worked out for the better. This camera also has a built in front view cam which can 'see' through' the windshield but we won't be using that feature. It can record and do a host of other things which may be fun to try. We can actually record our sessions on a thumb drive so that might be cool. It's 1080P so resolution will be pretty good. Will post some videos when we get a chance to test it out. All the best, Hein
  9. 3 points
    It Shipped this morning! Should be here Saturday. Here are a few pics that the salesman send today.
  10. 3 points
    A woofer change will not address this, as the current enclosure is the biggest factor in how the woofer sounds. You would need to change the enclosure volume. If the woofer is whats making all the unwanted noise, then you need to first determine if any external factor was the root case, before installing a new woofer.
  11. 3 points
    2020 Ri257 (w/LSX). Canadian Blue Sparkle and White. Interior is standard white, hex black, hex deep bronze. I'm not swooned by the bombshell racks, so I have a set of PTM Edge wide-mouth clamp racks I'm trying to figure out how to get the right brackets to get mounted. Sorry for the kids tubing pic, its' one of the few I have with the interior. Our adults crew is 95% wakesurf.. and we hope to get the kids into it too. (my kids are only 6 and 8 y/o)
  12. 3 points
    Thanks guys! Glad I could help Josh! Yeah, that’s what I seen/read Mob. I don’t do FB though. When it first started I told my wife “that’s the devil and I will never have an account”. Haha! at this point I’m kinda committed to that take! Haha! We can’t wait to get that ZS out on the water and get back to surfing!
  13. 3 points
    Quick followup.. I went with the Ri257 (with the LSX) -- in all honesty because the Ri is more of a known quantity for me. I've spent 30+ hours on two different Ri257s, and I love the boat. It also became obvious from BoardCo answers that having the same hull means the boats are so similar it comes down to preferences. I was able to finally see an Fi23 in person, and overall I like the calmer RI styling and slightly higher freeboard for big Lake Tahoe, so that's the way I went. We took delivery two days ago.. and we couldn't be happier. Picture below. @BoardCo - Thanks so much for all your help answering questions on here, and posting awesome youtube videos of Centurions on the water! They really made a large purchase decision much easier. Your answer above helped me shed the FOMO of not having the Fi ski-pylon. @Duneit - We bought from https://www.mellomarine.com/ in Folsom, CA. Sally and Brandy have been fantastic to work with. Sally (the owner) negotiated the COVID-modified Tahoe boat inspection restrictions for us to get it in the water asap, and has been great.
  14. 3 points
    New gas new filter drained can could not get can all the way off big black hose in the way of dropping down far enough so I just sucked out the gas in can and put back together fired right up and ran with no codes so thank you for your help
  15. 3 points
    Sad this forum is not as busy as it used to be since so many jumped to the Facebook groups .. the FB groups are not nearly as easy to search, and the threads do not get organized well ...
  16. 3 points
    Finally did mine but went with the Angled Starboard and Port side specific LED's.
  17. 3 points
    I just had to replace my steering cable on my 05 SV230 and figured I’d add a few things that might be helpful. First, as I understand it, Teleflex no longer exists and was replaced by SeaStar so the new part number is SSCX15420. I ordered from Fredwarner.net and it cost $150 w/free shipping. I followed a lot of the guidance from above, but just to add a little more, I had to remove both water hoses from the back of the water pump to make accessing everything easier. Just unscrew the hose clamps and they pull off. I didn’t need to remove the water pump or sideswipe and was able to reach the cotter pin on the pitman arm fairly easy, and I’m on the husky side. The hardest part was getting the threaded nut on the steering cable unscrewed from the shaft housing that’s held in place by the clamp with the 4 bolts. I used an adjustable wrench but I THINK it’s about a 1 ¼” nut if you have a wrench that big. You could always take the new cable to a hardware store and find the right size wrench since the nuts are the same size. The shaft housing would turn with the nut when I would try to loosen the nut, but not as much as the nut, so it eventually came off but was a tedious process. I sprayed PB Blaster on the threads but I’m not sure if that even made a difference, perhaps some vice grips would help if you could fit them in there. Once I got that unscrewed, I pulled the cable/shaft out of the housing and then tied a rope to the end of the shaft where the retaining bolt would normally be. Before I could pull the cable out from the helm, I had to remove the paneling underneath the dash on the floorboard to access the hole where the cable comes out. The cable/nut got hung up on the gas tank, so I removed the floor panel to get access to the cable. This was well worth the few extra minutes, plus it made it easier to pull the new cable back through. I also agree that it’s much better to buy a new cotter pin; I tried the old one to no avail, but a new one went in on the first try. It’s definitely helpful to have a second person to lend a hand but is possible to do yourself. All together from start to finish, it took me about 3hrs which includes re-installing the under dash paneling and floor panel along with centering the steering wheel and rudder.
  18. 3 points
    Hi again, all. Thought I'd post a quick update. We took the boat out about a week ago for a test run. Prior to heading out, I poured in two bottles of HEET to help absorb any water or bad gas. At the lake, we had the same problems with acceleration. It idles fine, goes okay at low speed, but dies out when going for higher speeds. We ended up getting it started and were able to drive slowly back and load it on the trailer. A couple nights later, I took off the old water separating fuel filter and poured the contents into a glass jar to see if there was water choking out the fuel system. There was no sign of water, sediment, particles, or anything. So as far as I can tell, there's no water in the fuel. (Glad to know that the filter is working well, tho.) When I went to O'reilly Auto this morning to pick up another Sierra Water Separating Fuel Filter (they can order them and have them in about a day for about $2 more than Amazon), I talked to one of the guys there. His brother used to have a Ski Nautique and Moomba, so he knows the engines and layout a bit. He said that since there's no problem with the actual fuel (from what I could see), the problem has to be in fuel delivery - most likely the fuel pump. He said that if the fuel pump diaphragm is cracked, it could have enough pressure to delivery the fuel at lower speeds. It wouldn't sputter or anything, but appear to be fine at lower speeds. But upon acceleration, when the diaphragm is working harder to deliver fuel to the engine, it won't be able to keep up, and the engine would end up stalling out. He said on trucks with the Chevy 350 small block engine, if there's a problem with the fuel pump (cracked diaphragm or whatever), the excess fuel gets squirted out of the pump as you drive, and it ends up on the ground or somewhere else on the pump housing where it can evaporate. But you can't do that on a lake, so the gas ends up being sent to the crankcase and mixes with the oil. So he said to pull the dipstick, wipe it on a clean paper towel, dip again, wipe again, and then smell. If it smells of gas, then it's probably a bad fuel pump. So I came home, followed the steps and..... It smells a heck of a lot like there's gas mixed in with my oil! I had just changed the oil in our 4Runner (full synthetic, but should have a similar smell to regular used oil), and I smelled both of them separately. The oil from the boat DEFINITELY smells of gas. So the next step is going to be to put on a new fuel pump, new water separating fuel filter, change the oil... and then at some point, I'll get the steering cable (got it from Ron today) and the bilge pump done, too. Thanks for helping out, @Timr71 and @InfinitySurf. I'll keep everyone in the loop as I move forward. I feel like I'm finally on the right path!
  19. 3 points
    I did it! Got a really good deal on the new one and the trade-in. Can't wait to get it in the water. Thanks for the responses!
  20. 3 points
    Newbie to the page! 1994 Ski Centurion LaPoint Tru Trac. PCM 351 Pro-Tec. The Cadillac of ski boats 26 years ago.
  21. 3 points
    Just picked this up, works quite well. I can grab my drink or put it down without taking my eyes off the lake ahead. Heavy enough it doesn’t move around even over most waves. Called the beverage bandit.
  22. 3 points
    A few things here: The Fi25 and Ri257 ride almost identically in rough water - you will be VERY happy with either one. The Ri257 has a tow point above the swim platform that is ideal for tubes. You can ski from this point but from my experience, the tower is a better spot. As far as this goes, it is one of the common misconceptions I run into when talking to people about skiing. People consider it near blasphemy to talk about water skiing from the tower, but for 90% of people who ski it is actually a better tow point than a pylon. It allows recreational skiers to get up easier and reduces overall drag once they are up. The benefit of having a lower tow point really only matters if you are pulling HARD through the wake and honestly if you are pulling hard enough to justify going to a pylon you aren't going to want to ski behind a Fi25 / Ri257 anyway. To give you some background I am a tournament skier, I own a Carbon Pro boat (along with a Ri257) and spend time in a buoy course regularly. When I ski behind a Fi25 or Ri257 I am barely impacted by skiing from the tower. This point causes me some frustration because for most people skiing from the tower is not just ok, but it is actually BETTER than skiing from a pylon, but when I suggest it I get weird looks like I don't know what I'm doing haha. Jack (one of our guys here) gets the same reactions and he can run into 34 off in a course (which if you aren't familiar is REALLY good). The Ri257 ski wake isn't quite as good as the Fi25, but they are close. Out of the box the Ri257 puts out a slightly better surf wave while the Fi25 has a slightly better ski wake. They have the same running surface and the only reason for the difference is the Ri257 is slightly heavier. That said, most people wouldn't be able to tell a difference between them as far as ski wake goes. As far as stereo control goes, you can have an automatic volume adjustment installed but you can save a lot of cost and actually get better functionality by installing an app on your phone called Volumatic. It is AWESOME and a lot better than the volume controls that are set to RPM in my opinion, plus it only sets you back about $10. The Supra SE550 has some great features and is a really nice boat. There are some nice features on Supra but for me there are at least 2 BIG things you will miss out on vs. a Centurion. The most important factor that can't be overcome with modifications is the rough water ride. If you are using the boat on Tahoe the water can get ugly fast and having a boat that won't beat you up or scare you going through 5-foot waves is a must in my book. The next one is the surf wave on the Centurion is a lot better out of the box. You can get the Supra to throw out a great wave, but if you do much research you will find that pretty much everyone is running 1,000 lbs. of lead to get it to surf on the level of a stock Fi25/Ri257. If you cruise around a lot that is a problem since you can't get rid of it. The other downside that is just speculation from me is that the ski wake on the Supra wouldn't be as good. Supra boats have a very stiff wakeboard wake and from my experience, that translates to a stiff ski wake. I haven't skied behind one, but I have heard the ski wake is actually worse than a Centurion just because of the wake shape. The best thing to do if you are looking at one is taking them both for a drive, the difference will become clear very quickly. Lastly, the H6 engine will work fine for you but you probably wouldn't be disappointed with the 550 (for 2020 it will be the new LSX engine). If you cruise around a bit the added power and reduced RPM on at cruising speed is really nice. As far as reliability goes, its a bit early to tell on the LSX but thus far they have had no problems at all and should be more reliable than the XR7 (550 Supercharger) was. The main benefit is similar power but the engine is naturally aspirated so longevity and reliability should be better. It's a new engine for the boat world but it has been bulletproof in cars for a while so we anticipate really good things. If there is anything we can do to help you out on the boat decision process at all let me know. Thanks!
  23. 3 points
    Took delivery of our ZS232 a couple weeks ago.
  24. 3 points
    Wakedirt, in my experience, shapers don’t work well on a 226....the wave is really good listed....that being said, I went down the path of a GSA system. It’s pricy, but it’s worth the money......it does require at least 4K in ballast to throw a big wave.
  25. 3 points
    Although I didn’t build it, I get to keep my boat in it and can work on it during the winter in Vegas.
  26. 3 points
    Originally we added on to the garage to be able to keep the boat at home, only down fall was had to put tower down to put it in the garage but, could stand it back up once in. This last year we finished up the new boat garage with a board walk. This is where she will live unless a hurricane is coming.
  27. 3 points
    That’s awesome, glad I could help. Love to see these forums helping fellow boaters.
  28. 3 points
    Moved into my new home about a month ago and built a detached garage for my baby so she now has her own home. Most exciting part....I no longer have to fold the tower! Stays much cleaner now too being fully enclosed since before the front and back has ghetto tarps to keep out the rain, but did not keep out dust, etc. 32ft long X 16ft wide detached (also made entire roof truss system into a 12ft wide X 32ft long storage area). 14ft high ceilings with 12x12 garage door and at last minute, I decided to insulate, finish with drywall/paint....and installed a wall unit that has Heat & A/C. Got this picture yesterday when I came back from surfing. Bought a new Ram 1500 about 2 weeks ago too with 3.92 gears, 5.7 Hemi and the tow package, rated for 11,340lbs towing and 1840 payload (total 17,000 GVWR....so realistically 9k is the most you can "legally tow". Handles my SV244 with easy and is much better feeling than the Chevy I have been using for the last 2 years. Even tho the tow ratings are similar on both trucks, the Ram is more powerful and just handles better and brakes are WAY better when backing down a steeper ramp.
  29. 3 points
    Ride it up. Thank you Belton Brosephers
  30. 3 points
    I think there’s more to this story than we are getting. There’s always 2 sides to a story.
  31. 2 points
    Update: The block to add an Air Chair to the Maximus tower does not need a separate angle adapter and fits just fine. So far it has worked terrific.
  32. 2 points
    So I am very happy with the mod. With the 15.5 inch prop, I gained 2 mph at top end. Dropped 400 rpm at surf speed and 24 mph cruise speed. Does 28 at old 24 mph rpms. Holds all ballast with no issues now for surfing. I was able to accelerate to 15 mph (upstream) with all ballast full with testing quicksurf (with the 14 inch prop I could not get above 9). At normal lean I was at 3100 rpm for surfing setup. So if you have enough adjustments in your engine mounts (room to go up in front and down in back) and enough clearance in the through hull, then this mod is 100% worth doing. I am very happy.
  33. 2 points
    This should be my final update in this thread. Both problems have been solved. For the steering, I followed @Timr71's suggestions and contacted Ron to get a new steering cable. Because there was also a bit of vertical play in the tilt steering assembly, I ended up replacing that, too. The new setup is solid as a rock, and it steers on a dime. For the loss of throttle, I followed @InfinitySurf's suggestions and followed the fuel. The carb looks okay. The water separating fuel filter was good. The culprit was the fuel pump. After putting the new fuel pump on and replacing the fuel filter with a new one, we took the boat out for a test. We were slowly driving along for a good bit at a slow speed. We turned back towards the ramp (so we'd at least be facing the right direction) and gave it some throttle. The boat responded and didn't let up. It was great! I kept waiting for the engine to die out on me, but it never did... it ran beautifully! MANY thanks to both Timr71 and InfinitySurf for your help! (InfinitySurf, checking the impeller is still on my list).
  34. 2 points
  35. 2 points
    If you are going to list it, you need the rub rail close to the water sitting still. Here is my 08 Avy. Little exaggerated, the run tail is usually just at the water level. Then here is my buddy at 6’7” surfing with his 8yo daughter. I would call up wakemakers and have them build you custom sacs that fill the locker and go up under the seats also. Have each bag it’s own reversible pump to fill and empty. It takes about 8min to fill/empty my custom sac. If you want to list it, you can. If you want to use the suck gate you can. Best of both worlds and just buying bags once. I started out with the 1100’s and then bought the custom. I bought bags twice. lol.
  36. 2 points
    The BEST boat is the one that is paid for. I have an 07 Avy and love it. You can do everything with it. Yea, you can spend 3x as much for a new boat with all the bells and whistles, but your money may be better spent else where. Yea, I drool at the new boats, them remember mine is paid for and maintenance costs are not that much. We surf and board just fine behind our boat.
  37. 2 points
    I'm pretty sure It's the 90 amp fuse on the starter. I put the tester on the cable side and got 12v. Put the tester on the other side with the nut and got zero's. The stereo not working was throwing me off but that ended up being a 10amp fuse on the back of the deck. Picking up a fuse from the dealer tomorrow and we'll see what happens.
  38. 2 points
    Finally got the time to sit down and do a more detailed write up. Myself and a friend installed the SV version of these InfinityWave surf tabs on my 2014 Centurion SV244, we installed the tabs one evening and then I ran and finished the wiring a couple nights later on 04/13. Since the weather was crappy that weekend, my first LAKE TEST was on the evening of 04/17/2019. I can honestly say that my expectations were exceeded and after only 2-3mins, I had found the right deployment angle to make an excellent surf wave on the regular side. We only had a couple hours and myself and 2 buddies spent it surfing. I totally forgot to see what goofy wave looked like or get any pics or video without a surfer on the wave. I will do that next time out and post up more information. Initial reaction when getting the InfinityWave tab system….they look and feel very well made, its a beefy system and the finish is very nice. I love the fins on the bottom of the tabs since one thing that concerned me putting tabs on an SV244, is I knew that the factory Quicksurf tabs that were installed on the 2015/2016 models where not up to par and most owners I talked to or heard about preferred to still list the boat for the surf wave since they did not feel like the wave using the tabs had enough push/power. I believe with a deep V boat, the hull wants to direct the water outwards, not back toward the surf wave, so without the fins on the bottom of the tab which help direct the water coming off the bottom of the hull toward the surf wave, you don’t get surf wave that feels like it has power. I have Ramfill on my boat and since its important for the tabs to be up as far as possible under swim platform when retracted, the best position I found puts the actuator bracket mount behind the Ramfill tanks….so rather than run the actuator wire thru the hole in the bracket, I drilled/chamfered a hole for the wire approx. 3.5” toward the center of the boat & 3.5” higher than the bracket position so I could avoid the Ramfill tanks and get access to the wire. Actuator wire is 5/16” diameter, so I drilled a 3/8” hole (starting with smaller bit and running in reverse till well thru gelcoat), after the 3/8” hole was drilled I then got another drill bit slightly larger and ran it in reverse to chamfer the hole so I could avoid spider cracking and remove sharp edges due to wire running thru that (most people will not run into this and can run the wire thru the extra hole in the actuator bracket). Then I ran the wires thru hull and sealed the holes on both inside/outside of the hull. I then ran and zip tied all the electrical up to the bottom of the top deck along the outer perimeter and ran everything up to the drivers helm carefully concealing the wires and securing them with zip ties. For now, I am just fabricating a temp bracket to mount the switches below the steering wheel for easy access. My Ballast setup on this boat: Ramfill = 1,250 each side for total of 2500lbs. PnP bags in each rear locker at 700lbs each for total of 1400lbs. PnP bag under bow seats is 500lbs. Then I also have 500lbs of lead bags, I place 300lbs under the bow filler cushion and the other 200 lbs to the left of drivers feet on the floor against the built-in cooler. I fill the Ramfill tanks to 100% on both sides and then I DRAIN off the non-surf side Ramfill to 80% to give a slight list to boat. So basically 1250 Ramfill on surf side and 1000 Ramfill on non-surf side which gives a total of 4,650lbs of ballast. In video’s I posted links too above were taken on 04/17, total of 3 guys on boat including the surfer. Speed is 11mph and center trim tab is at 40%. PCM ZR409 engine at 800ft elevation and my rpm was at 3,150. Previously I ran the same ballast set up but used Nauticurl suck gate and with all things the same, my rpm was at 3,400, so using these InfinityWave surf tabs brought the rpm’s down for sure. Love that since its easier on the engine and I will save a little gas money to boot. Extremely happy with my purchase and wanted to post my experience since I know others are looking at these tabs and probably have similar initial hesitation like I did since these tabs are fairly new to market. Combine the performance of these tabs which I can now experience behind my boat with the great price and customer service and you have a winner!
  39. 2 points
    Couple pics surfing the wave yesterday evening....more pics and details to come as soon as I have time to put it all together. Also gonna get pics/video of only the wave next time to show the shape/form. If you are on the fence about getting these surf tabs from InfinityWave @Shaka, its a no brainer at the price they are selling them for. Results could not be better in my opinion and I have high expectations when it comes to anything on my boat! Honestly, I was nervous about this initially since I knew the factory QS tabs where not too great on the 2015/2016 SV models. The shape of these tabs along with the fins under them to "direct" the water coming off bottom of the boat toward the wave to give you maximm push....works perfect and it seems that the lack of fins properly directing the water flow toward the surf wave was the flaw in the factory tabs. A deep-V hull is directing the water out, not at the wave and my best guess is that was why the factory tabs did not deliver results that owners were expecting and why many of the SV owners with the factory tabs list boat instead of using the tabs. These InfinityWave surf tabs certainly addressed tho issues.
  40. 2 points
    I have started the InfinityWave surf tab system install on my 2014 SV244. I am totally pumped about this and look forward to testing as soon as these storms move out. Here are some teaser pics in the meantime. Tabs and actuators/wires all fully mounted and in place... just need to finish permanently installing my wiring and then fabricate my bracket to mount the switches at the helm since I dont want to drill into my dash at this time. Tabs look really good and I temp wired everything together last night to test it all, everything worked very well and I am excited at the prospect of soon being able to control my surfing with the switches! Shaka is very responsive, these guys are obviously dedicated to making sure that everything works well and they provide a quality product for a very fair price. I think this is gonna be a homerun!
  41. 2 points
  42. 2 points
    Water resistant connectors for the speakers and the hinge point at the tower. Rough placement of the speakers before I modified the brackets for the speakers to face aft over point to the side some.
  43. 2 points
    The problem with above statement is that only informed/educated buyers think like you/us (the 1%'ers). Most people are sheep and like BoardCo said, if the "perceived discount" is way higher on a Malibu....the majority of people are not smart enough to realize that Centurion is a better boat, nor will they do the research. In their heads, the vast majority of people will think that Malibu MUST be a better boat for no other reason that its priced higher and because of the "big discount", the dealer must think they are special and they would be stupid not to get the "best boat on the market for such a great price", there is already that perception since Malibu sells the most boats due to the corporate spin and marketing gimmicks they started years ago (clearly it worked). Believe me, the banks know exactly what is going on, they are the ones who started most of these games, they HAVE to lend money to stay in business. You are not "convincing" them to do anything, they just want you to fall within the parameters that they set in place and if you do so then its all good. If it didn't work for the banks, they would change it. All they want is for their numbers to look good on their filings to their investors. Believe me, I know exactly what you are saying and where you are coming from and in many ways at the core, agree with how you feel. Just not the way the real world works anymore cause there are not enough honorable/informed people to keep an honorable business, in business. So if Centurion does not "play the game", they could easily go under for that reason alone.
  44. 2 points
    Warranty and service vary from dealer to dealer, but generally most Centurion dealers are top notch from my experience. There are exceptions for sure, but generally speaking they do a superior job to what you get from your average Malibu dealership. As far as QC goes, nobody is on par with Toyota in the marine industry and honestly, they can't be. The technology and engineering that Toyota can afford, along with production capacity will draw out patterns for issues that can be addressed more easily. It's the benefit of building hundreds of thousands of vehicles vs. hundreds of boats. With that said, the QC that goes into Centurion, Supreme and Nautique is the best in the business. There is a reason a Centurion boat has a 8-10 day build time and a Malibu is 4-5. There are multiple steps in the process that Correct Craft does that are either minimalized by other manufacturers or omitted entirely. This accounts for a lot of issues that customers are seeing with boats that are being built by companies that are more accountable to their shareholders than their customers.
  45. 2 points
    Boat builds in December. Ill take delivery early February then need to do the stereo instal
  46. 2 points
    Little shout out to my slalom skiers.
  47. 2 points
    Put the covers back on and wrapped/glued the cut off end of a wetsuit sleeve over the top of the guide for further protection and to keep the covers from sliding down. 3M 90 adhesive: Previously added these collars (photo below) so the tubes won't jamb against the welded on bumps. That keeps the tubes from bobbing up. We will make more of these and will list on our ebay store. It's just a snug fitting ring CNC'd out of plastic. All done. Thanks for following along. We do stock the Minicell foam if you can't find it locally. I have some extra ABS pipe so willing to make some of these tube covers for those who would rather buy than DIY. All the best, Hein DIYvan.com 54l 49O 5O98
  48. 2 points
    Hello Gents (and Ladies).. I wanted to post an update to the thread to let everyone know the result of the culmination of events that happened with the Ri257. We met with our dealer this past week after they asked for our patience for a week to discuss our boat situation with the Centurion factory. They let us know that the factory basically shut down for the better part of a day to discuss the QC issues with our boat which, of course, peaked with the fuel tank sliding back into the shaft (no bolts remained in the tank brackets) causing fuel to pour into the bilge (luckily NO fireworks took place). The factory and dealer assessed our experience since delivery last spring (2017) and granted us the privilege of ordering a comparable 2019 Ri257 and shipped a factory demo boat to the dealer for us to use for the remainder of this season. We were grateful for their willingness and the position they took on customer satisfaction. I suppose there are a couple of ways to look at the situation as we've definitely had some varying opinions on the way my situation should have been handled. Overall, I'm pleased with their willingness and offering to replace the boat. As I understand it, this is not something that is very common in the industry (as with a car). I can't speak to the reasons or severity with which the situation was weighted (Customer Service or Liability Concern) but I can say, overall, they're making it right and making sure we're happy with the product and hoping to make our boating experience better from here on out. As for new options spec'd (ordered), we decided to go with the new "Dropzone" tower. Otherwise, we chose the same fairly loaded spec as before- (higher end Roswell), gatorstep, all lighting, swimdeck ladder (new add). We did NOT opt for the new cover style that allows for the tower to be lowered and then covered for travel as we won't be needing to lower the tower for storage. As for the color, I'll post some pics of the new build when it arrives November ish to keep some follow-up suspense. That said, I wanted to thank everyone for the supportive / respectful opinions in all directions. Forums are great in helping to get a collective mind and voice on our common hobbies and it's been cool to see what everyone else likes and thinks of these boats. As for the dealer, given the situation, we definitely had times of frustration-- feeling a lack of true care or desire to help the customer. In the end, I understand their position and their need to be careful throughout the entire experience. I can say that they've always been extremely quick to repair any and every issue and to explain what happened and what was done to repair. They're a great dealer and I want to give kudos to them for making us feel comfortable and justified in our frustration and in helping make the re-order process pleasant and empathetic. -J
  49. 2 points
    IMO, this is a good way to post something like this, calmly and without potentially burning bridges with a bunch of ranting. All brands have issues like this occasionally and since I frequent the forums and keep up on things, from what I have seen Centurion is certainly not the worst BUT there are always things like this that can happen with hand built boat since you have the human error factor. Seems like you are one of the unlucky ones that got a few things that should not have happened. I wont put names out there, but 1 of the "top brands" who sells the most boats, seems to have stuff come up pretty frequently. I will say that in my experience, Fineline has been very easy to work with on all warranty issues and always stepped up to the plate. I am sure you are talking to them about your options and hope they handle it properly. As far as your question...there is no doubt that stuff like that would cause doubt for anyone. Seems you got the 1 out of 1000 boat. The chances of it happening on next boat are pretty slim, but it CAN happen and can happen no matter what brand you choose. I have had great experiences with mine, hard to say what I would feel if I had been thru what you had, I would like to think that I would be open to another Centurion since its not something that happens often (as far as I know) and this is a "one off". Hopefully they will be taking these issues into consideration when making a deal on a new boat and making you a deal that takes all things into account. Good luck with a resolution
  50. 2 points
    Since we are back on the custom DIY ballast install topic I wanted to show a bit of what my install was about. So for a baseline my boat is a '03 Elite V Air Warrior with the factory center ballast only which uses a jabsco Water puppy to fill the hard tank under floor. My plan was to install a ballast system which would fill/empty on the move and would work equally as well for surfing as it does for wakeboarding. I wanted the majority of the ballast to be hidden but not take up ALL of my storage. The system consists of me adding 2 Launch Pad V-Drive Bags (from a previous boat, and will be upgraded to Flyhigh 750's) in the rear lockers and the Flyhigh wrap around bow bag in the front. At first I had the bow bag piggy backed onto the center ballast but that has since changed and is now on its own pump, thru-hull pickup and vents due to the slow fill and for more adjust-ability. I hoped to do like many others and keep track of every fitting, hose, clamp and pump but I have lost track after changing things here and there along the way. Parts - It started by ordering two Simer "Blue water" utility pumps from hardwareworld.com one for each Launch Pad in the rear lockers.Later I ordered one more for the bow bag. From boatownerswarehouse.com came the brass thru-hulls for the inlet/outlets, chrome thru-hulls for the vents and a number of pipe to hose adapters. From my local home depot the rest of the threaded pipe to barb hose adapters, ball valves, clamps, check valves and bulk hose was bought. Carling technologies dual throw / dual pole switches with lights were purchased on ebay. Switch covers to match my "Contura IV" factory switches were actually ordered from the dark side over at my local Mastercraft parts department. Finally the bow bag and flyhigh fittings were purchased on ebay as well. First thing was to make a rough diagram of the rear ballast setup. Here is the start to the parts for the install. First hole cut was the starboard locker vent. I put it in the factory location next to the bilge and center ballast vent. (3/4" chrome plastic 90 degree thru-hull) I replaced the factory black plastic for the chrome look thru-hulls. I cut a hole on the port side in the same location as the vents on the starboard side. Installing a chrome thru-hull. I choose to put the intake/output thru-hulls in the bottom of the boat so they were always underwater unlike the factory thru-hull on the stern. Here is the factory thru-hull for the center ballast tank. Yes I know it is VERY dirty. That has all been cleaned up. The previous owner kept the boat in the water and did not clean it very well, these pictures are from just after my purchase of it this spring. The thru-hull in the bottom on the hull were measured, mocked up, and cut just in front of the V-Drive. Again very dirty but there were some yellow marks showing my center of each hole, it was taped up and holes cut. Some silicone sealant put around the o-rings on the thru-hulls Both holes cut, thru-hulls in the holes, ball valves threaded into thru-hulls and hose attached. Under the dash I put fuses into the factory labeled holders, verified wire colors and then attached the powers and grounds from the fuse box to my switches. Wired up the switches and put them into the panel. I used 25 amp fuses as the Simer draw a higher amperage than the Johnson or Jabscos. ] The Simer Pumps are mounted in the front of the locker on the seat backs. Attached the hoses from the ball valves, and attached hoses then leading to the lower fittings on the bags. I ran the 10ft wires from the simer pumps up to the switches. Later I found the factory pump wiring in the Starboard locker tucked up under the edge so I used that and removed the extra wiring. Some of you will notice the giant rectangular holes the previous owner cut into the seat back for "bass ports" for the huge sub boxes he had in the lockers... I am building some covers to put over the pumps to protect them, and using those ports as vents with some slotted covers on the seat side. The poor boat was butchered by the audio install shop / last owner. I set the bags in the lockers, attached the vent line to the 5psi check valve (so the bags will go into a vacuum when emptying) and attached the check valve to the TOP of the bag. Here you can see how well the pumps empty out every last drop of water with the check valves shutting off the vent hose. That pretty much wrapped up the rear install. The original front install was very easy to do the piggy back as well. I removed this plug on the back of the factory center tank. Attached a matching threaded to barb adapter to the hole, and ran that hose to the front. The flyhigh bag is almost a perfect fit under the seat. Here it is on top. Here it is set under the seats empty. Here is the hose tucked up under the observers seat from the center tank. I put the hose on the port side lower flyhigh fitting because I wanted to try to be able to fill that side of the bag first seeing as how most of our riders are regular (port) riders. I forgot to take any pictures of drilling the bow bag vent thru-hull but I put it right below the starboard front tower mount just below the rub rail. I attached the vent line to the center upper fitting on the bow bag then to a check valve and then the vent thru-hull. Finally here it is full. It will pop the seat cushions up if no one is sitting in them. After all that agian I decided I didn't like the piggy back system and scrapped that idea. I put one more thru-hull in the bottom of the boat, and mounted the bow pump in the drivers foot area. From the pump I ran the hose to a Y and to both sides of the bow bag so it would empty correctly. I am VERY happy with how it works and now I just have to clean everything up and make it look pretty. I figure it puts 500# in front, 880# in the rears and whatever the factory center tank is 200-400#(?). For wakeboarding with a full crew of 6-7 it is too much weight for me to have it all full. The boat planes out, but has a hard time on the stock prop. If it is just myself and my wife it is still a bit too much but I am kind of a wimp... But for surfing with that crew of 4-6 sitting surf side, the surf side locker full, center tank full, and the bow bag full the wave is great! Just incase we have a light crew I have 4 launch pad 85# bricks to move around. So there you have it, that just ruined my whole evening putting this together...haha
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