centuridude

Oh - I should also mention that I did not relocate the puck when I replaced it.  I left it in the original location behind the dash.

I did end up replacing the battery inside the puck, but that didn't do anything to fix the problem with the "slow satellite acquire".  So, out of frustration, I ended up replacing the GPS puck.  That took care of the problem and now it doesn't have any problem acquiring satellites.  It will acquire within a couple of seconds.

My Avalanche was a 2009 and I am pretty sure there was NOT a USB port (or RS232 port) on the MercMonitor for software updates. 

I just got back from a 4-day Lake Powell trip with my new Fi21.  It has the ZR4 409HP engine in it and it has PLENTY of low-end torque with an ACME 3145 prop and with the ballasts full.  I don't think this is the stock prop as the dealer mentioned that they swapped the original prop to this one.  Lake Powell sits at roughly 3600'.

My previous boat was an 21' Avalanche.  The bow to end-of swimdeck is actually 1' shorter on the Fi21 than the Avalanche.  I believe this is due to the blunt bow on the Fi21 versus the pointy bow on the Avalanche.  Even though the Avalanche and Fi21 are considered the same size, the Fi21 feels like a bigger boat.

We usually had 8 people on the boat (all older teens and adults).  Space was not an issue on the Fi21 for those 8 people.  I would think that it could easily handle another adult or two.  However, if you see yourself with a bigger crew than that, you may want to consider the Fi23.

BTW - I was absolutely pleased with the performance of the Fi21.  It throws a killer wake, has plenty of power, and the touch-screen display is pretty intuitive.

I currently have an '09 Avalanche.  I just measured it and it is 24' 8" from swim platform to the folding tongue. So extrapolating between that and the SV244 measurement mentioned above, the SV233 should be somewhere between 25' 4" and 25' 8".

I think that will be fine in my driveway.  However, I would like to know the exact length if someone can provide that info.

I am considering getting a 2013/14 SV233, but need to know if it will fit in the driveway.  Can someone measure their SV233 from the back of the swim platform to the hinge break point (assuming the trailer is hinged) on the front of the trailer?

Thanks!

I am interested in this too for my 2009 Avy.  In fact, I had already contacted Centurion to see if I could buy the tank from them.  They did not have any in stock and referred me to the manufacturer, Moeller.  I contacted Moeller, and they said that the tank was a custom part and was no longer made.  They gave me a part number of FT2334, which I believe is a 23 gallon tank.  They also sent me a drawing of the tank, which I am happy to share if anyone would like it.

Bigcatpt - I would be interested in seeing some pics of your setup.  My understanding is that if the second tank were fitted, you would change over to it via a mechanical valve located via the circular hatch located in the floor (my boat has this hatch).  It sounds like your setup is a little different as your access is through the engine compartment.

I have also thought about pulling both the gas tank and and the center ballast tank and replacing them with a single, larger tank.  That would make things much easier as you wouldn't need to switch between the tanks, add a second fill inlet, etc. 

I also have the 2009 Avy C4 with a right-hand prop.  Do you still have the factory hard tanks underneath the side seats? If so, pull those out and replace them with the 1100 lb Fly High soft sack from wakemakers in the rear locker(s).  You will then only fill the sack on the side that you are surfing - leave the other side empty.

I experimented with the center hard tank and found it best to not fill it.

I also have a Switchblade which I usually set to "3".

I also have the heaviest person sit back in the corner on the surf side and others will sit next to him on the side and back seats.  The trick is to sink the surf side as much as possible.  Some people sink it all way to the rub rail. However, I usually don't have enough weight in my boat to sink it that far.

All of these have given me a very respectable wave on both the goofy and regular side.

I would like to build an A-plate and experiment with that.  But I haven't found the time to get one made up yet...

I've got a 2009 Avalanche C4 and it does have a right-hand prop on it.  From what I gather, Centurion changed to right-hand in 2009 to help clean up the goofy wake.

1 hour ago, park6361 said:

Is that counting tongue weight? Or was the trailer by itself on the scale?

NOT including tongue weight.  Only measured the trailer at the axles on a truck scale.

4 hours ago, Timr71 said:

I have the Hook 4 installed in my boat.  The transducer that came in the box could be mounted either externally or in the bilge shooting through the hull.  Mine is in the bilge shooting through the hull on the driver's side.  The key is getting it to sit level on a bed of marine epoxy.  My cousin did the install for me since he had done it before.  I flush mounted the unit in the dash.  Very clean.  Works great.  

Nice clean install.  I like it!

Oh, and if you look at the picture above closely, you can see that the reported depth on the Hook 5 agrees with the depth-finder on the boat.

Here is a picture of my install.  I ended up with the Hook 5.  I made a mounting bracket out of a plastic cutting board from Walmart and I mounted the transducer in the bilge area with silicon.  I was hesitant to use epoxy until I could test it out.  I spent a few days at Lake Powell this past weekend and am happy with the performance.  It was really nice to have the GPS on a big lake like Powell. 

I had Sewlong install 2 surfpockets on the top of my bimini (also made by Sewlong) last year and have been extremely happy with them.  Having the pockets is way more convenient than dealing with the bungee cord on the surf rack.  

Sewlong is a good company and stands by their work.  I highly recommend them

I weighed my 2009 Avy loaded with 34 gallons of fuel, 10 extra gallons of fuel in cans, 12 gallons of water, and some other gear.  Came out to 6100 pounds at the axles.

Yes, that makes sense.  Can you clarify whether the transducer would mount through the hull (meaning cut a hole in the hull) or would it mount on the inside of the boat (without putting holes in the boat), and shoot through the hull?  Or maybe both types of transducers exist??

I plan to call Lowrance and get their input as well...

I am thinking about adding a Lowrance Hook 4 combination GPS/Fishfinder to my Avalanche.  Has anyone else added one or something similar?  It looks like the placement of the transducer on the stern is very critical and should be in a place where there isn't a lot of air bubbles.  Is this an issue with our in-board props?

I would like to go with the Lowrance Hook 5, but there just isn't enough space on my dashboard.

Any hints or other comments before I go out and buy one?

On 6/4/2017 at 6:48 PM, Mitch925 said:

Sorry guys I mean the speed gauge sending unit. 

Do you have the Mercury Smart Tow system along with an analog speedometer?  I also have an '09 Avalanche and have issues with the speedometer.

What I know so far is that both the Smart Tow and the analog speedometer gets the speed information from the GPS system on board. Once the GPS acquires a signal, both the Smart Tow and the analog speedometer work fine.  If I turn the boat off and restart it, it may take 5-15 minutes for the GPS to re-acquire the satellite signal.  During this time, I have no speed information.

There is a small battery in the GPS puck (located behind the dashboard) which I believe is bad.  This battery allows the GPS to store your location in its memory so that it can re-acquire the satellite signal and figure out your position much quicker.  I have bought a replacement battery and will be replacing it in the next couple of weeks. I hope this will fix the problem.

I have a 2009 Avalanche and would like to add a second fuel tank. Mine currently has the standard 36 gallon tank near the center of the boat in addition to the center ballast tank. I understand that a 23 gallon secondary tank was available as a factory option. I would like to remove my center ballast tank and replace it with this secondary fuel tank for more range when I am at Lake Powell. I have contacted centurion and have found that the 23 gallon tank is a Moeller FT2334. I still need to contact Moeller and see if I can get one.

My questions are for those who have experience with the secondary tank:

1) How do you fill it? Is there a separate fill inlet?

2) How do you switch over to it? Is it automatic or some sort of manual or electronically controlled valve?

3) Anyone have one laying around that they want to sell?

4) Any other useful information?

Thanks.

I couldn't get mine to budge either and almost ended up cutting it. I did apply heat with a heat gun (paint stripper). After doing do, the rubber softened up and I was able to work it off of the elbow.

With some motivation from other posts that I have seen on this forum, I decide to add a fresh water-line to my engine so that I won't have to use a Fake-A-Lake anymore.

For reference, my boat is a 2009 Avalanche with a Mercruiser Black Scorpion engine. This is what I did in case others would like to make the same modification:

1) Remove the water in-take to the V-drive (which comes directly from the sea-water intake on the bottom of the boat)

2) Swapped out the elbow for a TEE (1" on all ports)

3) Added a 1"to 3/4" reducer

4) Added a 3/4" ball valve

5) Added 3/4" female garden hose adapter

All these parts were purchased from Lowes.

Although it is not shown in the pictures, there is already a ball-valve at the sea-water inlet.

To run fresh water, I do the following now:

1) Connect a garden hose and open the new 3/4" ball-valve

2) Turn on the water to the garden hose

3) Start the engine

4) Close the ball-valve at the sea-water inlet

Works like a charm! Makes running anti-freeze through it way easy.

Yes -- I have had this same problem. I ended up calling Switchblade for some advice. After several attempts, I finally got a hold of someone there. It seems like a pretty small operation and the gal I spoke to suggested that I wiggle the wires and make sure the connectors are all seated properly on the dash display and on the controller behind the dash. She wasn't familiar with the meaning of the single lit LED on the left side and the three lit LEDs on the right side. She was going to check with the programmer and get back to me -- but she never did. I did what she suggested and haven't had any problems since (but I have only been boating twice since then).

When I did have the failure, I would cycle the power on and off on the display to the switch blade until the error went away.

However, I wouldn't dismiss the advice from SurferAdam. Maybe it is a low voltage condition. I'll have to check that out.

Thanks for the tips Eric. I got mine installed last night.

I bought a pulley puller from Harbor Freight ($18). Removing the pulley was a pain as it is very tightly fitted to the pump shaft. I too ended up accidentally threading a small portion of the pulley when trying to remove it. Fortunately it wasn't bad enough to warrant a new pulley. The pulley removal/installation process was definitely the most difficult part of the job as it took about 1.5 hours to get that done. Now that I know how to do it, I'm sure it will be quicker next time.

Once I got everything installed, I did a quick test and everything looks good. Heading out to the lake tonight for a real test (and some fun).

Thanks Shaka. Yes Marine Products does have them, but for almost $100 more than on the internet. So I ended up buying one off of ebay from a place in Wisconsin (Shipyard Marine).

Update: I got the pump out without too much grief.

Here is what I did in case others need to remove the pump. Total time was 35-40 mins.

1) Removed the port side divider between the locker and the engine

2) Removed 2 bolts on the black fuel device (fuel cooler??) between the water pump and the port locker

3) Removed a 2-wire electrical connector and small rubber hose on top of this fuel device

4) Pushed the fuel device out of the way (with the other hoses to the device still connected)

5) Loosened the hose clamps to the water pump (two on the upper hose, one on the lower hose)

6) Removed a front-mounted bolt and a separate nut which secures the pump bracket to the engine

7) Pulled the hoses off of the pump and maneuvered the pump out of the engine compartment

I then opened up the pump to see what failed. It looks like one of the pulley bearings failed. The impeller looked pretty good with only a minor tear in one of the fins. Fortunately the impeller didn't exploded causing me to go find all the pieces. The pump housing had obviously been taken apart previous -- probably to replace the impeller.

At this point, I am going to replace the whole pump (except for the pulley) rather than attempt a re-build. I figure it is reasonably cheap insurance towards future problems.

Where is a reputable place to buy Mercruiser parts? I would prefer somewhere on the west side of the US so that I can get the replacement pump quicker.

Thanks for the information. I have about 420 hours on the boat.