Darkside

Cycle quick surf tabs.... one tab is likely not retracting fully.

I used it for 220 hours over 16 months and recovered 92.5% of purchase price! So i would say that's decent.

My 257 sold and is going to GA. I am going to go boatless for a while, as my family rarely goes out with me anymore. My youngest is 18, and all of them work weekends. So it was primarily me and a couple buddies using it. Demoed the Fi21 in Tennessee and i could be very happy with that.

^^^what he said! The other notable the Fi21 is 21' 11" so only a 1' difference in reality. I am going to be boatless for a couple years. However when i do buy again my next boat will be an Fi21.

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/boa/d/2017-centrion-ri257-ultimate/6640428086.html Shameless plug

@dukesofhazzard GPH will always be a function of setup. I had Malibu's previous to my 257. The 12+ GPH is normal. Especially if you weight it and use wedge. Which you have to do in order to get any sort of push from a surf gate wave. In my 24MXZ's i would be empty early afternoon 72 and 78 gallon tanks. The Opti-V is 100% legit. I would expect a 23 to be in the 4-7 GPH range. The differences are how much stinger and how much extra weight. I like an aggressive wave so my stinger is usually under 50. So i burn more fuel. Those that like longer less aggressive waves run stinger 80-100 burn a lot less fuel.

That was the photo shoot blast wasn't it?

The tracking fin makes the boat Crab slightly. I personally think it's BS, as well. However it does create that delayed convergence to make the wake/wave cleaner. Surfgate makes the boat crab, just like CATS. CATS is much less crab though, even at the upper ranges it doesn't crab as bad as surfgate.

CATS is a box I would definitely check. First it is nice in wave tuning, but if you wakeboard, never having to move crew around, to balance the wake is great. Plus if you are beginners it allows you to clean one side at a time at ANY speed. Then there is resale, anyone who is used to having CATS will likely pass on any boat without it. (I know I am in that category)

CATS is no longer standard, it's now an option. This is due to MALIBU owning the "delayed conference" patent. CATS falls under that umbrella, so every boat that has CATS, Malibu gets a royalty check. Even with the opti V hul, cats is worth the $

If there was ever a boat needing PTM's new black racks it's this one

That is gorgeous. You will love the centurion. Night and day difference in quality. No more Maliblues! Only Centurion stoke! Reliability has been outstanding so far.

That's a good looking wave. However pictures are deceiving! The Centurion waves feel as good as the look. That can't be said about all waves.

Quality issues from Tennessee, is a fairly recurring theme. I don't believe the Indmar motor/tranny combo is as well built as the PCM powertrain is. Which is why Axis seems to have less issues than BU also...I had numerous issues with my 2015, including a blown tranny, actual gears breaking type stuff. Full on grenade! Screen issues are the Achilles heel of BU. I only had 3 screens replaced between 2 boats in 2 years. The small 7" screen is horrible! Everyone has issues, just seams more prevelent with some manufacturers.

Obviously different beasts, but the RI on opti-v LOVES rear weight. Bow bag probably not needed, transom bag is needed. BTW congrats on the FI! Those are the absolute best looking boats on the market right now, by a large margin!