Avalanche hull evolution
 

Considering buying a 2004 Avalanche. I know Avalanches are great surf hulls. I just don't know which years. Are any years better than others for surfing? How does 2004 compare to other years?Has the hull changed over the years?
Thanks

only thing that changed was the top cap. The hull is the same.

↑ trust me. H20 knows what he is talking about.

+1. Only difference is the walk through transom

Outstanding! Thanks😃

This one doesn't have the walkthrough which is why I'm considering it.

Yep, Harold, Tim and Tom are right on it.

Since I started this thread, I guess I can kinda hijack it:confused: How is this hull for wakeboardIng? What is the wake like? Steep or rampy? Is it clean or does it fall over and turn to white wash?:eek:

I had the smaller 21.5ft version of the avalanche so I can only comment on that. The wake is good for novice/intermediate riders. Think small transition with a lip. The wake on my boat was narrower than my Axis which made it easier to go wake to wake. Typically the portside wake washed while the rider was on the starboard side and vice versa. This is a pic of my boat when I had it. The only weight as far as ballast goes was the people and beer. No water weight. 65ft was my riding spot on the centurion. 70ft on the axis.

Comparison between the wakes. I think I had the wedge down with a little ballast in it on the Axis wake.

Centurion lightingAttachment 38166

Axis wake

I have been riding off an 04 Avalanche C4 for about 10 years or so, it was originally owned by my uncle and I recently bought the boat off him last summer. Hopefully I can help with some of your surf/wake questions.

The surf wake is outstanding, especially for any boat in this era. Im not big into surfing by any means, but we do it when the lake is too crowded to get a good riding set.

The height of the wave can get very tall and you can get tons of curl out of it. I haven't found another boat that makes a wave quite like it, even with today's advancements in surf "hardware" if you will. Not to say its the best wave on the planet, just pretty unique IMO.

Now for the riding wake: again its not the best out there by any means, but its also pretty unique. I'd call it sort of on the rampy side for the first 85-90%, but then there is a pretty steep lip at the top, which is awesome for spins and other tricks you like do take straight up and down. If I want to do a raley-type trick or just boost out in the flats, you can cruise past the lip and not really notice it or be affected by it at all. But if you want to spin or just go w2w, you can focus on edging thru the lip and you will get a more vertical snap off the wake. I have ridden it with all kinds of weight and config's and have really grown to love it. Usually ride at 75 ft, unless were taking a quick set with not as much weight/people then il go 70 ft. It's not a G or a new Xstar kind of wake, but I can do every trick I've ever done on my 04 avy that ive done on those newer gen boats.

As far as ownership/maintenance issues, its really not been too bad. We had sort of a faulty electrical wiring on it, so its had maybe a few more electrical issues than normal, so I would double check this when looking at one. We had an aftermarket wiring system put in, and since then its been pretty much trouble free. Other than that, pretty standard stuff go wrong, an impeller here, maybe an alternator once, Im not exactly sure (our old tige had never ending alternator issues so i could be confusing with that). I did the steering cable on it in 2013, so that lasted a good 9 years or so. It was easy to tell the steering cable needed to go by how much force required to turn the steering wheel. However, if the boat has side swipe exhaust like mine, the job is much more labor intensive due to the need for exhaust removal when installing the steering cable.

I will try and find some pics of the riding and surfing wakes, but they are definitely capable of satisfying advanced riders with the right amount of weight.

^^^^ What Tom says is correct, I have a 04 and I personally think it puts out a better Surf wake then any new boat out now. But that's JMO.... Paid 38K and there is no way any of the new surf boats put out a wake worth 60K more then mine. Needless to say, that is why I still own it,1100 hours and counting.....

I'm depressed especially after hearing all the good comments...the guy sold the boat the day before I was to look at it (Sunday). I was ready to put down a deposit. Below is the add,. Still up when I wrote this. Looks like a really good deal mainly because: new upholstery, killer stereo, no walk through, no sideswipe, original owner ( bought at boat show in 2004). Seems hard to find these without the walk through. Oh, forgot to mention, it was a 1/2 hour from my house. Snooze, you lose.

http://ventura.craigslist.org/boa/4898495185.html

Thanks for all the information fellas!👍

Be prepared to jump on something quick. This time of year they start selling pretty quick.

I take it that this 2014 has the same hull as the 2004?

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/bod/4910458006.html

if you only surf the port side ( regular) the walk thru is not that bad, we usually have 7-8 boards on board so we just stack em up in the walk thru. Not as much seating, but hey, just makes the ladies have to sit closer to you!

I am regular foot so that may be a compromise and seems they are cheaper.