3 boats.... Tested them all!!! What to buy!!!

2006 Centurion Lightning C4 - $30k - 330 hours
2007 Supra 20ssv - $31k - 215 hours
2008 Centurion Air Warrior Falcon V - $34k - 180 hours

I have had then all on the water.... Like them all. My biggest thing is which boat is going to be the best for wakeboard/wakesurfing and tubing sometimes.

I know that upgrades are going to need to be made to all to be the best at everything. Just wanting to know which will have the best upside.

Any other advise will be great!

I have appreciated all of everyone's help up to this point.

Thanks guys!

Personally with a lot of experience with Centurions, I would go with the Supra all day long. The previous statement has nothing to do with wakes.

Also, tubing behind a wake or ski boat is a crime...

2007 Supra 20ssv - $31k - 215 hours = CHEEAP!

Supra X3

I say go with the Falcon way more room than the supra. It is a solid surf boat and puts out a nice clean wake for wakeboarding. The tower is super tall and allows for any speaker combo you want without affecting head room. I might be biased but we love ours and have it dialed in

Unless your a upper intermediate rider or advanced I would go with the biggest boat you can afford and will fit in your garage, lift, or yard. I wish I had gone that route. I love my boat an old school X Star the wake is great but wish I had gone with a bigger something else. Good luck with you search from just some random guy on WW

the falcon, harold has one all decked out and its just more boat than the supra. see if you can shave a few bucks off it and go, you will stuggle to sell a 20ft boat in most markets if you decide to get a bigger boat later, how big is your i/o now?

My old boat that we sold was a Glastron GX205. So we would like to go a little arround 22 feet but the room that the Falcon has we liked.

That Supra is cheap...... Is it in good shape? You could resell that thing next year for what you are into it if you did not like it and it is optioned well. I don't have much experience with Centurion, but that 06' seems priced high..... Really up to you on what you liked the best, but the Supra is the best deal and that Falcon seems like a good deal too....

What options do each boat have ?? links to all three would be helpful

I just traded in my '06 launch20ssv after 5 years of ownership(was first registered owner as my boat was the supra demo boat for skiers choice for the '06 model year, serial number was #1). great waterski boat. wake really flattens out at 31mph. never rode with ballast full as a boarder as all we do is surf, but dealer told me the wake is great with the g3 setup. surfwave is really clean on the goofy side, but takes a TON of weight on the normal side to get a decent wave. we typically ran 1000 corner, 400 on seat, 400 in bow walkway and 400 under floor up front with 4 or 5 in boat..
great boat, easy to trailer and handles great, but it's on the small side as far as room and sucks to have bags laying all over when you surf. seat bases are not real deep. the quality of the boat after 325hrs and 6 years was outstanding. mine was fully loaded including the 340hp motor which is rare for the 20ssv.
if you are at all interested in resale, it will be a tough sell down the road, especially if it sits on a single axle trailer. lots of interest in mine, but no bites. imo, that supra is priced at what will sell it.

dealer had an '06 lightning at the same time and said he'd sell the supra over the centurion as the hull is not a great surf hull, but again, that's his opinion and i'm sure everyone on here will bash me for that now

Here are links to the boats!!! The Supra sold now also looking at a Avalanche.

2006 Centurion Lighting : http://portland.craigslist.org/grg/boa/3144332480.html

2008 Centurion Air Warrior Falcon: http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/bod/3155446290.html

2007 Centurion Avalanche : http://sacramento.craigslist.org/boa/3203081187.html

I'd go avalanche all the way

Is that Avalanche hull the same one from back in the day on the Air Warrior / Elite V-Drive? If so, that wake is god awful. Is that the double lip wake? Can anyone confirm?

Jarrod, I think that you are thinking of the original Elite V/lighting(or was it hurricane?). That was the one that had the funny transom with the notched out parts on the side. Actually, it is kind of like the Xstar if you look at it quickly. The Avalanche has the same hull it has always had. The newer(05 I think) elite V C4 and lighting C4 have a similar hull to the avy. From what I can tell the Avy actually has a really nice beginner/intermediate wake with very little weight. It does sound like it is a little weight sensative though which wouldn't be a surprise seeing how it has a deeper V all the way to the transom without any chines or revers outer chines to stabalize it. That feature though is probably why it surfs so good without a ton of weight.

For someone who wants a good/solid intermediate/advanced wakeboard wake and a world class surf wake the Avy is a great choice the best I can tell.

The falcon has more interior space than tha avy and the wakeboard wake is far better. the avy wake always washes out on one side

Also the evo tower is the worst super low and they are not made anymore so if you have problems you cant get parts

Originally Posted by h20king

The falcon has more interior space than tha avy and the wakeboard wake is far better. the avy wake always washes out on one side

Isn't the falcon on that super flat bottom hull that centurion tried with the Enzo 216/220? That thing has to have about the rampiest wakeboard wake of all time and need a crap ton of ballast to build much size. The Avy wake might be washed out on one side but if you have the weight balanced it is always going to be on the landing side of the wake isn't it? If that is the case then it washing means nothing unless you are a wake snob. You are probably right on the interior space and the tower. Doesn't the falcon use a different build process? No one piece deck/seats and instead has a layed in floor?

I have the evo tower and I love it. Super sturdy and really looks modern. Racks and speakers are tougher to install then a standard tower, but not impossible. As far was wakeboard wake and surf wake the avalanche is an amazing boat. I think that is the boat I would pick from the ones you have listed.

If surfing is your number definitely go with the avalanche. If wakeboarding is your number one you might go with the falcon, I agree it has a slightly better wakeboard wake. I think the transition is better. I have an ex pro wakeboard buddy that says the avalanche wake is his favorite. He boosted on it. But then again the wake was huge because I was running like 3k pounds in a deep v.

Looks like someone spent some money on the avalanches stereo install, which is a huge plus for me. Good luck, all of those boats are nice.

Here are some wakeboard shots. Both sides can be clean but you really have to dial it in.

What wake is that, speed, ballast?

I will try to find some shots of the avalanche wake. I've ridden an 03 and it isn't finnicky side to side minus you must balance your passengers... That's it. Other than that, I feel like it just gets bigger in size as you add weight

Disclaimer, I'm not pro but the avalanche throws more wake than I'll ever need. It's got great kick

Originally Posted by polarbill

Jarrod, I think that you are thinking of the original Elite V/lighting(or was it hurricane?). That was the one that had the funny transom with the notched out parts on the side. Actually, it is kind of like the Xstar if you look at it quickly. The Avalanche has the same hull it has always had. The newer(05 I think) elite V C4 and lighting C4 have a similar hull to the avy. From what I can tell the Avy actually has a really nice beginner/intermediate wake with very little weight. It does sound like it is a little weight sensative though which wouldn't be a surprise seeing how it has a deeper V all the way to the transom without any chines or revers outer chines to stabalize it. That feature though is probably why it surfs so good without a ton of weight.

For someone who wants a good/solid intermediate/advanced wakeboard wake and a world class surf wake the Avy is a great choice the best I can tell.

I have a 2006 Elite V with the older hull. I don't experience any double lip. It can be a bit on the narrow side, though.

Not the best pic



As stated though, the C4 hull is quite different. Basically a mini-Avalanche hull.

The Falcon V is definitely a flatter boat that will have a flatter wake. A friend of mine owns one, and I find it tougher to get booted on that wake.

Originally Posted by wakebordr11

What wake is that, speed, ballast?

I will try to find some shots of the avalanche wake. I've ridden an 03 and it isn't finnicky side to side minus you must balance your passengers... That's it. Other than that, I feel like it just gets bigger in size as you add weight

Disclaimer, I'm not pro but the avalanche throws more wake than I'll ever need. It's got great kick

That is my old 2003 Avalanche C4 with roughly 3k in ballast. I used to wakeboard at like 22-23 mph. It was always weight sensitive as all deep v's are.

Surf wave on the same boat again 2003 avalanche c4. 1600# custom surf sacs and dual bow sacs plus some lead.

[QUOTE=boardjnky4;1776073]I have a 2006 Elite V with the older hull. I don't experience any double lip. It can be a bit on the narrow side, though.

I can see it from here! Damn that used to mess with my head. I was never sure which one I should hit! haha.

Yours actually doesn't look too bad. Maybe it became more of a problem when we added more weight, or maybe it was less weight.

J-Rod - "double lip" !!! hahahaha - i havent heard that in a decade!!!! Brings back some old memories. yup - my old Elite V air warrior had that bad boy no doubt.

The old MB's used to have a killer double lip too

Lol OK? I'm not sure what you're referring to. I've never had an issue on it though. Nobody has ever come on my boat and complained about the wake either.

If surfing is your primary sport the avy does surf better than the falcon. I would however recommend staying away from the evo tower here is what I think would be a better choice and with some negotiation should be in your price range
http://corvallis.craigslist.org/bod/3208236914.html

boardjnky4 - you can see the second lip on your pic above on the port side - starts all the way back close to the boat and just follows straight back. Look at the lip, then go left and youll see a second line/lip forming. The more weight you put, that lip gets larger and gets closer to the actual edge/lip of the wake. Hence -the "double lip".

Originally Posted by migs

boardjnky4 - you can see the second lip on your pic above on the port side - starts all the way back close to the boat and just follows straight back. Look at the lip, then go left and youll see a second line/lip forming. The more weight you put, that lip gets larger and gets closer to the actual edge/lip of the wake. Hence -the "double lip".

I think I see what you are saying, and I also know a pretty easy way to fix it. The pocket on the back of the boat needs to be filled in. Not that I think anyone cares, but the proof-of-concept surfgates that I installed I think got rid of that. It was super choppy the last time I tested and recorded it, but I went back and looked and I don't see it. I'll get better pics.

Like I said, I've never had an issue riding it, but I am only a beginner. Boat still suits me well, and I am sure it will for at least another few years.

edit: here is a pic...super choppy and probably needs tweaking.

So I think I'm making the 9hour drive to get the avalanche @ 35k.

Hopefully it's the right decision!

Originally Posted by robertsjut

So I think I'm making the 9hour drive to get the avalanche @ 35k.

Hopefully it's the right decision!

Avalanche is a great boat. Post pics when you get it!

Nice, that boat looks to be pretty loaded up. 3 tank ballast, PP, nice stereo, etc.. I would rip out the stock rear hard tanks and throw in 1100's or 750's for surfing. Also, I might add a bow integrated sack that piggy backs off the stock center tank. One other upgrade at some point you might think about is to replace the manual trim plate with a hydraulic trim tab. This would be a great add on. Not sure what it would cost to get it installed but the parts should only be about $500.

How about this avy for 30k
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bod/3175468086.html

Rip out the tanks and go customs Really get that wave going!!

Originally Posted by duffymahoney

Rip out the tanks and go customs Really get that wave going!!

Duffy, off topic but which boat has the better surf wake? Tige 24V you had or the Avy?

24v