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Old     (Studlee)      Join Date: Jul 2014       05-09-2016, 10:51 AM Reply   
Hello everyone! I just purchased a used 2003 Centurion Lightning and I have a few questions regarding this boat. I bought the boat from a dealership in Florida, and had it shipped to Wisconsin where I live. It didn't come with a owners manual, and I've found it impossible to find anything online.
- Did they make Centurion Lightnings in 2003? The boat has a Lightning decal on each side of the boat by the ski lockers, and the title says it's a 2003, but doesn't say what model it is. From what I've found out searching online is that they didn't introduce the Lightning until 2004.. Just a little confused over this..
- How many drain plugs are on the boat to drain the hull? I obviously see the one above the wake plate, but didn't know if they have another one in the middle or towards the bow.. (my old Mastercraft Tristar had a T handle plug in the middle of the boat)
- Where is the center ballast located? And how can I access it? How much does it hold?
- I haven't had it out yet, due to work, and bad weather this week, but are there any tricks to help start the boat or anything I should be doing when starting the boat? (I'm only used to starting my old MC w/ the 351w that's carbureted)
- Any suggestions on setting it up for surfing? The boat did come with fat sacs in each rear locker plumbed in. Also the dealership threw in a free Ronix wakesurf shaper..
- Any tips or tricks when unloading the boat from the trailer, or loading it back onto the trailer?
Thanks in advance to anyone that can help me answer these questions!
Tristan
Old     (denverd1)      Join Date: May 2004 Location: Tyler       05-09-2016, 11:06 AM Reply   
fuel injected is a lot easier to maintain/operate than carb'd. Should fire right up.
launching and loading should be a tad easier than your tristar. 190 or 220? just curious, cut my teeth on a 220
Not sure on the centurion specific stuff, but do some searching for your model. IIRC that era centurion put out a damn good wave for 2003. not sure on your drain plug either.
surfing: load the bags on the surf side and center locker as a starting point. I like to tuck lead in every crevice I can find so think about adding some fixed weight to help your wave form
Old     (stanfield)      Join Date: Mar 2004       05-09-2016, 12:36 PM Reply   
Direct drives have the T drain plug under the motor doghouse, v-drives do not, just the one at the rear
Old     (13randonh)      Join Date: May 2016       05-09-2016, 1:06 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by stanfield View Post
Direct drives have the T drain plug under the motor doghouse, v-drives do not, just the one at the rear
My 2004 vdrive avalanche has a drain plug directly under the middle bench seat, in front of the vdrive transmission.
Old     (Studlee)      Join Date: Jul 2014       05-09-2016, 1:27 PM Reply   
B H.. do you have a center ballast in that Avalanche? If so, how do you access it?
Old     (Studlee)      Join Date: Jul 2014       05-09-2016, 1:28 PM Reply   
Thanks guy's!.
Nacho, I had a Tristar 190 closed bow..
Old     (denverd1)      Join Date: May 2004 Location: Tyler       05-09-2016, 1:30 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by stanfield View Post
Direct drives have the T drain plug under the motor doghouse, v-drives do not, just the one at the rear
Nautiques have 2 plugs as well...
Old     (stanfield)      Join Date: Mar 2004       05-09-2016, 2:00 PM Reply   
Wow, ignore my post before you sink your boat. All my v-drives only had 1.
Old     (saberworks)      Join Date: Sep 2010       05-09-2016, 3:08 PM Reply   
Yup, my axis has one in the back and a t-handle in the center; have to pull up the carpet, open a hatch, and it's right there. I actually like having both because the rear one on my last boat never seemed to allow all the water out, it would just stay in the boat all year until I vacuumed it out during winterization.
Old     (13randonh)      Join Date: May 2016       05-09-2016, 5:15 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by Studlee View Post
B H.. do you have a center ballast in that Avalanche? If so, how do you access it?
Not sure if you have snap out carpet, if you do remove the carpet and there is a hatch underneath to get to the tank etc.
Old     (PureWakesurfing1)      Join Date: Sep 2012       05-09-2016, 5:20 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by stanfield View Post
Direct drives have the T drain plug under the motor doghouse, v-drives do not, just the one at the rear
What kinda **** advice is this? Lol. Those early year centurion V drives have a plug in the transom and a plug under the V-Drive.

The center ballast if you have it, will be under the center panel. You need to remove the screws that hold the fiberglass panel to access, if you have carpet you will have to unsnap it. That's where you'll find the steering cable and fuel lines ran as well. The tank will be 250 or 300lbs. if you have one. I leave the screws out for easy access if you need to pull it up. It's heavy so it won't bounce around.

Tip for surfing, fill center ballast. No front weight. Load one side as much as possible, those boats need the rub rail underwater. Like at least 1800 lbs, pretty much as far to the surf side and rear. Prepare for a little water in the back, so when you stop surfing, slow very gently and turn away opposite surf side not to get rollers over the rail. Run the bilge every once in a while, it's on the right rear and won't work that well if you are loaded regular.

Last edited by PureWakesurfing1; 05-09-2016 at 5:22 PM. Reason: More info
Old     (stanfield)      Join Date: Mar 2004       05-09-2016, 5:33 PM Reply   
We've clearly already covered and corrected my @$!# advice.
Old     (Studlee)      Join Date: Jul 2014       05-09-2016, 7:45 PM Reply   
Yes I do have snap in carpet, and I have 2 access holes located in the middle of the boat!. I'll unscrew the covers tomorrow and see what's inside. I asked about the plugs because I can see what looks like to be a plug hole in the bottom of the boat between the raw water intake, and what I believe is the ballast intake.. Hopefully Wednesday I'll get to take it out and get to know it better!
Another couple questions... I have a oval vent cover directly below the windshield on the drivers side, what is this for? I also have 2 'holes' on the drivers side behind the driver, their the size of a quarter each. Is that where the ballast empties out of? I have what I believe is a shower nozzle on the back of the boat towards the passenger side that has a screw on cap.. is this the shower? If so, how do I turn it on?. Sorry for all the newbie questions... but I really do appreciate all your information!
Old     (drpringle)      Join Date: Feb 2016       05-09-2016, 11:02 PM Reply   
The vent cover by the driver side window is the horn I believe
Quarter size ports are probably ballast drains/vents
Screw on cap could be a flush kit ? Follow the hose on the inside
Old     (Studlee)      Join Date: Jul 2014       05-10-2016, 6:45 AM Reply   
Well.. I ended up monkeying around with the boat until midnight last night, and unscrewed both access cover inside the boat, and the one closest to the bow is access to the gas tank I believe, and the second one is access to the center ballast! Also, I lifted the center bench seat, and there in front of the transmission is the T handle plug that I was looking for!.
Old     (Studlee)      Join Date: Jul 2014       05-10-2016, 2:49 PM Reply   
Soo.. after my investigating last night, I've come across 2 more unknown pieces of equipment that I'm unsure what their actions result in... There is a aluminum knob, the size of a nickel, that rotates approximately 360°, located in front of my switch panel.. There is also a white button, the size of a pencil eraser, located on the switch panel, directly under my throttle, that only pulls up.. Does anyone know what these 2 things control!?.
Old     (KJonesWakeboarder)      Join Date: Feb 2016       05-10-2016, 4:16 PM Reply   
Not sure what the aluminum job is, but I believe that the white button that is under your throttle that only pulls up is how you are able to rev the boat with out the transmission engaging... In other words it's like Revving a car in neutral when you pull that up and move the throttle
Old     (xstarrider)      Join Date: Jun 2007       05-10-2016, 5:08 PM Reply   
As you found out there are two plugs. The boat swapped names from the original Hurricane name to the Lightning name in 03-04. There should be an access hatch screwed into the floor , and the plug as you found is under the rear bench as well as the wake plate. The silver aluminum dial is your factory speedo calibration you adjust the dial until the factory speedo reads true.

Can you take a pic of the white button? Not sure exactly sure what that is, but it's def not to rev the throttle. There is a push bottom in the throttle housing to do that.

Depending on where the ports are its ballast overflow/vent line, ballast empty line, and bilge output



The vent on the driver side is for the horn sound to escape.

It's an EFI boat. Should just turn key to start. Maybe after sitting a while you may need to goose it a little and keep it forward to start, but 99% of the time just turn key. You won't need to pump the throttle.
Surf setup fill bow and surf side and add as much extra as you want with minimum 400 extra to the surf side.
Old     (boardjnky4)      Join Date: Dec 2011       05-10-2016, 5:59 PM Reply   
The knob is for adjusting and calibrating the analog speedometer I think.
Old     (Studlee)      Join Date: Jul 2014       05-10-2016, 7:30 PM Reply   
Thanks guy's! Especially Swat!. You've helped me out so much over these last few years! Mainly on TT.. There's a lot that I wouldn't know if it wasn't for you!.
Here's some pictures of the white button. It's spring loaded, so it'll return to it's normal position when let go.. It only pulls out like a 1/4" to 1/2"..
Attached Images
  
Old     (xstarrider)      Join Date: Jun 2007       05-10-2016, 7:50 PM Reply   
No problem. I chime in when I can. That's what these sites are al about.
I think that is where the original kill switch was located. Looks like the previous owner bypassed it or altered it a bit. It usually has a red lanyard with a locking cap that keeps that switch pressed in in order to allow the boat to start and run. That would be a question for the previous owner for sure


If you want to spruce those toggles up a bit you can find the rocker caps easily all labeled blower , horn etc for not too much money. Also get them the right curvature or straight to match.

Last edited by xstarrider; 05-10-2016 at 7:57 PM.
Old     (Studlee)      Join Date: Jul 2014       05-11-2016, 7:31 AM Reply   
Yes! makes sense now.. I was wondering why there was no kill!
Lol.. rocker caps are definitely on the list of a few things that I want to replace or update..
Old     (fish6942)      Join Date: Dec 2005       05-11-2016, 10:43 AM Reply   
I have a 2005 Centurion Elite-V (21' 6') which I bought new. When I was shopping, they also had Elite-V's with the Lightning package which if I recall added rear ballast, the Lightning graphics and maybe some additional bling. My point is, if you're looking for basic information on the boat you can also search for the Elite-V model as most everything will be the same between them.

I know your boat is a 2003 so I can't say for sure if the Lighting model for that year was the same as the Elite-V.
Old     (Studlee)      Join Date: Jul 2014       05-11-2016, 5:25 PM Reply   
Thanks for the information Paul!. Hopefully that'll help. I'll look into it. Yes indeed the boat is a 2003, I verified that with the boats hull ID number..
Old     (xstarrider)      Join Date: Jun 2007       05-11-2016, 8:04 PM Reply   
The Lightning name is not an options package. It's simply the boat name. There was a difference in hulls between the Elite V( original hurricane/lightning) hull and the Elite V C4. Centurion introduced The Elite V C4 hull based off the Avalanche and the Cyclone hulls. Each hull is easily distinguished. The Elite V hull has a 30 or so degree taper from rubrail going down . The Elite V C4 hull goes straight down below the rubrail and transitions.

Now I will confuse you even more. The C4 name on the Avy has noting to do with the hull. The C4 Avalanche means it has standard sundeck and seating, no walk thru.
Old     (xstarrider)      Join Date: Jun 2007       05-11-2016, 8:13 PM Reply   
Man I miss the clean lines of my old boats. Name:  Image1463022591.377025.jpg
Views: 5884
Size:  181.6 KB
Old     (xstarrider)      Join Date: Jun 2007       05-11-2016, 8:16 PM Reply   
It's possible your boat was built towards end of 03 and got lightning decals, Slim but possible as the name changed from Hurricane to Lightning in 04 officially. Maybe previous owner ordered it without decals and then decided to add some later. ( could be done as well). The naming was all over the place for the same boat in 03-06. Air Warrior /lightning / hurricane/Elite v were all same boat. The Lightning elite V C4 was a completely different hull size and wake. So that's why the very limited info.





This is the older Elite V hull. Also seen on my hurricane above.

notice the angles. Just below the rubrail.



This is the Elite V C4 hull. No angles below rubrail.

Last edited by xstarrider; 05-11-2016 at 8:26 PM.
Old     (Studlee)      Join Date: Jul 2014       05-11-2016, 9:31 PM Reply   
Swat.. you have no idea how many times I've come across those picture of your boats while searching for information!. Unbelievable!.
Ok.. now I understand what the C4 means.. and mine is not..
According to my hull ID number, the boat was made late 2002, but was considered a 2003 model..
Old     (fish6942)      Join Date: Dec 2005       05-12-2016, 9:37 AM Reply   
The OP's boat is a 2003. For the sake of reducing confusion, it is NOT a C4 hull. I believe that came to this model boat either in '05 or '06.

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