Best 21' surf boat
 

I'm going to be in the market for a new boat next summer. I need for it to fit in my 21'8" garage like my current Air Nautique 216 does. I also want something that will throw a good wave on both side with the factory ballast or at least all hidden sacks.

So what's the best little boat for wake surfing?

MB of course ;)

211 centurion enzo or the Tige z1

MB 21 tomcat or wide body, enzo 211, tige z1, tige RZR/R2 all sound good. Maybe a VTX with surfgate or mastercraft X10? How is the Moomba outback V?

Sanger 215 surf edition.

is the mojo over 22 ft. my neighbors have them and they can make a good wave.

If you have 21' 8", you probably need to be looking at a 20' boat as most boats are measured by the length of the hull and don't account for wake plates and swim platform.

Our garage is 21' 6" and my Tige RZR fits with a couple inches to spare with the swim platform removed and swing tongue.

I'll dig up some surf wake pics. I'd be surprised to see a better 20' surf wake, especially with the new Convex VX.

The goofy wake on my boat is a little difficult to dial in, mostly due to the batteries, stereo and lead in the bow set up for wakeboarding. If we had more goofy riders it would be set up better.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/m...psec026ee8.jpg

The regular wake is a little better than this now, especially with a few more people in the boat. The face has more of a lip in it now and not quite so smooth.

All of these pics are with 3 adults and 2 kids (~530lbs total), surf ballast (using ~900lbs of 1600) and around 900lbs of extra batteries, stereo and lead.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps89f7aba9.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/m...pse32e72fc.jpg

I have to take the swim platform off and break the tounge also to get my current boat in.

I'm afraid that a tige with the convex vx wouldn't fit in my garage or i would love to have a z1. My wife hates the pickle fork look so a Rzr is probably out unless we came across a killer deal. I got to surf behind a Z3 last year and it was killer and I heard the Z1 was almost as good.

I wish someone around here had a Enzo 211 for me to check out, but being in Montana high end wake boats are few and far between. We do have a Malibu dealer in town so I might be able to check out a VTX

I have to spend some more time on the Z1, and RJ and I are scheduled to do so after the WCO. But we both were expecting, "almost as good as the Z1" when we went to Texas recently. What we saw was something that surprised us, it was not quite as long, but was REALLY good, better than I thought and easier to weight, as you would expect.

I am looking forward to spend some time with it this summer. The new Convex VX (production) comes off very easy, they did a good job with the brackets.

Jason, A couple of points to consider 1) All these newer boats have issues due to complex electronics, plumbing, ect. Dealer location and turn around time is super important around here. You can spend alot of money and time hauling your boat out of town, for warranty and service issues. 2) Storage is cheep around here. Buy bigger the first time, free up your garage! You wont be as happy with a smaller boat in a year or two. 3) demo several boats before you buy! All these boats have different waves, so find what you like! Also take your fat sacs when you demo, it is useless to look at a factory wake.

X 2 on the bigger boat.

Thanks for the advice Dirk, gives me more to think about.
I really don't see the need for a bigger boat as most of the time it's just my wife and I and who ever we can drag along for a 3rd. Our boat only seats 7 comfortably now and we don't ever really feel cramped. With a v drive don't you have more seating and storage in the same size boat compared to a DD?

We just bought a used 21' sunsetter vlx and only have to use a 750# sac on the surf side. I don't know much about the hull shape, but the wake is clean at 10.5 mph and is strong enough to get my 6'2" 200# fatt-butt surfing without the rope. If your budget-minded, a 21' sun/wakesetter should suit you fine.

This is a really good point. Buying a small boat is like hooking up with the fat chick when the lights go on in the bar...you've exhausted all options and now you have to settle...

Getting into the 22' range at a minimum will get you into a premier boat like a MXZ 22 or...well, there is no better boat than Malibu. Since you wife hates pickles look at the 23LSV with surfgate. Also, if you're not driving behind one of the big three no one will respect you on the lake or at the launch.

If you can't afford one of the big three and don't care what people thing about you, look at a Tige Z3, big three quality without the big three price tag.

Lol

L m a o

As far as best bang for your buck i think the MB F21 or 21WB would be the way to go....But Tige wakes are also pretty sweet ( from what i have seen) but may be a little more expensive. And for fitting in your garage not sure i can help you on that but can mesure mine when i get off work if you would like

First 2 and last Pics are Goofy side....with all hidden ballast under the seats

3rd pic is regular with all ballast under the seats as well

dont have that great of a pic for the Regular side (my mom is the only one that rides that side)

These wakes are with factory ballast and added ballast

How much total weight to get that wave? 2,000 lbs? 3,000?

GOOFY

Stock Ballast (900lbs)
(540lb) bag in back locker
540lb bag under seat behind driver filled up as much as i can and still put the seat cover on so probably (400lbs)
(270lb) Driver
and 2 more people in the back corner (300lbs)
and 1/3 stock non surf side (200-300lbs)
@10.8 mph

So ( 2600lbs-2700lbs )

REGULAR

Stock Ballast (900lbs)
(540lb) bag in back locker
540lb bag under seat in front of back locker filled up as much as i can and still put the seat cover on so probably (400lbs)
about (300lb) in bow
and one person in back corner (150lbs)
and the driver (205lbs)
and nothing on goofy side escept the driver

So still about (2600-2700lbs)

That's pretty sweet! That's a lot of weight but the results look great!

211 Enzo with PnP killer Surf wake with the touch of one button!

I too am looking at a new boat next year. would like to stay in the 65K mark. I am 100% focused on surfing. Boats I am considering are Z1, VLX, X10. I am looking foreward to ragboys further review of the Z1.

I used to own a Falcon V that we ran 2900lbs in, 2100lbs of it all plumber in and hidden (very surfable at 2100lbs).
Due to its wide beam (103") and the fact that it widest where the windshield sits it created a very long transition and a clean sheltered wake. I have also surfed a heavily weighted VLX, X2, Mojo, Moomba LSV, X14V and an Elite V, I would not have traded that boat for any of them.

The 211 Enzo is a deeper and better appointed version of the Falcon, so it should be on your shortlist for testing.

how much does the 211 run? its also the shortest boat out of the 3. all the others are 21.5

I think you'll be in the 65-70k range well equipped for the 211. Maybe a little less depending on the region you are from.

You shouldn't be too concerned with the slightly shorter length. The Enzo series has a VERY stretched cabin. The cockpit is pushed towards the front of the boat and the sacrifice of the bow. Centurion has concluded that people want to be in the back of the boat watching the action, not in the bow, and I can definitely confirm that. So the cabin area rear of the windshield should be larger than any of the other boats you mentioned or at least comparable (from just looking at pictures, the Tige looks comparable and the Malibu looks smaller). The seats are not as deep as something like the Tige. There is good and bad from that. The good is that is creates a big walking area, and place to put stuff. The bad is that the seats are not going to be as comfortable.

The SV211 drafts lower, I 'think' than the other boats, which will help with the wave. The Enzo series is 30 inches. The Enzo also comes with 3,625 pounds of ballast. Do any of the other boats even hold a candle to that for a 21 foot boat?

The beam on the Enzo is also 102". I know the Malibu beam is 100". the Tige is at 102", but if you'll notice, the Tige bow area is very triangular, when the Enzo bow area is almost pickle fork like in space. So, I suspect the actual square footage of all the boats is really similar, its just how each is configured.

I think if I were looking at the wide range of boats, I would base my decision on the best dealership. None of the brands you have mentioned are going to let you down. But they do definitely have their differences. I personally don't think there is any quality difference of any note between an Enzo, Tige or Malibu. Centurion gets knocked because it offers a wide range of boats that offer value, when the other brands don't. But the Enzo line is definitely top notched. It is top notced in price, and in resale. One of the big reasons I went with Enzo is the crazy resale they have after 5 years.

That's a sweet wave Micah. Looks huge especially the 1st pic. I'd be more than happy with something less than that.

This past sunday was the 1st surfing session on my 2013 F21 and we didnt have any big bags. All I did for regular was full port side, 1/3 starboard, 2 bags in the locker pile on top of each other (probably filled up to 450ish), driver and 4 passengers (who wouldnt stay seated in 1 spot and kept walking around).

I noticed on your goofy side, you didnt have any weight on the bow? We didnt have any weight on the bow and i was using the trim tab to fine tune the wave and it worked.

Correct no wieght in the bow for the goofy side....but wieght doesnt hurt it will just make it a little longer...its really hard to mess up the goofy wake on these boats....but as far as regular it loves some wieght up front

i dont have a trim tab so the wieght up front is a must

Does the F21 come with a standard right spin prop? On the Enzo, the default best wave is the port. I orderd right rotation, since my wife and I mainly ride switch. With right drive, the starboard wave is pretty much gorgeous no matter what you do, when the port side takes a little more weight and then some counter weight on the starboard side.

I believe the F21 is right spin prop? It backs up to the right just like my Malibu. The goofy side is almost surfable with only stock ballast. The regular side needs more effort (same as my bu) but nothing out of the ordinary.

I know from a few folks that's ridden behind the enzos, the goofy side can be challenging to setup hence the option at the time of purchase.

Doing the opposite of the prop rotation does requires a little weight change. I was actually pretty dissapointed with the port wave (since I have goofy rotation) the first time out. Little did I know, all it needed was more weight, and some more counterweight. Then the wave was outstanding. Took some online forum research on the weighting, and now I would say it is 95% the wave the port wave is.

But the goofy side for me is stupid easy. Factory weight makes a good surfable wave. And if you want an outstanding wave, just throw a 750 pounds bag on the floor, and put a couple people in the seat, and it rocks.

ye i believe the rotation is clockwise

Look at MB 21 tomcat or TWB the wake is great with stock ballast and unreal with added weight. You can get that out of a lot of these new boats but I will tell you the ballast system on the MB is sooooo sick no time at all to switch sides, we switch back and forth all the time takes less time then it does to get your rider ready.

I'm still curious to check out the wake on the F21 Tomcat utilizing just the stock ballast and people. I tested mine out with only me in the boat and the regular side is almost unsurfable and the goofy side is just barely acceptable. I have heard people just putting a 400lbs on each side and utilizes the in-floor ballast to switch quickly between sides but never really see the wake myself.

As for mine, I finally got my 900lb bag this past weekend and I'm happy with the result. Here's my latest regular setup
Surf side stock ballast = 900lbs
Non-surf side stock ballast = ~300lbs
Surf side back locker bag = 900lbs (filled to about 850ish)
Surf side under the seat bag = 300lbs (filled to about 275ish)
Walkway behind the bow bag = 200lbs (will try to place this bag in the bow next time)
Driver = 170lbs - 190lbs
3 passengers = wife and 2 little kids (220lbs)


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Z1 for sure. Figure out how to get it in your garage or rent storage for it.

I'm famous lol...nice post Anthony...We will have to go out again...as soon as I get back....