Weighting a Centurion Avy?

We are using a Avy with the walk through transom for a regional contest in a few weeks, can anyone give me some weighting tips?

"By Delta Force (wakebordr11) on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 4:32 pm:

I ride behind an Avalanche quite regularly... we run 350s in the rear, no stock rear ballast, the center hard tank and an additional 250 in the front... wake is fine, pretty big... I like the stock wake as well with just the hard tanks full, never had a problem... "

From here - http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/619307.html

Couldn't find much else but hopefully this gives you a starting point.

I have a Cyclone which is close enough, and you just need to add weight. With Centurions it is all about weight placement. We run all three stock ballast tanks full, a 350lb fat sac on the floor in the cockpit, and a 300lb fat sac in the bow, plus people and gear. Then use the wake plate to clean it up. And there ya go!

Tip: Get another tow boat.

My buddy bought an 08' Avy last year and the wake blew goats. We couldn't get the toeside wake to stop lipping over no matter what the setup was. We tried all year and I posted the same thread as you on WW to get it right and nothing worked. Everyone hated it. Great surf wake but soft and inconsistent for boarding. Just my $0.02

Now that is one of best most helpful tips I have ever read

Darren

You might want to drop by
http://www.centurioncrew.com

here we go again....

Yeah that was kinda dick. My bad... we just had such a helluva time trying to weight that boat I'm still bitter.

For a more "helpful" tip I will say that more ballast on the passenger side of the boat chilled the lip out a bit but it still sucked. Opinions are like a-holes and thats mine.

Weight placement is critical on a deeper V'd boat like the Avy (used to run a cyclone).
We always had some weight plates on the port side.
Training your flesh sacks to redistribute themselves when things are washing is a plus.
The driver needs to know what they are doing also to ensure a clean wake is being presented on the side the rider is planning a trick/jump from-unfortunately this seems to be a dying art as boats keep getting bigger from what I have observed over the last few seasons.

Luker - I am sure this will really piss you off, but I am not trying too. Are you sure you guys tried the right weight placement??? For some reason everyone tries to throw weight in the front and these boats to not take weight on the front, nor do they take excessive weight (1000 extra plus) I have tried multiple scenarios and the one described below worked the best.

I have had three Avy's and two have been perfect. The first (06) was rough to deal with, it had a manual wake plate. The last two (07 and 09) had hydraulic plates and that helped a ton. I use three rear tanks plus 500lbs of lead (240 in each rear locker, 200ish in the cockpit and 100 or so in the front). We usually have about four people in the boat and adjust the plate to about 15% and the wake is very steep.

Here's a port side shot.

Nate,
I know you're a fan of the no weight in the front on the avy. I did have a little luck with some weight in the front, but not too much. Too much pooped it out. I played around with a few things last season, but after my memorial day vacation, I tweaked my knee and only rode a couple times last summer. Never got to dial the wake.
You say you use 3 rear tanks? Which ones are they?
I'm toying around with replacing my stock tanks at some point, but may not be able to just yet. (family priorities and new baby come first!)
For our benefit can you share your setup with us in detail regarding the tanks like you did the lead specs in the previous post?
Thanks!

I share Luker's feelings, but I would have sugar-coated it for ya.

When I get to the shop tomorrow I'll take a look at where exactly I have it all and will report back.


No reason to sugar-coat. We're all grown ups.

Nate: Even in your pic its probably only clean to 60ft. Most ride at 80 back. Just sayin'.

We tried all weight senarios from WW and Centcrew and still no digs. Dope looking boat to pick up chicks though:

Alright so I'm jumping on the boat with Nate on this one. I have ridden behind both boats that he mentioned earlier at 70 and 75 feet and the wake is stupid steep and very clean. Maybe you all like riding 80+ back but most all your rec. riders dont need or want to be pro and ride that far back. If you cant throw down at 70 or 75 why do you want to be 80 and 85..... Just my $0.02. The thread started out asking about an Avy with a walk thru transom and then Luker had to be a smart ***.

Hunter - Actually, the thread started out about WEIGHTING a boat with a walk through transom and I gave my opinion on WEIGHTING that boat. It's not my problem if you took offense to the fact that I had a sh*tty time weighting what I consider a boat that shouldn't pull contests and sucks when put up against most contest tow boats from Nautique, MC, and Malibu.

I even came back and apologized for coming off like a dick. Pull those panties out of that crack homie.

And as far as your 70 - 75ft comment. He's talking about pulling this boat in a contest. How many guys do you know that ride competitively at 70ft?

That's a good point regarding the walkthrough transom. I have a C4 so I'm sure there are different approaches for both Avy versions.
I've heard the non-C4's are a bitch to weigh down because of that walkthrough.
Regardless, I'd like to hear how people have had success weighing both versions of these boats (esp. the c4 for my own research), and not have to listen to people complain and insult.

We had an 05 AVY C4, put 450 hours on it over 2 years. My son rides at 80 - 85 feet. We had twin 450s in the rear, 250 center tank, about 300#'s of lead under the center seats and moved around to balance wake.

Sean O'Brian, Adam Fields, and Bret Eisenhower have all spent countless hours behind an AVY at 80-85 feet. It is a matter of having the patience and determination to get the wake set.

Amen George. Your wake pics were great too!

Luker - I ride it at 80. Thanks for seeing my point. I see yours too. PM me and I'll help get your buddies wake dialed.

Hunter - Always got my back, but you've been behind my rides and you know they're always legit.

Alright I'll chime in. 06' Avy with walkthrough. Switchblade taken off for the day. Stock ballast (3x250lbs). The boat is Very sensitive to weight if you don't have a blade but can be done. No weight ever needed in the bow. If you want bigger, put another 300-500lbs between the driver and passenger with a tad bit on the passenger side. I've had to ask my passenger to move around sometimes it's that sensitive. Here's the pic of 78' back.

Oh yeh, I ride at 23mph even. Anything more than 80' is wash. If you want farther back to 85' you need to speed up to at least 24mph. Probably want more weight in the middle and rear if you go faster. Still no bow weight. Good luck

For the folks that couldn't get it dialed in, I believe you as a few with 06' couldn't get the port side to clean up that far back no matter what they did. The conclusion was the rudder or skegs were off. If so, a good driver might be able to help the side your hitting.

Nate's pic you'll notice the rooster tail right there. My pic you can see how far back the rooster tail is. My other camera makes it look like I'm riding 50ft back. Hard to get good surfing pics with that camera as you can't get any sense of distance.

(Message edited by sailing216 on February 06, 2009)

I have the centurion avalache with the walk through transom and i use my stock ballast, and plus i use 2-600lb fat sacs one in the back and the other in the center, and the wake is huge

Thanks to those with experienced opinions on what's required. I would have been shoving tonnes in the front cause that's how I weight most boats I ride, good to get input on where to start.

I will set the boat as George does and cross my fingers. The boat only has the manual plate, do I need to mess with it at all?

Don't mess with the plate. I'd bet it's in the right place ( even with the flat surface it's attached to ) . Just keep the weight out of the front!!!

oh the drama of building a wake....there is an art to it and it takes time. and does it really matter what rope length you ride at? ride where you are comfortable, that's all there is to it, have fun with it. The rope questions sound more like a measuring contest to me. And I would be will to place $ on the fact that alot of guys would love to ride at 80-85 because others do, but just aren't comfortable doing it. Ride the board, and rope length you are comfortable with, there is a reason they make different size boards, bindings, and sections in the ropes, because everybody has a different preference!
By the way, Nate has never complained about my AVY wake either. And Pat loves the double ups behind them!

Have a great day!

Adjusting the manual plate is easy and quick and can help. They do make them adjustable for a reason. I have a Centurion, not an Avy, and cleaned up the wake by putting the manual plate down a little on both sides, but asymetrically a little lower on the driver side where the wake was a little washy. If you are worried about messing it up, just mark your starting point on the adjustment bolts with a marker or tape and you will be able to easily put it back just like it came from the dealer.