Centurion pulling right??

O.k., just drove a centurion Vdrive and at speeds above 30 mph the thing wanted to go hard right. They said it was a normal trait on a v-drive. It was my first time in a centurion, but the malibu v-drive I have spent some time on didn't pull nearly as hard. What could it be? Thanks for your input.

I have a '05 elite v C4. It's pretty sensitve to weight distribution but it does not pull right.

Peter- I also have an Elite-V C4 and it seems sensitive to weight, but not at all if balanced, but peter i was wondering if on your Elite you have the adjustable wakeplate, because on ours we have the wakeplate, but not the adjustable, i wish i had a pic but i dont. Anyways, i was just wondering if there were different plates, becuase we have the Storm 1 package which says it comes with an adjustable wakeplate, yet it doesnt seem to be. I emailed Centurion a month or so ago and still no response. Thanks.
~Tyler~

Tyler- every wakeplate that I have seen is adjustable. Some are manual (adjust from outside the boat) so they don't get adjusted much, others are hydraulic, (control on the steering column). I have the hydraulic unit but I never adjust. We found that the max-up position is the best for boarding and we leave it there all the time. If someone wanted to ski behind the boat we would probably use the adjustement.

rob - I have driven almost every brand of inboard boat the last few yearss. All have some pull to one side (depends on prop rotation and position of the rudder) My Avalanch has a slight pull to the right. You have to keep a hand on the wheel. It feels like all other inboards to me. I owned another brand boat prior to the Avalanche and it was pretty much the same. The reason for the pull is that the rudder is slightly offset from the center of the prop. The water coming off the prop tries to push the rudder to the side.

"All have some pull to one side" - While this used to be true, not really the case anymore. There are some that don't. My Malibu did over 40MPH. My new boat doesn't at all, and I can drive all day without hands (not a good idea regardless).

Tyler,
I hope this helps. I haven't tried to adjust it yet. We just got our boat a few months ago and are learning to wakeboard. The dealer told to me leave it alone for now.

My Lighting will veer to the right if you let go of the steering wheel, but does not feel like it pulls to the right otherwise. The boat handles very nicely, much less effort than my old I/O.

As far as the wake plate goes, mine has the Bennett trims on it. For wake boarding it’s normally up, 0%. Some times when the boat is tail heavy and running at wake board speeds the boat will porpoise. When that happens I change the trim to 2% or 3%, just enough to stop porpoising. Too much trim at wake board speeds make the wake very mellow, which may be good for a beginner but not if you want a good wake for jumping.

When I slalom or I’m heading back to the doc fast the boat again will porpoise at 0% trim. So any time I’m going fast trim gets set to 100%.

I’ve found that I can wake surf both sides of the boat pretty nicely with a crew of three and stock ballast. Regular footers like to surf the port side and goofy footers the starboard side. I’ve found the regular-port side works best with 0% trim and the goofy-starboard side with 75% to 100% trim.

All inboards and V drives can be tuned to a anywhere from a neutral steering to a pull to the left or right. A right pull is not unusual on inboards or V drives and if you don't like it the dealer can take the pull out. Not a big deal

Wake plate has nothing to do with any "pulling" to a side.
My Centurion can be steered with one finger at pretty much any speed. Turns in very crisply. Handles wonderfully. Every ski boat I have ever driven pulls a bit. This is known as preloaded steering.
If you like the way the 'BU steers, buy it instead of the Centurion. I like riding behind a BU very much. Almost bought one. I think they handle extremely well. They are very well made, a true quality piece. However, they pound significantly crossing wakes and riding in chop. I hear some of the newer hulls they have come out with are not as punishing to ride in.

Ok let me say this another way give me any brand boat for 10 minutes tell me how you want it to pull and I will tune the rider so it will pull that way! This is not a big deal. It is the rudder not the trim tab

I wouldn't want a boat that pulls. Sangers don't pull and that's what I own right now so all is good.

I just got my boat back from having the manual-adjustable plate (the exact same part in Peter's pics)installed on my 98 Elite V. My boat's hull is the predecessor to the C4 hull. The plate was not an option in 98.

Just took it out for a late-night test drive and can tell a difference. The rooster tail is gone and the boat is handling better and crisper at higher speeds. It had a tendency to porpoise in the 30 to 35 range and that's gone. I wanted to improve the recreational slalom capability and I think it did. My son is the boarder, my wife and I still like to ski.

My boat has never pulled to either side, but it does list slightly to the driver side, even if countered by a heavier passenger on the left. I always thought this was due to engine torque, but maybe its the rudder offset.

I'm upgrading the ballast bags tomorrow and want to see how the plate affects the wake.

Now that we are on this subject, nobody answered my post a couple weeks ago about the same thing. My 04 Cyclone pulls pretty hard to the right. Doesn't matter whether it is loaded or unloaded. I have to turn the wheel over 90 degrees to the left in order to keep it straight. Any ideas? The local shop did not know anything. Haven't had a chance to contact my dealer yet. Is there a cable adjustment on the steering arm that comes up from on top of the rudder shaft? Getting worse every month.

Hmm that is strange I have had an 04 and 05 Cyclone both had almost no pull. THe dealer can grind on your rudder to give you the amout of pull you are looking for

It started out just fine, but during the course of this year, we have had to turn the wheel more and more a little bit at a time. The service tech at the local shop where we rode last weekend said to check the tracking fins and the strut for straightness. ran a 4 foot level front to back and everything lines up fine. I can't see the steering arm under the engine, but was hoping it was adjustable .

Peter-
Thats the exact same plate as we have, now imjustwondering if you have to adjust it from outside, the boat or inside? If you can adjust it from inside, how do you do that because my boatdoesnt seem to have controls for it

You adjust it form OUTSIDE the boat. I have circled the knurled jam nuts that you use to adjust the plate

Patt I think that you may have some worn parts in the steering. The control arm for the rudder should have a where they meet start there and work your way back

More observations on the Centurion wake plate:

-having it in any position is better than not having the plate

-the adjustments are minor; as Kevin pointed out, the top nut is a lock nut, and the bottom one adjusts a bolt that goes in or out of the arm; you can shorten or lengthen the support arm.

-straight out or slightly bent down is good for skiing or other boating

-bowed up is good for boarding; the plate seemed to increase the vert of the wake (weighted boat compared to previously w/ no plate)

-the plate seemed to help get on plane easier; I was looking at a prop change but now I may not

-I tried lowering the right side, while raising the left to make the boat not list to the right at certain speeds. It didn't seem to help. Funny thing, it doesn't do this when loaded w/ ballast for boarding.

I've only had the plate for a couple of days. I'm interested in any other tips from others.

So now this is interesting. I have a 04 Centurion and I've been wondering what's the best place for that plate. You're saying that if the plate's closer to the swim platform (up) it's better for boarding?

Scott, I have almost two whole hours of experience using the new plate, so I'm quite the resource on this issue. Actually, we rode yesterday w/ the plate UP and were pleased w/ the wake as mentioned above. The day before we "drove" w/ ballast at wakeboard speed and plate DOWN, and didn't like the way the wake looked as much. It was choppy and windy that day and nobody rode. Not scientific results IMO, because conditions were not the same.

The biggest comparison I can make is plate vs. no plate, and "with plate" is much improved, and not just for boarding.

The adjustment range is so small. I doubt I will be making changes often. Just find one setting and leave it. I am interested in what other Centurion owners have done. Thanks.

Cool, I'll give it a whirl tonight. I have about 800lbs in the back and then about 500 upfront in the bow and the wakes a little washy, I'm interested to see what the plate does.

I have 700 lbs in back, and 600 in the walk-thru. The 98 doesn't have a ski locker in the floor. This is the best weight combo we've tried - nice shape and not washy. You might try tuning the plate DOWN, which should have the same effect as moving some of your current weight forward (by creating lift in the back). If there are any Hydro-Physicists on their lunch break - feel free to pipe in.

In my cyclone I find the plate all the way up
and the weight balanced to give little to know wash on both sides of the wake. The best speed is 20 mph or faster

I would'nt point the plate down... it's counter-productive. If you need the nose down, do it with ballast.

Whelp, I didn't have much luck moving the plate up tonight with the boat in the water. I got the top...er...screw on holdy things loose and then didn't really know what to do with the bottom ones. If you loosen the bottom ones does that allow the plate to move up or do those pins have to come out?

-the adjustments are minor; as Kevin pointed out, the top nut is a lock nut, and the bottom one adjusts a bolt that goes in or out of the arm; you can shorten or lengthen the support arm.

lossen the top one an adjust the bottom one the distance between the jam nuts will get smaller for the plate going up and bigger for the plate going down

alright, cool, I'll get back in there with the channel locks tonight then. Thanks.

Scott, careful with the channel locks. The dealer told me to adjust the arms using only the amount of force you can apply by hand. You may need pliers to loosen the top nut, but when you adjust the bottom nut you are applying up or down pressure to the plate. If you use too much force you could damage the plate or where it's mounted.

wait, so all I have to do then is to loosen the top and then pull up on the plate???

NO you can't damage the plate the worst that can happen is you go to far an the screw comes out of the end it that happens....screw it back in. loosen the top and use your hand or channel locks to adjust the bottom... don't make it to hard it is just a jam nut and adjustment nut

I have a friend that has a 2004 Centurion Elite V. He can't get into the fuel tank, does anyone know how he can access his fuel tank on this boat? We believe that it is under the center floor. He lives far from any service shops and wanted to pull his tank out to clean some junk that fell into it before it ruined his motor.

Thanks

Well, I'm sad to say that I moved the plate all the way up with little to no improvement. I guess I'll have to start from the beginning and remove all the weight and start adding it back slowly.

I guess we need a better description of your problemhow fast do you think you are going?
How do you know you are going that fast?
Is the wake washy on both sides?

....Pictures would help a bunch!

I guess by the way I should have mentioned that my boat doesn't pull to the right unless I'm damn near T/W/O. and even then it doesn't bother me, my problem is I'm trying to get my wake cleaned up. So I completely hijacked this thread in hopes of selfishly helping myself. I'm going right around 22 because that's what my handheld GPS and my speedo tell me. The wake's not too bad, just a little lip and a little white wash that's not always there. Seems like my boat likes less weight rather than more. Right now I have approximately 800 lbs in the back and probably somewhere around 550 in the bow. The problem is just finding exactly what she wants I suppose. Sometimes the wake is firm and perfect for me, others it's huge but softer and rather unaccomodating. I think I'm just going to dump it all this weekend and start by adding 200lbs in the back, then 200 lbs in the front... so on and so forth until I figure out the right combo. Thanks for all the help with the plate though.

I was wondering what the whole plate thing had to do with your boat pulling to the right

I have never had anything inconsistent about my wake it always seems hard.

I look at my wake from the boat a see a very little bit of wash at the top but when I am boarding I never see it or does it bother me.

I would try the wake with the weight just in the bake then add some to the front and try that like you said try starting over.

Are you always in the same water? If you get in shallow water the wake will never be as good as it is in deeper water.

Scott- I dont know how much my weight configuration will help, considering its a different boat, but we have 500 center and the wakeplate, and i love the wake. Ive gone and put about 600 in each rear locker 500 center and 300 in the bow. But I just dont find it neccessarry at all and with gas screw it. Heres stock 500 center and the wakeplate unadjusted from factory, (somewhere in the middle). Also its tough for me to get the weight distributed correctly side to side i guess since its very tough for me to get the passenger side not washed. If anybody has any tips... please

~Tyler~

a few lbs of lead should fix it.

Scott, I really think that your best chance of cleaning up the wake by using the wakeplate is to have the wakeplate straight out or slightly down. Do this by lengthening the two support arms. Loosen the upper lock nuts and turn the lower nuts counter-clockwise.

Others have pointed out that having the plate down is not the best setting for making a big wake, and they are correct. However, you are just trying to clean up your wake. The amount of ballast and your speed are the major factors affecting wake size, but the plate can help fine tune the shape. Obviously, changing the ratio of weight back to front will change things too.

Let us know - I feel like I now have a vested interest.

ha! Thanks Rich, I appreciate your (and everyone's) comments. There IS a perfect weight configuration as I've had it before on more than one occasion, but it was with various people and sacks loaded and strategically positioned throughout the boat. Today I'm going to go home, empty everything and start from scratch. I'm going to start by loading some weight in the back, then do some in the front (small increments). I'll even do ya one better, all you who're fully vested, I'll take pix of each stage and post them tonight.

Can these wake plates be bought somewhere other than a dealer?

I doubt that you can get this particular wake plate anywher other than a Centurion or other Fineline Mfg dealer.

Last year I saw an ad in Wakeboard Mag for a Bennett Wakeplate, a center-mounted hydraulic plate, for about $450. This is different than Bennett Tabs, which go on each side and are used for fishing boats and cruisers.

The bennet trim tab is what Centurion installs as an option. The manual one that is pictured I believe Centurion has made

(Message edited by krbaugh on September 16, 2005)