Centurion or Malibu

Just sold my Sea Ray to get a Vdrive boat. My wife and I have 4 girls and we ski 75% and wakeboard 25% of the time. The wife wants a smooth ride and the girls want a barefoot boom to learn to barefoot. Everyone also wants to learn to wakesurf.

We found a couple of boats we like locally in our price range, a new 2006 Malibu Suncape 23LSV with the illusion tower, wedge, and center ballast, and a 2007 Centurion Enzo SV230 with tower 3 ballast tanks and racks.

It would be great to know others experience with the quality, ride, and ski-abilty of these boats.

Thanks in advance!

That's easy...

The Malibu is just a better boat in EVERY aspect.

I believe the Sunscape LSV is the same hull as the 99-2003 Wakesetter LSV. Great wake for surfing and wakeboarding.

I like the Bus better to although I have surfed behind the Enzo and can say in my oppinion the surf wake was bette behind the Enzo. if I were to choose if the porice is about the same I would go with the Bu.

If primarly skiing I would go with the LSV. For wakeboarding both are very good. If surfing hands down the Enzo !

(Message edited by iagainsti on October 05, 2006)

Malibu, better resale, better built, better looking IMO}}

Check out the 2007 Tiges, you've gotta drive one.

I would go with the Centurion, smoother ride with more of a v-hull, and great wakesurfing boat. Good luck.

dc

Malibu

If you're going to say "Malibu," say why!

Otherwise, you might as well of posted nothing.

I personally have been very impressed with everything about the Malibu, my experience has been the exact opposite with the Centurion...starting with the wake.

I own an Centurion and would say Malibu, hands down. Centurion overall is a nice and well built boat, but compared to a well equipped Bu its like comparing a chevette to a corvette.

Fit, finish, feel, warranty, looks, and probably resale are all superior on the Malibu. That will be the next manufacturer i buy from for certain.

WMK couldnt have said it any better

When I started wakeboarding, I bought an 02 Centurion Hurricain(elite-vdrive), to save money. I wanted a v-drive but didn't want to break the bank. It was our first "wakeboard" boat so we thought the wake was massive. Without going into to much detail, we had some electrical problems and ended up getting rid of the boat and buying an 04 Malibu VLX. The Malibu is a way better boat for our needs. We wakeboard or surf (no watersking). The wake is one of my favorites to ride behind, fit and finish is alot better than the Centurion, the whole boat feels much more solid than the Centurion. Our Malibu did cost more than the Centurion. I will say one thing about Centurion, when we were having electrical probs. and the dealer couldn't repair, the factory came and picked up our boat (with a few phone calls and emails), rewired the whole boat and extended our warranty for a year. Test drive both and weigh your options, if I would have done this the first time I would have bought the Malibu the first time. Good Luck.

I don't know if I would say Chevette to Corvette(brutal),but I would agree with WMK (go with Malibu)if price is not in the equation. I too own a Centurion.

To be honest, I thought it was going to be a lot more brutal. These are not two builds that are commonly compared.

I've got a lot of opinions on this topic. I agree with J-Rod, that these are two builds that rarely get compared. My family has owned both brands, and definately Malibu is a better boat. After 10 years of Malibu ownership, we started promoing Centurion in 2002. After the first year I would not have suggested Centurion to my worst enemy, as we got a real lemon. But Centurion stepped up, swapped out '02 straight across for an '03 and that boat has been great, not issues at all.

Now that I have established the history, this is the way I feel about these boats. One of my best college buddies parents have done Malibu promos since the mid 90s, so during college we had both Malibu and Centurion head to head to use anytime we went out. The Malibu feels 10 times better in the drivers seat. The boat is very smooth. Malibu is definately at the front when it comes to innovation along with MC. Now, I think Centurion has come a long way in the last 3-4 years. They have some '07 models that are really catching my eye, and I plan on purchasing in the next year as well, and will probably look at an Enzo. I've heard the Enzo is a good crossover boat and I definately am interested in that surf wake. I would not agree with the Chevette/Corvette comparison. An easy comparison for me would be the last two vehicles I owned. I would compare the Centurion to my '04 F150, a good looking, comfortable ride at a great price, while the Malibu is more like my Acura, great to drive, flawless components, great build, very reliable.

In the end, you really can't go wrong either way. With the Centurion you are going to get a good boat at a great price, with the Malibu you are going to get an exceptional boat across the board, you will just pay for it.

Bill,

I'd suggest doing a demo on both boats. Check out the fit and finish and overall quality of the boat then look at the ski wake/wakeboard wake.
I think you will find the Malibu comes up on top in most if not all areas.

And do a search here on both boats and you will find plenty of input.

I own a Centurion Avalanche, and Here's my take:

Malibu ski wake is better, Centurion surf wake is better, Malibu wakeboard wake is better, Malibu is more female-friendly, Centurion rough-water ride is better, Malibu driveability is better, Malibu build quality and interior is better. For your needs, I think the Malibu would be a better choice.

If you're not set on the Idea of a 23-footer, you may want to look at the Nautique 211 (21')... tournament-rated for wakeboarding and waterskiing, deeper-v hull than a dedicated tournament boat, surfs AMAZING, and is excellent build quality. Based on your criteria, I think it would be the ideal boat for you. Just my 2 cents!

I really appreciate all the opinions, it helps a lot. We just came in from test driving the Enzo.
Keep in mind we're switching from a Sea Ray Sundeck. My wife thought the ride in the Enzo was as good or better than our old boat. The surf wake was awesome. Ski wake was better than our sterndrive at 30 mph.

I was ready to buy this boat without test driving the Malibu until I got home and read these posts.
My concerns with the Malibu were 1. When the windshield was screwed in the screws nicked the metal of the windshield. This left crescent shaped holes in the windshield frame and caused the normal curvature of the frame to be wavey and crooked. I thought, if they can't get this right what else could be wrong with the boat? (conversely it could have been one guy at the factory with a hangover and everything else is fine).
2. The Centurion has snap in carpet, the Malibu doesn't. Not a big deal but I heard something about construction and thats why Malibu doesn't have the snap in carpet.
3. The bow seating is wider in the Centurion which I'm embarassed to say is somewhat important to my daughters.

Both the boats are under 55K, so price isn't an issue. I've actually thought of ordering a 07 Wakesetter 23 LSV with the Diamond hull like the Sunscape (because we ski), and would be in the 59k neighborhood.

I love the Corvette analogy, just got a black 07 Coupe which is sweet.

Thanks for all the feedback, anything more is greatly appreciated

snap-in carpet is not necesarilly a plus. some people like it, obviously easier to clean. Some (myself included) think it looks cheap.

LOL this shouldnt be a question if you have the cash go with the Malibu

I agree with Tommy about snapin carpet looking cheap, but at the sametime it makes me wonder what malibu tries to hide with carpeting the whole interior. Would you ever see stress cracks or does it not matter because the carpet will hold the boat together? Also i wouldnt look foward to vacumming so much dang carpet inside the boat, i have a hard enough time with snapin carpet.

dc

malibu...better wake performance (ski & wake)... the bu surf wake is very, very good..it may take some tweeking to get it right but it is very good.. the drawback to bigger boats is it generally takes more to wiegh them down for wakeboarding/wakesurfing...

btw, anodyne mentioned the nautie 211...i have one and love it, it gives nothing up in terms of a great all around boat (i would really like to compare surfwakes since it throws a huge, clean ,sick goofy wake)if i was after a bigger boat, i would look also consider the cc 226.. but otherwise the bu..

When I first bought my Centurion I thought snap out carpet was silly. However I’ve since changed my mind on carpeting. If you live in sunny California, snap out carpet might not be a big deal. I live in the Midwest and I store my boat out side. It rains where I live, sometimes a lot, it can be difficult to get my boat to dry out, and wet boats can get funky. (Last night my boat got hit with golf ball sized hail, I hope it’s OK, I’ll know tomorrow.)

This year I only put my carpet in the boat a few times, once for a family reunion and another time for a wakesurfing event. Afterward I removed it, washed it down, hung it to dry, rolled it up, and stored it. Sounds like work doesn’t, well I say is save me a lot of work. With the carpet installed the boat would hold more moisture, I’d have more mold problems to worry about and would need to wash the interior with soap and water more often.

I’ve been in a few Malibus this year they seem like very good boats to me, I don’t think you could go wrong with one. However, Malibus that I saw had carpet everywhere, and carpet holds moisture, for me that would be bad.

I’d like a wakeboard/wakesurf boat that’s more like a Boston Whaler inside. I’d like to get the garden hose out, spray the boat down and be done with interior cleanup. Centurions with the carpet out are a step closer to easy maintenance.

my $0.02

btw, have snap in carpet and it is awesome..vaccum and blower and your done..

Bill - You have two great choices and I do not think you will go wrong with either. Based on what you are saying you want. I think you will be super 110% satisfied with the Enzo. For all of you who have not looked at Centurion in the last two years you need to look again. It seems like every month or so they have added or changed a feature on the boats to make them better. As far as construction I will argue all day that a Centurion is put together better. I have been inside both of the boats and I don't mean just sitting I mean installing Perfect Pass in a Malibu and finding that the hull is paper thin. The Centurion is very thick and handles rough water better than any inboard boat I have been in. The snap in carpet is a no brainer, get inside a three or four year old boat that doesn't have it and I promise you will notice the musty smell. I am obviously biased to Centurion but just so you know, the first boat I bought was a Malibu and owned it for five years and never left me stranded. My 2 cents. Good Luck!

I thought I had it narrowed it down to two boats. After reading Anodyne's post I realized I want the Natique 211. This boat is at my dealer. For me it was the perferct boat, but maybe not the families. I like to barefoot and slalom and have skied behind this boat. I laid down the law to my woman, "we should get this boat". She was very angry. "You made me sell the Sea Ray, that nautique feels like a bass boat" (she's only stood in it in the showroom). After relaying this information to the salesman he said I can order a new Natique 236 crossover which should fit the bill.

I'm more confused now than ever, I apologize for this, everyone's feedback has meant a lot. I'll let you know what I do.

Thanks, Bill.

From a different perspective maybe you could explain why you are only looking at Cent and BU. Where are you located? Is price the ONLY factor? All boats in 2007 have seen a 6-8% price increase.

The simple fact that BU cannot offer snap in carpet should raise a question WHY? The entire floor in a BU is a JIGSAW puzzle. It is many pieces of floor placed in the boat then covered entirely by carpet and hidden. Then the interior pieces/ floor are GLUED toghther then are screwed into place by "L" brackets. The interior itself cannot support snap out carpet because of the constuction and the material that would have to have snaps screwed into it. JIFFY BOARD Good bad or indifferent. It is Malibus way of producing a boat.

The Centurian is built to a different level. They have come along way and have taken there build process to mirror other high end boats. Inner liner etc.

Look carefully at both boats. Check the fit and finish. Look in the bildge. See what you can see...then look some more where you are not susposed to look. See what options come standard and what are upgrades. Check warranties. See how long they are good for and for how many hours. Some warranties are 3 years or 400 hours. NOT ALOT !!!. Check the trailers, what do you get with them, BRAKES RIMS, lights, swing away tongue, prop guards, steel or fiberglass fenders etc. Who warranties the trailer. The boat manuf or the trailer company?

Just a few items to look for...Good luck in your quest Seems like boat show season is on the way. Might be time to save a few bucks at the show. You can always price a boat then go to the show with pricing in hand and get your best deal !!!

Hey Bill, I feel your pain as I just went through the exact same situation. I've heard and read many many posts on here how the bu's interior is so much better, and from friends who say the interior was far superior in the bu that personally own them. they claim resale is far superior on the bu's. IMO, i personally had a certified check made out to the centurion dealer(they are 2 1/2 hours away) to factory order an enzo. My family(wife and 3 kids 8,5,2) went down for the weekend. before going to the centurion dealer, i hit up mastercraft and malibu to make sure i was doing the right thing. Mastercraft is a great boat, but the interior seemed a little more plain to me. the seating didn't seem as plush, seemed like alot less cushion in the seating. the x2 was comparably priced to the enzo. mastercraft was out(i don't want to spend 75000 plus for the xstar) so i headed over to the bu dealer. personally everyone on our lake has one, which made me not want one even more. i sat in it, and interior was great, had some great features and I was impressed. I thought, maybe i should be getting a bu, cuz everyone on here was posting how centurions interior was years behind. well, i headed over to the centurion dealer, and when i looked at the interior and everything else and was glad my check was made out for the centurion. you take a look on any of the boat classified ads and you'll see that every boat make depreciates just the same. there are some bu's that are newer that are selling for less then some older centurions. there are some newer centurions that are selling for less then some older cc's and so on. I felt that the enzo offered everything that malibu and mastercraft did and more. my wife and i liked the interior much more the drivers seat was way more comfortable and my wife could see over the bow. Personally the boat will fill our needs for surfing and the kids learning to wakeboard. I think you will get an unbelievable wake out of any of the new boats out there. asking which boat is best on these forums makes decisions way harder then they need to be. let us know how she goes.

you cant compare THAT! C'MON

It does sound like the 211 would fit the bill best for you if you really ski that much more than wakeboarding. Get your wife out on the 211 and let her feel what it's like. Remember that when it comes to skiing bigger is not better. But maybe the 236 will throw as good a slalom wake.

My 2 cents. I bought an 07 Wakesetter 23LSV because "I liked it." I paid $55K loaded (No trailer). It now has 25 hours on it and I LOVE it. The only thing I don't like is the ice chest drain (small thing, but I am very picky, and I didn't think about until after I used it for awhile). Big plus I didn't think about until I used it is ALL OF THE CUPHOLDERS ARE IN THE SHADE. What I am trying to say is no matter what boat you get there will probably be things you only think about after you have had it a while, so buy the one YOU like and enjoy it (the cooler drain doesn't bug me that bad). Make sure you get the boat that makes YOU happy every time you see it and drive it. More pictures of the boat. www.wakesiderides.com/rides/index.php?page=out&id=2178 As far as the uses you described, I have attached a couple pictures that might help. First picture is 75 feet out, 28 mph+/- (its a little flatter at 30 but this was the only skiing picture I had on the computer) no ballast, plate up, 10 people in the boat. It would have been a little flatter with less people in the boat, but everyone wants to ride in the "cool boat." Second picture is 65 feet out, 22 mph, 1250lbs ballast (factory tanks), plate down, 5 people (wasn't a nice weather day) in the boat. As far as the wet carpet goes, it will teach you not to power turn into you own wake with the front tank full and therefore make you a better boater. P.S. I am willing to bet that the 75% ski / 25% board ratio reverses with either boat you choose...just something to keep in mind.

Demo the BU and Natique before you choose.

Bill, I knew a Bob Maupin in college, hardly ever see that name.

Anyway, I have an 06 LSV, so might be a little prejudiced. Someone above said you can find something wrong with any boat if you look ahrd enough. This is true. I finally decided to load up the family and test drive everything (drove quite a few dealers nuts in the process.)

One thing I learned is that the best looking boats are not always the best driving, and people give way to much credit to reputations.

Family boat needs vary and are liable to be contradictory. I totaly get your wife's comment about the 211. It does not have the freeboard the 23 ft boats do. I think the CC line in general does not have the freeboard. However, I have never felt the least bit unsafe in any CC that I have ridden or driven, and more importantly, on the water, my family did not feel that way. Sometimes you cannot get over that first reaction.

I could tell you about the boats I drove that I hated, those I loved, but I spoke with my dollars on a boat I will own at least 10 years.

You just need to get behind the wheel of everything and pick what you like. You may end up on here telling everyone how great a boat is because it was your choice one day.

One more thing, at this time of year I would be thinking about whether you want an 06 left over or an 07. Ordering is nice, you can get just the options you want, including colors.

Kevin, thanks for posting the pics. That slalom wake is much better than what we are used to. That wake makes me think the Wakesetter would be a better choice than the Sunscape for us. Your boat looks awesome, I checked out the Wakerides link. We've got several friends who go to Grand, our place is at Eufaula (a little closer to the city).

I don't know how much a trailer adds, but it seems like you got a great deal. I pull the boat out for the winter about every other year and keep it in the garage. The rest of the time the trailer just takes up parking space at the lake.

If I can convince the wife we're going to try and test drive the Sunscape 23LSV tomorrow, I think it will be a pretty close aproximation of the Wakesetter.

Thanks for the info!

Bill

Some of you hit the nail on the head when it was said that if you haven't been in a centurion in the last TWO YEARS you don't know what you are talking about. The new 07 boats especialy have taken thier interiors to the next level. They are going after malibu in a big way. They feel that they are thier only competition now.
The only thing that the malibu does better than the the Enzo you are looking at is ski wake. The new Enzo216 has an awesome ski wake but it sacrifices rough water ride as it has a flatter hull like the malibu.

You are looking at the two best boats on the market, just don't buy the malibu just cause everyone els does. Test them both then but the better Centurion!

Mathew, thanks for the insight. By freeboard do you mean the depth of the boat? I should be able to get in a CC 236 and see if it feels deeper than the 211. We have 3 y.o. twin girls so this is a big deal to my wife.

My usual M.O. is to buy a new boat, take the depreciation hit for 3 yrs. and then get another boat(because the old boat isn't big enough,doesn't have a tower, etc. etc.). Real smart huh? So we want this one to be exactly right so we can keep it 10 yrs.

Your probably right about ordering an 07 regardless of which boat we get.

Thanks again.

Bill

IF you SKI 75% (including barefooting) and WAKEBOARD 25%, then you should probably ski a direct drive inboard before deciding. From your description you need this boat to do a lot of things well.

All boat makes do NOT depreciate the same, do some research on it and prove it to yourself if you need to. But that may or may not be important.

Above all, though, make sure the family is happy. It's probably obvious advice, but don't forget it for a minute. If they are not fully excited you might get a lot less time on the water and less enjoyment when you are out. You want them to love the boat, love climbing in it, love spending quality time on it!

I mostly barefoot. When It is too rough for barefooting or my feet hurt from all the glass I wakeboard . I also ski some I have a Centurion Cyclone it is a EXCELLENT barefoot boat and great wakeboard boat and you can also ski. Not a great slalom boat but it can be done. Ay way my point is a V drive can be a great barefoot boat you just need to demo them to make usre you can get a good barefoot wake and the speed you need.


Video and pictures of the Barefoot wake
http://www.clarkboatmotor.com/cyclonebarefoot.htm

Centurion in the last couple of years has developed 3 lines of boats

The Air Warriors are bare bones wakeboard boats with few standard options.
The Storm boats come with many more options and of course a higher price.
The High end Enzos have even more standard options and the Enzo styling along with a higher price.

Each year they have steeped up the quality and fit and finish
wakeboard wake Enzo 216


ski wake Enzo 216

ford or chevy, osu or ou.....the debate rages. I go to the lake with Bill and have skied or boarded behind every boat he has owned. I have had or skied most every boat made except for Tige. I think the CC has less freeboard than his wife would accept. I agree it is a great boat, but does not fit the family needs....something that someone posted earlier. I also told Bill to drive as many boats as possible, just make sure when you buy a boat to get it from someone who is a local dealer.

personally, I like removable carpet. taking 4 kids to any beach will make you wish you had it. As for the ski wake.........any of these boats have a better wake than the last boat, so i dont see that as a major selling point. i think the biggest things will be seating, he will have to have a vdrive to accomplish this, durability....these boats get heavy use in the summers, and storage...........with 4 kids and freeloading friends, he will need a lot of storage.

i hope this helps in narrowing down the advice. in the end, with all your help, i am sure Bill will make a great decision. I am also making him go to the OKC and Tulsa boat shows this winter.

That wakeboard wake of the ENZO looks like crap in that pic. The only way to make it great, is to add about 3000lbs of weight it in. A friend of mine(who happens to be sponsored by Centurion), adds a ton of weight and the wake is very nice. You may not want to add that much weight, and if you do, the Bu will have a better wake than the ENZO with the same weight.

I would stick with the Bu, that is if they are the same price.

Bill, thanks for the compliments on the boat. I didn't know you were so close. I was in OKC yesterday. If you feel like coming up to Grand, you and your family are welcome to go for a ride/drive in the boat. If the weather holds out we plan on being on the lake most of the weekend. Bring your rope and ski if you want. Send me an email to the address in my profile if you are interested and I will email back my phone number this evening. I think the sunscape uses the same hull, so wakes should be the same with the same weight. Check with your dealer on that detail. I got mine from Arrowhead. They have a location at Eufaula also. Eufaula is probably the nicest lake around, wish I could live there, just isn't close enough to territory I cover. Of course every lake I am on gets called you falla.

Tim, last year only cc, mc and tige were at the tulsa show.

I don't want to get into that wake looks like crap argument!

This is a new hull so your firiend does not have one.

the wakeboard picture is the Stock wake at 23 mph and 2 people in the boat

The ski wake is 36 MPH or so


The guy on the PWC thought the wake was so good he jumped off

Kevin-I was wondering about the phantom jet ski driver

after viewing wake pics the bu wake looks much better.

Doesn't make much sense to base a recommendation on viewing the wake pics above. The BU wake is with full factory ballast (1250lbs)/plate down/5 ppl. The Enzo is with no ballast and 2 people

That Enzo wake pic is the new 216 which has a flat bottom for slalom. It's their new crossover boat. I personlly don't care for that boat as it has a rough ride compared to the rest of the line up. It was the first V-drive I have ever done a power turn in though! The 230 or the 240 wakes are huge. I will say that without the blade it does take a lot of weight to get a huge wakeboarding wake out of my 230 because it's so wide and only has two tanks. The 07's have a four tank set up in the 230 and five in the 240. But with the switchblade on the boat I usually run with just the stock tanks filled.(500lbs)And it's SICK.

Ben, I wish I had your ballast set up! That would really p-off the fishermen.

I hope no one makes a decision about any boat from pictures an posts you need to be behind the boat doing what you do to see how you like the wake.

"we ski 75% and wakeboard 25% of the time" is why I brought up the 216

(Message edited by krbaugh on October 06, 2006)

Kevin, considering my sponsored friend gets a new boat every year, I'd say that he does have the new hull.

Wow so he must have one of the only ones in exsistance since as of a month or so ago there was only one on the planet he must be hooked up at Centurion! Plus I would not think this would be the boat he wants since it is a crossover V drive. But I am sure you are right

I'm willing to bet the hulls you 2 are talkin about are different and not the cross over hull. if your buddy is getting sponsored with a 216 hull, centurion ain't giving him the premo boat which must say something about his skills. with that being said, i'm sure he's a great rider and thus has a different hull more suited for wakeboarding(if that's what he does)

I currently ride a turbo'd yamaha apex snowmobile, and this same garbage goes on in the snowmobile forums as well. this brand blows cuz it has this name, this brand is king because it has this name and blah blah. bill, from what i've read, and unless you plan on making your family go pro, the wake comparison's between boats ain't that big of a deal. for some of you more finely tuned riders, you can tell the difference. and I've always got the philosophy that whatever you ride you will get used to. have fun with whatever you pick. you can't go wrong.

Hey Kevin R is that you barefooting in the drysuit? Hardcore.

When I test drove the Enzo 230 it looked like where a boom would come off would be right in the sidespray of the boat.

It looks like the Barefoot International booms for a vdrive have a curve that goes forward a little, does that get you out of the spray?

Thanks Bill

No that is not me this is me

http://www.clarkboatmotor.com/kt.wmv

and this

http://www.clarkboatmotor.com/kevinsvideo.wmv

What you need for V drives is the BI Tower Mount boom. That is a friend on the 5 Foot

Problem is the Centurion has an Evolution tower and the Malibu a Illusion. I don't think there is any way to mount a boom to them.

Those links are awesome.

That is true but you can get the Extreme tower or the Tribal tower and save a few bucks. Both Towers are options that reduce the price on the Enzo. If you decided on the Enzo I would recomend the biggest engine you can afford To make sure you get the speed you want. If your boat would come from the east coast plant You can get a PCM power plant with the 6.0L 375 HP ARGH and the bennet trim tab.
When you are long line the barefoot wake is better with some trim on the tab. When you are on the boom you don't want much trim you will get less side spray.


Any V drive is going to have a side spray problem with the boom mounted in the back. I would not buy a V drive until the tower mount boom came out.

(Message edited by krbaugh on October 06, 2006)

Great videos Kevin! What speed do you barefoot at?


sry, Go for the Enzo! lol

Thanks guys those where several years ago but I am still footin most of the time

I forward barefoot at 44 and back barefoot at 40

Badboyripper- If your friend is sponsored by Centurion I highly doubt he would go with a cross-over boat to ride. I am guessing that he has either the 230 Enzo or an Avalanche, those seem to be what the Centurion sponsored riders are getting. The Enzo 216 in the only boat in production with this new hull, there will be another 216 model coming in the spring that will have the same hull.

Of course the wake looks like crap with empty ballast. The idea for the 216 is like the 211 Nautique.....less weight smaller wake.....more weight....bigger wake.

Badboyripper, if you are talking about Sean, they have a new Typhoon which is also a new hull design for 06. It's a stretched avalanche hull, pulled out to 23'.

Yeah he has the 23' ENZO. My point is that the wakeboard wake in that pic, is TINY compared to the wakeboard wake pic from the Malibu in this thread. The guy who started this thread wasn't talking about the ENZO 216, I guess it doesn't really matter anyway. I just think that he should buy the Malibu.

Funny that people on this site always get their panties in a bunch about something that someone says.

Ryan-if I was given a free boat every year because of how I knew how to ride, then I would think that my skills would be better than 95% of the wakeboarders in the country.

Jason, its not Sean.

It is true that he did not mention the 216 however I brought it up because he skis 75% of the time.

Plus "Doesn't make much sense to base a recommendation on viewing the wake pics above. The BU wake is with full factory ballast (1250lbs)/plate down/5 ppl. The Enzo is with no ballast and 2 people"

Any just thught he might want to take a look no biggy

When we test drove the Enzo the salesman said top speed was 45ish, does that sound about right? This was with the 330hp black scorpion engine. That's plenty fast for us, do you think the engine upgrade is really important(we would have to order and the in stock boat is as we would order one otherwise). I barefoot at 37mph (can't imagine how hard it would hurt to fall stepping off at 44)!

As far as the boom, we really need a vdrive for family reasons, and really like the look of the Evolution tower. We'll deal with the sidespray issue i guess. I've nerver even used a boom, always stepped off a slalom, but want one to teach my girls. I would also like to learn to go backwards before I die.

The Enzo is a little more money than the Malibu 23LSV, and I think the salesman is afraid to tell me how much the Nautique Crossover236 is going to be. We will look at it when it gets here, looks like a tower boom would work on it though.

My girls are going to have to get wakeboarding, surfing or skiing scholarships, as we are using their college funds to pay for the boat.

Just kidding.

Bill

badboy, i wasnt' trying to diss on your buddy. I was just stating that I think if he was sponsored,he's going to be better then 95% of the people, and that centurion would want him in an enzo or avalanche. I kind of figured the hulls were getting mixed up. I believe the reason the 216 was brought up was because bill was asking for basically a crossover boat. My dad currently owns a malibu 23' wakesetter, and it's a great boat. from personal experience, i believe the wakes are comparable, with the enzo winning out in the surfing wake department. thus the reason i'm going enzo. malibu is one of the top boats, but i believe any boat out there has the capabilities of throwing the ultimate wake, not just the bu.

I would have to say the Malibu's are built better, and they have more interior room. I like the lay out of the inside of the boat, but im not huge on the tower.

I have never checked the top end on the Enzo but I would think that would be close. If you don't need the extra speed the the 330 HP Scorpion is a sweet engine!

As far as the boom goes get one with as much forward sweep as you can!

The Enzo with the 330 Merc. will top out around 42/43 with no switchblade and with the switchblade it will top around 39/40.

A comparable sized I/O will run faster than an inboard wake boat, wake boats are made to displace water and will run slower.

My LSV runs 42-44 top end with the 340. Ballast empty, 4-8 people. You could get a bigger motor in it, but I don't think you could justify it unless you plan on adding a lot more than the factory ballast. Another thing to consider on the motors is the 2007 Malibus have catalytic converters (others may have them as well) built into the exhaust. Just something to keep in mind if you plan on keeping it for a long time. You never know when the EPA will pass law that requires them.