Centurion 230 Enzo - Good Boat?

Looking at a new ’07 230 Enzo demo boat (<20 hrs). To give you some background – I have never owned a wake board boat and have only road in one a few times. Love the mass space appeal as well as the great looks and kick a** stereo. I am looking at coming out of the performance market where I can only ride 5 in my boat. Will be getting into some wake boarding and wake surfing but I would consider everyone that rides behind the boat a novice to beginner.

Is the 230 Enzo a good all around boat to hang out in as well as entertaining the beginner wake board crowd? How is the quality, ride and warranty?

I surf behind an Enzo 24 and the thing is a macking surf boat. Tons of space, open floor plan. If sacked out right easily one of the best surf boats out there.

My buddy only surfs his though, so never taken any wake sets behind it.

The Enzo 230 is a great boat for beginners, you can run with no ballast and have a nice wake to start and then build to a massive wake with ballast system. The ride is one of the best inboard rides on the market with the v-hull. Space for 10-12 people.

Thanks for the feedback George. How has yours been as far as quality and warranty issues?

Michael, no problems with the boat, only service was the 25 hour oil change and inspection, winterization last fall, and an oil change this summer. Boat has 100 hours on it. It is a promo boat and is for sell now. Great deal on a loaded boat.

This Centurion is alittle unique because it has a PCM engine and drive system. I have really been impressed with PCM.

George,

I'm curious... why is that unique? That's all that is available here? Well, let me clarify...that's the only way the dealer orders them here.

Michael, we are in our third season with our Enzo SV 230 ('04 model; we purchased new May, '06). Quality has been outstanding. We show up at the marina every weekend, crank it, and go hard all day (or weekend)! We've never taken it back to the dealer for a repair, sans a Mercruiser exhaust gasket repair (under warranty). We still LOVE our boat, and everyone whoever rides in it loves the boat, the wakeboarding wake, and of course, the surf wake.

For Boarding, she needs around 1,000 lbs in the rear/center (you can go more), & 500 up front. For surfing, you just have all the weight to one side filled. That'll do ya. Awesome boat! Holds its own easily against any other 23 footers, for sure. Check out www.centurioncrew.com if you have more specific questions. Good Luck!

Tanner, as I understand 100% of the westcoast boats have Mercruiser and 90% plus on the east coast. Only 1 or 2 dealers request/pay for the PCM upgrade. Not even an option in California.

Wow, didn't know that. No one here wants the Merc. even though it's made here...lol. I definately think it's worth the $2K option though.

But yes Michael, I think you'll love the Enzo. Centurion makes a good boat, and their interiors are killer IMHO.

Michael - The Enzo is honestly a great all around boat, meaning that is you want beginners to ride or if you want a pro like George's son Phil to ride you'll have the right boat. It does have a lot of interior space and storage as well. I personally think the wake is near perfection when properly weighted. I also think you will be impressed with the ride, I saw in your profile that you are in Charlotte so I would imagine your are on LKN if thats the case I know that the ride is important. Good luck finding the right one. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me.

WOW - thanks for all the feedback!

I am a little confused on PCM thing. In the '08 catalog it seems they don't even picture a PCM engine as they are all Mercs.

If you get the Merc engine does it come with the Merc drive system then? Or is a package PCM drive with PCM motor and Merc motor with Merc drive?

Seems all boats I am looking at have the 330 Black Scorpion. Is this under powered for a 23ft boat?

The 330 does fine Mercruiser is a great set up. You can find dealers for them any where. PCM sometimes gets hard to find dealers. I used a 23 last year never less than 8 people and sacked out with no problem. The PCM is a option from Centurion they do about 10% of their boats with them.

If you are coming out of a "performance" (I'm assuming poker race) boat a towboat will be a HUGE transition.
Spend some time in one first. A good quality I/O might also be an option.. you'd keep some of the handling characteristics and amenities you are accustomed to.
Having said that, you can't go wrong with an enzo as far as towsports are concerned. As far as HP goes keep in mind they are designed for torque and run reduction gears. The top end is barely over 40mph and you'll be able to cruise fast only on pretty glassy water.

Thanks for the post mars. I am coming from a boat that clips 60+ no problem (not fast by performance boating std though). However, when I bought the boat I was over nighting at the Lake Erie Islands and now have since moved to LKN where all we do is day boat. Huge boating style change, I feel like the person talking about switching from a sports car to a mini van. Most of the time you are just tied up listening to tunes. I think the mass room plus the ability to tow would be a good fit. I don't think I could buy with out driving. I also don't want to buy a dud that won't sell when trying to re-sale.

I am also considering the Ebbtide 2460 and the Regal 2520. Seems those are in about the same price range as an Enzo and both have good lines IMHO.

Does anyone have any experience with taking the evolution tower down? I rack store so I may have to take down after every use.

Thanks again.

Michael. The Enzo is a wakeboarding boat. Any Wakeboarding boat you buy, will not come close to the speed you had. Wakeboarding boats are around 40-50MPH. The one advantage you have with a V-drive is you can wakesurf(Lots of fun). The Question is do you want a wakeboarding boat(V-drive) or a I/O. If you get the enzo for wakeboarding and wakesurfing you will be very happy. but you need to decide. Have fun.

Not looking for top speed out of wake boarding boat. This will be no surprise if it doesn't clear 40 mph.

Another pretty significant concern is ride quality. If you are 70% cruise 30% board you may find the ride compromise of a towboat a problem. These are smooth water creatures foremost. Their bows dip down to allow visibility and are open for seating... they also scoop up water if your timing is off on a wake or roller.
The flatter, smoother hulls give nice clean wakes but will pound in chop when the lake gets rough unless you keep your speed way down. boat for boat they sit lower with less freeboard than comparable I/Os. I don't think too many would disagree that in general I/Os handle cruising and rough water better than inboard towboats. As far as being able to handle some rougher water the 23 and 24 enzo (BUT NOT THE 22!) have a decent amount of V and are some of the better chop riding towboats.
You can still ski and wakeboard many I/Os, Surfing is the show stopper and the only reason an inboard would be a must.

Hay what wrong with the 220!!

Just kidding it has a flatter hull and is not as good in the chop as the deep V Centurions.

We where willing to go that way for the versatility I can have a much smaller wake and don't have any problems with a clean wake on both sides.

Michael

From You description the 230 sounds like a great fit!

Michael,
We just got a Cent Avalanche this Spring and had very similar concerns. With kids that never boarded, wife that never was on a boat before, and myself being an intermediate at best we considered the boat overkill. BUT, it's a boat I won't be upgrading in a few years. We'll grow more into it as our levels of watersports progress. If you get an I/O you can't Surf and let me tell you it's a blast. Newbies and older friends love it since you only go 10mph so falling doesn't hurt as bad. Easy to do.

The Enzo you are looking at is good in chop. We are planning a trip to Put-in-bay and if the lake is 3 footers or less then we'll take the Centurion. This has a V-hull so not a good ski boat, but good in rough water.
I don't see any reason to think of an I/O over the Enzo other than you can steer in reverse on the I/O. No prop hanging off the back if friends and kids are jumping off the back with the V-drive.

One thing was was high on our list was snap-out carpet and I still say it's a must have if you plan on tying up and can easily clean out the food crumbs when done.

Both engines are good. I'd rather have a PCM, but my 330 Scorpion can be worked on at any marina and that's a good thing since my dealer is over an hour away and far from the lakes I go to. Both are good engines and No they are not underpowered.

kevin: you forget I own a love a 220 very much, but it rides rougher, with a little weight it's one of centurion's better wakes in my opinion.

Evolution tower comes down in about 1 minute, piece of cake!

Joe - You are crazy taking that boat on Erie!! I have seen that lake swallow 46 Silverton's. The roughest day done here on LKN is the smoothest day up on Erie.

Thanks for the feedback! I didn't know you couldn't steer in reverse. I guess the only other reason is the cruise speed factor. 3500 rpm's is prob in the mid 30's where that almost WOT for the V drive.

Snap out carpet is a must. I don't even have mine in my boat for a few weeks as the dark blue carpet gets too hot.

That is great to hear that the Evolution Tower goes up and down easily. Would you say as easily as putting on the cover? Is it a one man job? Looks like I wouldn't be able to get a high rack store spot for some time.

I think it takes longer to put on the cover, no problem for 1 person to do.

These are towboats not sport boats they pull like tractors and and are a pleasure to drive. Selecting a boat is all about compromises, with a v-drive you will loose top speed and rough water ability but you gain the world when it comes to watersports. As far as backing up goes, once you get used to a v-drive vs a tail dragger you can spin it around on its own axis. I have the scorpion 330 in my Falcon ant it cruises quite nice at 2900 rpm (good fuel consumption) at 25 mph. Just sit back, relax, crank lowrider on the stereo and enjoy!

If you want to go fast in choppy water, here is the best one for you!

http://www.pier57.com/NewSterlingSilver.htm

I'm sure I saw Kevin barefooting behind this in their promo video

We have owned 2 centurion enzos. 2005 and 2008. We love the boat and have one of the loudest systems on the lake. We are possibly looking at ordering a new centurion. Its got about 5k in stereo (tower speakers, 1000w sub, two amps, dual battery). 30 hours, just got 20 hour service. Let me know if you want pictures and if you are interested.

I've had a great experience with my Enzo. However I've never wakeboarded behind it. I did pull my daughter and nieces wakeboarding. Midship ballast is all you need to make a really nice wake.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll let you know how my search goes.

Michael Centurion has a new tower out for 09 very easy to put down.