Wakesurf boats.....opening a can of worms.

I know I am opening a can of worms... but what are some of the best surf specific boat AND why? (not just I have a blank and the wake is killer....what makes it killer, what would you change about it?). Also, how do you weight the boat you like?
We are thinking of buying a new boat in the near future, and have decided that we would like a great boat for surfing. We do wakeboard, but am to the stage that I really don't care how far I progress boarding. My wife and I both LOVE surfing, and would like to get a surf specifec boat.

I personally like the Supra 22SSV and the 24SSV for wakesurfing. Here are the reasons why:

1. TONS of room for ballast. Fly High makes a sack where you can put 1000 lbs of ballast just on your surf wake side. This can plug right in to the Supra ballast system.

2. Rear facing bench seat on the drivers side. People don't have to pile on top of each other on one side of the boat. 6 people can easily sit on that side of the boat including the driver.

3. Huge pocket. You don't have to surf so close to the boat. You can actually drift back quite a bit and still be surfing no problem.

4. The price. Not near as much as comparable sized boats.

Wich gear ratio is more efficient for wakesurfing, considering gas consumption and engine wear?

I've come to the opinion that the first thing that you should base your decision on is
1. which dealers are closest and giong to give you the best service
2.which boat looks best to you/and color combination
3.which boats are in your price range

every vdrive boat out there is going to put out a great wake when weighted properly. go look at the boats, sit in them and ask about price. you will know when you sit in a boat if you like it or not.

Ryan, not every vdrive will put out a great wake now days. There are many companies offering vdrive boats on "ski/non-boarding" hulls. No matter how much weight you throw at these vdrives, they will never produce the same quality of wake as a boarding specific vdrive hull.

IMO, the larger the boat, the greater amount of weight you will need to sink it, and the greater the chance of producing a large wake. The largest wake I have ever seen behind a traditional "wakeboat" was the 247 surf wakes that surfaced on www.themalibucrew.com last spring. I have also seen some big wakes from the Supra 24', X-45, and Centurians big boat. With that said, I have been in plenty of smaller boats that throw an amazing surf wake as well.

If money wasn't a factor I would get the 247 with the power wedge (set at 1/2 way), 8.1 propped down to handle the weight. Then I would throw 750lb sacks in the back, and invite 15 of my fatest friends!

The wakegate on the Nautique 211 helps it produce a very good surfing wake with only stock ballast. I would check on the new 236, it has the wakegate too. The general consensus is that the 211 throws a better wake than the 210 in the Nautique family.

I have also surfed a MasterCraft X45 with the adjustable trim tab, it was very good too. The one time I surfed behind an X-Star it was a bit washy but it may have been the setup. The Malibu 23LSV throws a nice wake too.

Whatever you get you should probably run the new flatter pitched bigger blade Acme 1235/1234 prop, it works great for surfing.

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/389974.html

That's my story. I really love my X-45. There are other boats that throw a comparable surf wake for quite a bit less however. If you have any questions, let me know...

I should have rephrased that Patrick. if your looking for a surfing boat, your not going to be looking at a flat bottomed crossover style boat. what i should have said is malibu, centurion, mastercraft, cc, sanger, and all other models have a boat that will more than please you for wake size. for me, i wasn't too keen on the pricing of mastercraft(although top notch), everybody on our lake has a bu(top notch boat as well) the epic look isnt' for me although reports have this boat being awesome. I sat in the centurion and custom ordered one because I didnt' fall for the big 3 hype and that all other brands are of lesser value. I think the biggest thing is location and serviceability of your dealer. if there are 3 brands close by, check them out and lean towards buying from them. I was bent on a mb sports boat, but closest dealer was 15 hours away, so i went for a dealer that is 20 minutes away from our lake. if feasible, sit in, test drive and come away with your conclusion. if not feasible to test drive, but sit in you can still base your decision on how you feel in a boat. I think performance wise every one of these boats has the same options for h.p for engines. and part of that is how you prop it anyways. I went through this recently and didnt' come any closer with a decision based on replies on the forum because they are so biased. let us know what you do.

I agree this is a can of worms. Good surfing boats that I frequently hear about include:
Tige', Malibu, MB, and Centurion.

I know Jeff Walker gets a killer surf wake from his Tige'

I've seen some Malibu 247 wake photos, they look pretty good. I've had a good experience with the VLX, and not so good with the LSV. To be fair the competition that I surfed behind the LSV was held in shallow water, I suspect that the shallow water was the root problem.

I think Jerry Price, owner of Shred Stixx surfs behind an MB.

I think that the 23 foot and 24 foot Centurion Enzos are highly regarded by many wakesurfers, Inland surfer has two of the 24 foot Enzos. In a couple of years I'd like to see myself in a 23 foot Enzo. I get a decent (best that I’ve been on) surf wake from a smaller Centurion.

Bottom line if you want the best boat for you, then you really need to take your time and demo boats that come to the top of your list. Then take Ryan’s advice in to account.

my buddy has a B-52 V-23 and I think that the surf wake is amazing. With that said, I don't surf a whole lot, but it looks really good when compared to my Nauty and other friends VLX.

Ya'll know I'm hardcore MasterCraft, but I would see if Da Moose would sell you his boat!

Here is an Avalnche with stock ballast and 4 adults in the boat.

Another vote for the Centurions here. Enzo and Avy are both top notch with huge pockets and great wakes on both port and starboard sides. And for those of you with a goofy foot or a crew of goofy feet riders you can get the spin reversed on the Enzo so the driver's side becomes the better side.

Centurions have always been highly regarded as the wakesurf inovators. Like Bigshow said....Inland Surfer has two and also they pull the World Wakesurf Championships. Gotta say somethng about their boats for surfing. I really like idea of Sideswipe,,,,,but it's very loud and kind annoying after a while especially with the engine upgrade which I think would be highly considered for a big surf boat. Have seen some photo's of the bu 247's and must say I was impressed but have ZERO experience behind one surfing.


HEre are some of the Ezo's from Boardstock Sorry for the quality

The wake from a smaller Centurion.

ben's mc x-45 has a really nice, big clean wake.
the rest of the boat is incredible..dont get me wrong, i do like my nautie 211 for a 21' boat, but there is something to be said for a bigger boat.

btw, the thread he mentione above, his boat isnt fully sacked out yet...