Centurion Boats

Last updated
Centurion
TypePrivate Company
IndustryMarine industry
Founded1976
Headquarters Merced, California,
U.S.
Key people
Rick and Pam Lee
Products Wakeboard boat
Parent Correct Craft
Website centurionboats.com

Centurion Boats, owned by Fineline Industries, is a manufacturer specializing in the production of water sports boats, primarily tow boats for wakesurfing and wakeboarding. [1] [2] It was founded by current owner Rick Lee. Its headquarters and manufacturing operations are in Merced, California.

Contents

History

Centurion Boats was founded by Rick and Pam Lee. They acquired the trade name from a Salt Lake City company, and took their first order by phone in 1976. [3] [4] The first products were inboard ski boats, which were produced in a leased 10,000 square foot facility in Southern California. In 1986 the first V-Drive ski boat was brought to market.

As business increased, the facility was expanded to 121,000 sq feet, set on about six acres, including a test lake for research and development. [5] Centurion later manufactured mainly boats designed for Wakeboarding and Wakesurfing.

In 1990 the company developed C.A.T. fins, and by 1992 they had developed a computerized management system to monitor and control boats' features and performance. [6] In 1995 Centurion began manufacturing 'The Wave', a boat specifically designed to create large wakes for Wakeboarding and Wakesurfing.

By 1997 the new UCS construction system was introduced, eliminating wood from the boat structure. In 2003, Centurion introduced the Tsunami model, a cabin cruiser with a large fuel tank. [7]

Centurion developed sideswipe exhaust in 2003. The Avalanche model for wake riding [8] and the similar but smaller V-Drive Cyclone model were introduced in 2004. [9]

After developing VTF Fins in 2005, Centurion collaborated with NASCAR in 2007 to produce a series of licensed waterskiing boats. [10]

For several years Centurion sponsored the Watkins Glen sprint racecourse, leading to the unusual title "Centurion Boats at the Glen". [11] [12]

In 2015 the Correct Craft company bought a majority interest in Centurion Boats.

Current models

As of 2013, the company's best-selling line was the Centurion Enzo, a V-Drive tow boat geared towards producing Wakesurfing waves. [13] That year an Enzo was the official towboat of the World Wake Surfing Championship. Another newer model was the Avalanche C4, a V-Drive boat for both wakesurfing and wakeboarding. The Elite V C4 model is a less expensive V-Drive boat, with a narrower beam and shallower draft. The Carbon Pro is an inboard ski towboat, geared towards tournament ski competition performance.

Related Research Articles

Wakeboarding Surface water sport

Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard, is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboarding is the attempted performance of midair tricks. Wakeboarding was developed from a combination of water skiing, snowboarding and surfing techniques.

Boardsports are sports that are played with some sort of board as the primary equipment. These sports take place on a variety of terrain, from paved flat-ground and snow-covered hills to water and air. Most boardsports are considered action sports or extreme sports, and thus often appeal to youth. A large proportion of youth partaking in these sports, together with aesthetic damage to property from sports like skateboarding, has led to many board sports being marginalized by the greater world of sports in the past. However, many board sports are ever-more frequently gaining mainstream recognition, and with this recognition have enjoyed wider broadcast, sponsorship and inclusion in institutional sporting events, including the Olympic Games.

Water skiing

Water skiing is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires sufficient area on a smooth stretch of water, one or two skis, a tow boat with tow rope, two or three people, and a personal flotation device. In addition, the skier must have adequate upper and lower body strength, muscular endurance, and good balance.

Sea-Doo Index of articles associated with the same name

Sea-Doo is a Canadian brand of personal watercraft (PWC) and boats manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP). All Sea-Doo models are driven by an impeller-driven waterjet. All Sea-Doo PWC models are currently produced in BRP's plants in Querétaro and Juárez, Mexico. Its Rotax engines are produced at BRP's plant in Gunskirchen, Austria. In 2016, Sea-Doo had a 45.8% market share among PWC brands.

Barefoot skiing

Barefoot skiing is water skiing behind a motorboat without the use of water skis, commonly referred to as "barefooting". Barefooting requires the skier to travel at higher speeds (30-45mph/50-70km/h) than conventional water skiing (20-35mph). The necessary speed required to keep the skier upright varies by the weight of the barefooter and can be approximated by the following formula: + 20, where W is the skier's weight in pounds and the result is in miles per hour. It is an act performed in show skiing, and on its own.

Boating Leisure activity involving boats

Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels, focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or waterskiing. It is a popular activity, and there are millions of boaters worldwide.

MasterCraft

The MasterCraft Boat Company is a United States-based manufacturer of luxury high-performance boats. The company was founded in 1968 in Maryville, Tennessee, and is currently headquartered in Vonore, Tennessee. MasterCraft boats are used in waterskiing, wakeboarding and wakesurfing, though the company has also produced several boats that are not focused on water sports, such as the NauticStar line of fishing boats.

Yacht tender Boat used for servicing larger racing or cruising pleasure craft

A yacht tender is a vessel used for servicing and providing support and entertainment to a private or charter yacht. They include utilitarian craft, powered by oar or outboard motor, and high-speed luxury craft, supporting superyachts, powered by inboard engines, some using water-jets. Some superyachts have a support vessel that follows them with bulky items that are not conveniently stowed aboard the main yacht, such as a helicopter, automobile or larger watercraft.

Wakesurfing Water sport

Wakesurfing is a water sport in which a rider trails behind a boat, riding the boat's wake without being directly pulled by the boat. After getting up on the wake, typically by use of a tow rope, the wakesurfers will drop the rope, and ride the steep face below the wave's peak in a fashion reminiscent of surfing. Wakesurfers generally use special boards, designed specifically for wakes.

Sit-down hydrofoil

The sit-down hydrofoil, first developed in the late 1980s, is a variation on water skiing, a popular water sport. When towed at speed, by a powerful boat or some other device, the board of the hydrofoil 'flies' above the water surface and generally avoids contact with it, so the ride is largely unaffected by the wake or chop of the water and is relatively smooth. The air board is a modified hydrofoil where the skier stands up.

Wakeboard boat

Wakeboard boats also known as wakeboats, surfboats or tow boats are designed to create a large, specially shaped wake, for a wakeboarder to jump the wakes from side to side doing aerial tricks. They developed from the Runabout type.

Correct Craft is a United States-based builder of powerboats primarily for waterskiing and wakeboard use. It was founded in 1925 by Walt C. Meloon as the Florida Variety Boat Company. Correct Craft is the oldest family-owned and operated boat manufacturer in the world. Correct Craft owns Nautique, Centurion, Supreme, Bass Cat, Yar-Craft, SeaArk and Bryant boat companies, Pleasurecraft Engine Group, Parker boats and Aktion Parks.

The Super Air Nautique line-up of Nautique Boats is Correct Craft's crossover-wakeboarding focused model; the boat is outfitted for wakeboarding with a tower and ballast tanks from the factory. Furthermore, some air nautiques are in V-drive format, which creates a bigger wake for the rider. The first Air Nautique was built in 1997; it was built on the existing Sport Nautique Hull and had an automatic rear ballast system. Other notable "landmarks" included Correct Craft's patented "Flight Control Tower", which was essentially a modified fishing tower. In 2019 Nautique released the Super Air Nautique Paragon, this new release is the most expensive boat Nautique has created.

The Sea-Doo GTX is a personal watercraft (PWC) made by Bombardier Recreational Products of Canada. Part of their Sea-Doo line of watercraft, the Sea-Doo GTX has been produced since 1992. It is a three-person personal water craft with a 'luxury' ride combined with a series of engines. The performance of a Rotax marine engine with R.A.V.E. exhaust, a three-passenger contoured seat; dual mirrors; deck pads; ski-eye; left-side forward/neutral/reverse lever; and full instrumentation.

Danny Harf is an American professional wakeboarder and sports video producer.

A "forward drive" is a form of marine propulsion that leverages forward-facing counter-rotating props to pull the boat through water rather than pushing it, with an undisturbed water flow to the propellers. The engine sits just forward of the transom while the drive unit lies outside the hull.

Malibu Boats

Malibu Boats is an American manufacturer of recreational boats, founded in Merced, California in 1982, and currently headquartered in Loudon, Tennessee with additional production facilities in New South Wales, Australia. Malibu is "the world's largest manufacturer of watersports towboats", used both recreationally and in water skiing and wakeboarding events.

References

  1. ↑ "Expansion strategy for Orlando boat maker Correct Craft". Orlando Sentinel, Oct 4, 2015 (subscription required)
  2. ↑ "2017 Centurion Ri257 Boat Review". Wwawterski, December 13, 2016
  3. ↑ Ski. 2006-01–2006-02. pp. 19–. ISSN   0037-6159.
  4. ↑ Boat Buying Guide 2003. Boating Life. January 2003. pp. 150–. ISSN   1092-8219.
  5. ↑ "Centurion Boats" Archived 2012-03-12 at the Wayback Machine . Wakeboarding Magazine July 16, 2009
  6. ↑ "Trend Depend" Ski. September/October 1992. pp. 79–. ISSN   0037-6159.
  7. ↑ "Centurion Tsunami". Boating Life. January 2003. pp. 150–. ISSN   1092-8219.
  8. ↑ "Insider Insight". Brent Eisenhauer. Ski. January/February 2004. pp. 54–. ISSN   0037-6159.
  9. ↑ "BOAT TEST: CENTURION V-DRIVE CYCLONE". Trade Boats, 20.06.2012
  10. ↑ "Centurion and NASCAR Hook up". Ski. March 2007. pp. 26–. ISSN   0037-6159.
  11. ↑ "What's in a name? Unusual sponsored race names through the years". Fox Sports, Mar 18, 2015
  12. ↑ Ryan Basen (2010). Kyle Busch: Gifted and Giving Racing Star. Enslow Publishers, Inc. pp. 8–. ISBN   978-0-7660-3589-8.
  13. ↑ Boating. May 2006. pp. 32–. ISSN   0006-5374.
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