Boating — December 2018

SEE THE

VIDEO

SPEED EFFICIENCY OPERATIONnaut. stat. n. mi. s. mi. sound

rpm knots mph gph mpg mpg range range angle level

1000 4.26 4.90 1.30 3.28 3.77 141 163 1 84

1500 6.17 7.10 1.90 3.25 3.74 140 161 2 84

2000 7.30 8.40 3.00 2.43 2.80 105 121 5 85

2500 9.38 10.80 5.00 1.88 2.16 81 93 8 87

3000 14.51 16.70 6.50 2.23 2.57 96 111 10 91

3500 21.12 24.30 7.80 2.71 3.12 117 135 10 92

4000 25.29 29.10 10.70 2.36 2.72 102 117 5 94

4500 29.20 33.60 13.70 2.13 2.45 92 106 5 97

5000 31.46 36.20 17.70 1.78 2.05 77 88 5 99

5600 34.15 39.30 21.60 1.58 1.82 68 79 4 103

MOST ECONOMICAL CRUISING SPEED

High Points

XAvailable Ramfi ll system allows

for fi lling the ballast in as little a

90 seconds. That’s quick.

XWide-bow design provides

awesome seating capacity and

great style, and is a feature of

larger boats.

XOpti-V hull maximizes surf-wave

displacement and ride quality

while still creating a symmetrical

wakeboard wake with superior

handling.

Specs

· LOA: 21'0" · BEAM: 8'6"

· DRY WEIGHT: 5,100 lb.

· SEATING CAPACITY: 10

· FUEL CAPACITY: 46 gal.

How We Tested

ENGINE: 409 hp PCM GML96

DRIVE/ PROP: V-drive/14^1 / 2 " x 14^14 "

4-blade Nibral

GEAR RATIO: 1.72:1

FUEL LOAD: 40 gal.

CREW WEIGHT: 365 lb.

Price

$125,094 (as tested without

tax/dealer prep/shipping)

CENTURION

Fi21

functionality and sporty,

aggressive wakeboat looks.

The 21-foot size is great for

those who don’t need a bigger

boat but want to surf a big,

clean wave. We defi nitely

recommend adding Quick-

Surf Pro to your boat, which

makes the waves awesome

and allows you to transfer

from one side of the wake to

the other. The Fi21 is a lot of

bang for less buck, and it just

might fi t in your garage.

All-new for 2018, and with a total ballast

capacity of 4,750 pounds, the Centurion

Fi21 is part of the Fi line of wake perform-

ers off ered at a more budget-friendly price

— what Centurion calls “entry premium”

pricing — than the boatbuilder’s top-tier

off erings. Simply put, the Fi21 represents

a smaller watersports boat that should

prove to be a big success, based upon our

testing. And the huge bow cockpit of this

new boat is only one reason.

The Fi line is set up so you can pur-

chase exactly the options you want, and

we’ll detail some of those. But fi rst, the

true highlight is Centurion’s new Opti-V

hull. The design’s intent is to take advan-

tage of a V-hull’s characteristic increased

displacement to assist in creating big

wakes and waves. Combined with inter-

nal ballast and Centurion’s QuickSurf Pro

system, the wave cleans up perfectly and is

way bigger and more powerful than what

we have experienced from most 21-foot

boats. In fact, with Centurion’s Fi21, we

discovered there’s a need to be careful not

to overly weigh it down, lest the wave won’t

shape up properly. The boat we tested was

not equipped with the optional Ramfi ll

system, which can reportedly fi ll ballast

in a blisteringly fast 90 seconds. Notably,

we fi lled the side ballast only to 70 while

leaving the bow ballast empty.

With the 409 hp engine and carrying a

crew of two and a nearly full tank of fuel,

Centurion’s Fi21 reached a top speed of

over 39 mph. It achieved plane with empty

ballast in 4 seconds, and when carrying

the ballast stated above, it still showed

good giddyap, planing in less than 9 sec-

onds. It will prove fun to run when head-

ing to the beach or cove when the waters-

ports session is done.

The Fi21 is a slick combo of wide-bow

PHOTO:

CENTURION BOATS

Merced, California; 209-384-0255; centurionboats.com

To watch our

video review of

the Fi21, scan

this tag or visit

boatingmag

.com/bbg18/

centurionfi 21.

C

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PHOTO: ZACH STOVALL