Which Boat Manufacturer First Made Wakeboard Boats?

[evoimport6]

Pretty sure centurion was the first wake boarding boat that had a plumbed in ballast system.

[MLA]

lets define "wakeboard boat" as one that is non-direct drive and one with internal ballast on both sides of the rear hull.

And how popular did skurfing really become? I'd say not much - at least not in Florida. I have never seen anyone do it, talk about it or promote it.

Id say first wake boat was one with a factory tower. If you look back through the evolution of tow boats, you will find that V-drives and ballast existed before manufactures took a long hard look at hull design for a wake-board wake, but wake-boarding was well underway. Going from DD to V, was more about appealing to bow rider/run-about family crowd. Hard core DD ski boats where not as friendly to those spending a long day on the water. But, their drive configuration had less impact on wake, then the hull design.

[beat taco]

Centurion Wave 1995.

[trayson]

For Skiers choice, it was the Launch in 1999. They of course call it the "first boat designed specifically for wakeboarding" but the Centurion Wave certainly predates it (even though it was a joke of a design).

Innovations and Awards
•1981- Introduction of the Supra Sport, the first Supra boat. Development of the adjustable wake plate. Introduction of a rear ski locker.
•1982- The new Supra Beast model is the first boat to have a big block engine. Supra Allegro was also introduced. First cuddy cabin inboard ski boat.
•1983- Introduction of the Supra Rider. First open bow inboard in the industry, features a playpen bow design.
•1984- Introduction of the Comp ts6m model. Development of the SupraTrac hull design. Supra boats feature Kevlar in hull design.
•1985- The Supra Comp awarded “Ski Boat of the Year” by Powerboat magazine. Introduction of the Supra Sunsport.
•1986- Comp ts6m pulls the World Cup.
•1987-1989 Supra boats tow the World Waterski Championships.
•1987-1988 Comp ts6m wins “Ski Boat of the Year.”
•1989- Moomba brand developed by Supra Sports, Inc.
•1989- Mariah is the first open bow model to win “Ski Boat of the Year.”
•1990- Sunsport wins “Ski Boat of the Year.”
•1992- Developed all-fiberglass construction in several models. Introduced a limited lifetime warranty on all models.
•1994- First year for fuel injected engines.
•1997- Introduction of the all new Moomba Outback
•1998- Introduction of the newly redesigned Supra Comp; introduction of the tower for wakeboarding
•1999- Introduction of the Supra “Launch,” the first boat designed specifically for wakeboarding. The first Supra featuring a V-drive, the Santera, is introduced.
•2000- Supra and Moomba are selected as Official Towboats of the America's Cup.
•2001- Introduction of five new models including the Supra Launch SSV and Supra Sunsport V, both featuring stadium seating. Introduction of double up seating.
•2002- Introduction of the walk-through transom in the Supra Santera. Supra and Moomba are selected as Official Towboats of the 2002 Gravity Games competition.
•2003- Supra and Moomba are selected as Offical Towboats of the 2003 Gravity Games competition. Skier’s Choice moves to new 142,000 square foot facility located in Maryville, Tennessee.
•2004- Supra continues its sponsorship of the Gravity Games competition held in Cleveland, Ohio, beginning September 15th.
•2007- Moomba and Indmar introduce the first catalyzed engine in the tournament boat segnment, the 5.7L 340HP MPI ETX-CAT. The first-of-its-kind marine engine that dramatically reduces harmful carbon emissions without sacrificing power.
•2007- Supra becomes the exclusive towboat of the WWA World Wakeboard Championship.
•2009- Supra and Moomba both achieve a record 4th straight NNMA CSI awawrd for outstanding customer service
•2009- Supra becomes the official towboat of BroStock

[trayson]

Centurion Wave 1995.

I think this one has the most possibility of being right...

First Watersport Specific Boat - The Wave

Centurion remained at the industry forefront with the development of the first towboat specifically designed for wakeboarding and wake-surfing. Called the WAVE, it had an elevated rope anchor point, built-in water ballast system to increase wake size, giant aft storage lockers, and a huge launch platform. One of the criteria insisted on by the Centurion engineering and test teams were that you could surf behind the boat. After testing, it was found that the wakes were good enough to hold the first World WakeSurfing Championship that same year.

But look at that platform!!!

Wave.jpg

[zabooda]

The 1998 Mobius came with a wake board tower but the hull was the DD Outback. It didn't have the characteristics of what we expect for a wake board boat except for the tower and wake board racks. Back then, it was probably exceptable for wake boarding. I bought it in 2002 as a ski boat. I did have to tell people what the roll bar was for.

[uniwarking]

I would go with the wave as well as one of, if not the first, "wakeboard boats." I would define a modern wake boat as a boat with a tower, speed control, specific hull tuning and other wake enhancing features such as ballast.

With that said, I have to laugh at what some folks say about non wakeboard boats... on this thread and many others on the forum. My last boat was an 07 Bayliner 185. It had a factory option tower but I opted for an aftermarket Monster tower. That boat threw a decent wake... sure it's not as big as the Mojo by any means and it certainly is easier to maintain speed with the cruise and a much heavier boat. I don't like to see people hate on Bayliner any more than I like to see elitist wake boat owners hate on Moomba. My Bayliner was about 1/4 the price of my Mojo, had ZERO warranty issues over the 7 years we owned it and provided for years of fantastic memories. Not saying I'd ever go back though

Point is, there are people that are probably better behind pontoons and outboards than the majority of us on the forum are behind our true "wake boats." I'm not anywhere near decent status that's for sure... and I've more or less moved on to my new love of wake surfing!

[jmvotto]

I think this one has the most possibility of being right...




But look at that platform!!!

Wave.jpg

platform is sweeeeet!!!!

still gotta go with first v drive, DD with ballast = v drive wake

[trayson]

I would go with the wave as well as one of, if not the first, "wakeboard boats." I would define a modern wake boat as a boat with a tower, speed control, specific hull tuning and other wake enhancing features such as ballast.

With that said, I have to laugh at what some folks say about non wakeboard boats... on this thread and many others on the forum. My last boat was an 07 Bayliner 185. It had a factory option tower but I opted for an aftermarket Monster tower. That boat threw a decent wake... sure it's not as big as the Mojo by any means and it certainly is easier to maintain speed with the cruise and a much heavier boat. I don't like to see people hate on Bayliner any more than I like to see elitist wake boat owners hate on Moomba. My Bayliner was about 1/4 the price of my Mojo, had ZERO warranty issues over the 7 years we owned it and provided for years of fantastic memories. Not saying I'd ever go back though

Point is, there are people that are probably better behind pontoons and outboards than the majority of us on the forum are behind our true "wake boats." I'm not anywhere near decent status that's for sure... and I've more or less moved on to my new love of wake surfing!

I started wakeboarding in 1996, so not too long after it really started taking off. I was lucky enough to have a roommate that had an MB Sports Boss 200 direct drive. I bought him a Skylon extended pylon because towers hadn't been invented yet. From there we graduated to a 2000 Sport Nautique. So I've been fortunate enough to spend most my riding time behind direct drive or V-drive boats.

I've wakeboarded behind a few bayliners and similar I/O's. In my opinion, the reason why people hate on them is because they put out a less than desireable wake.

As far as my skill level, I'm okay. I can wake-to-wake behind anything all day long. I can throw some grabs and 180's and go big enough to land well into the flats. I don't do inverts. So, I'm okay compared to the average boater, but nothing compared to some of the serious guys I've ridden with.

That said, the I/O's throw a wave that is sharper and more abrupt. It doesn't have a smooth progressive ramp like a tournament boat hull will produce. When I go for air off an I/O, it launches me UP, rather than up and out. I don't like it. Likewise an I/O doesn't put out a good slalom wake. (not that I'm a great slalom skier by any stretch! But I can deep water start and zip around behind the boat and cut enough to throw up some fun rooster tails).

Now, is it better to be on an I/O than not go out at all? Sure. But my first boat was under $10k (1992 Supra Sunsport DD with ballast, tower, racks, etc) and it flat out was NOT an option for me to get an I/O. And obviously the inability to surf is another huge reason an I/O was out of the question.

If I found an I/O that honestly put out as good of wake as the tournament boats I've ridden behind, I'd be fine with riding it. But I haven't yet and that's why I don't endorse them. Like I said, I'm FAR from God's gift to wakeboarding, but to be fair, I am good enough that I can most certainly tell the difference in wake and have it absolutely make a difference.

[uniwarking]

All good points Trayson, I certainly won't argue that wake boats produce a better wake. I will say that not all I/O wakes are equal. My old boat put out a decent wake for boarding and a pretty smooth table top for skiing... The Mojo's not the greatest for skiing but we still do it.


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