1972 - Rick Lee Drag Racing
With a drag boat racing national
championship and a world record
under his belt, Rick Lee, the
founder of Centurion Boats, has
always been a pioneer in the world
of watersports. Before founding
Centurion Boats, Rick raced the
first turbocharged exotic K-Jet in
the 1,600 meter closed course
circle class. Then he brought his
innate knowledge of hydrodynamics
and ability to design high
performance boat hulls to the
recreational world.
1976 - The First Order
Rick and Pam Lee took their first
boat order by phone, as they were
playing with their one year old who
was sitting in an electric swing. A
short time later, after word had
spread, production began on the
high-quality jet boats and day
cruisers with an emphasis on
performance. The first watercrafts
were manufactured in a leased,
10,000 sq. ft. industrial park.
1978 - The First Facility
The facility in Merced, California,
was a dream come true, not only for
Centurion but for the entire
industry as well. It became a
breeding ground for watersports
industry leaders. Today the
facility spans six acres of land,
including a full-sized test lake
complete with a slalom course. To
meet the increasing demand,
Centurion opened a second facility
in Woodland, North Carolina, in
2000.
1979 - Tournament Towboats
While struggling through a weak
economy and shrinking
high-performance market, Centurion
turned its attention to tournament
boats. Though the task of building
a superior towboat was daunting,
the technology available at the
time provided opportunity for
innovative thinking. With a fresh
approach and advanced technologies,
Centurion began creating
breakthrough boats.
1983 - Warrior Barefoot Comp
Outboard
The growing sport of barefoot
thirsted for more speed, power,
and, of course, a small narrow
wake. In response, Centurion
developed the Warrior Barefoot
Comp, which in turn inspired a cult
following with impressive annual
unit sales. That same year, the
boat became the first outboard to
tow the prestigious AWSA Barefoot
National Championships. To this
day, the performance of the Warrior
Barefoot remains legendary among
the competitive barefoot
circle.
1984 - Tru Trac II with Spray
Rails
The pursuit of the ultimate
tournament boat took Centurion to
some strange places. On a hunch,
the company bolted some
two-by-fours to the side of a boat
and shaped it to reduce spray. This
experiment ultimately lead to the
Tru Trac II with the world's first
"S" spray rails. Today, all
significant tournament and
wakeboard boats have borrowed from
Centurion's innovative thinking and
have incorporated spray rails into
their designs.
1986 - First V-Drive
After building many V-Drive race
boats, Centurion built the first
V-Drive watersports towboat. Going
against the norm by placing the
engine in the back, Centurion paved
the way for innovative seating
arrangements, smoother rides due to
the straked v-bottom, and
ultimately, bigger wakes for the
soon-to-come wakeboarding market.
Centurion pioneered future V-Drive
technology and continues to develop
it to this day.
1990 - CATS Fins
Centurion again turned the world
upside-down - this time with
steering technology. Centurion
developed the patented Centurion
Articulating Tracking System
(CATS), which featured the first
articulating front fin. This design
enhanced steering tracking
ability.
1995 - First
Watersport-Specific Boat, WAVE
Centurion remained true to its
outside-the-box thinking with the
development of the first towboat
designed specifically for
wakeboarding and wakesurfing. The
WAVE offered an elevated rope
anchor point, built-in water
ballast system to increase wake
size, giant aft storage lockers,
and a huge launch platform.
Centurion engineering and test
teams insisted that riders could
surf behind the boat. A helpful
request, considering the WAVE was
part of the first World Wake
Surfing Championships that same
year.
1996 - Elite V-Drive
Introduced
The Elite V-Drive is a legend in
the Centurion Hall of Fame. With
ICS and its proven deisgn, it is
still one of the hottest selling
boats on the market. It's had many
alter egos - The Air Warrior, the
Hurricane, the Lightning, but none
will ever be the Elite V-Drive.
1997 - UCS Construction
Elimates Wood
Centurion introduced the world to
the Unified Composite System (UCS),
a high-tech construction process
that eliminated wood from the
structure of the towboat.
1999 - ICS Construction
The system progressed even further
when Centurion engineers introduced
ICS. In 1999, ICS took all
components of the hull, deck, and
support system and put them into a
single, solid mold.
2003 - Sideswipe Exhaust
System
With the wakesurfing phenomenon
quickly spreading throughout the
watersports world, Centurion
introduced Sideswipe Exhaust
(patent pending) in 2003. Sideswipe
allowed riders to surf tucked up in
the barrel, just behind the
transom, while venting exhaust to
the other side of the boat.
Sideswipe Exhaust brings long-wave
riding to every corner of America,
eliminating the need for an ocean
altogether.
2005 - VTF Fins
Centurion Boats are available with
the new VTF Fins (patent pending).
VTF, which stands for Vented
Tracking Fins, releases the
pressure built up by the water on
the tracking fins of the boat, thus
reducing vibration and noise.
2007 - Heads-Up Display
Centurion makes the boating world a
safer place to cruise with the
Heads Up Display. Invented in 2007
as an exclusive option for the Enzo
Series, drivers can quickly and
easily check their speedometer and
RPM gauges which are displayed
digitally on the windshield.
