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1st time bennington buyer questions

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psu0306

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Hello everyone,

After a few years of borderline obsessing over buying a pontoon boat, I'm finally breaking down and buying one this winter.  I have researched and seen several other brands but came to the conclusion that Bennington is what I want.  I demoed a 2014 22sslx with 25" pontoons (2) and lifting strakes.  I loved the ride on this boat with a 115 hp Mercury.  I'm definitely going to go with the 150 hp Mercury upgrade since we will be pulling the kids on tubes.  I figure we will have up to 4 adults and 4 kids on the boat (ages 7-12) since we will be taking our 2 boys and friends out.  I know the 150hp will help but do you think I should add the express tube package so we have the third toon to help with speed and buoyancy since we will have that many people on board at times.  It doesnt seem to cost too much to add but I don't want to waste money.

Also, will dealers negotiate much on price of new boats?  It seems like most quotes I have received take about 20% off of MSRP.  I was even thinking of asking for bottom paint (around $1000 first time) and some other minor startup accessories such as life jackets, coast guard kit, fenders, lines, etc. to be thrown in with the boat.  Just didn't know how much you can push these guys.

Thanks for your help and I can't wait until the buying process is over and I'm in the water.  
 
This time of the year, you've got time to order a boat.  That's good in that you will be paying for items that fit your family's needs--and no more. 

My year old 24SSLX has a Yamaha 150 hp motor, the extended swim platform and almost every option.  I would definitely recommended the extended rear end.  It's great to swim from, and just seems like a much larger boat. 

I would also recommend the Express Tube with strakes for a Mercury 150 hp FourStroke as a good compromise between carrying more people and much faster cruising--at a fair price.  The Merc. engine's been out just over a year, and its performance appears to be very comparable to my Yamaha.  I'm seeing 40-41 mph @ 6000 rpm's and can feel the hull lift @ 30 mph on a cushion of air.

If you have the room to store a 24SSLX, the price difference might not be much.  The longer hull will ride slightly better and give you longer front seating.

You don't say where you'll be boating, but I really prefer a Sharkhide'd aluminum hull.  But if you're leaving the boat in salt water, you'd need the hull painted.  My best suggestion to anyone is to keep any boat out of the water on a lift--fresh or saltwater--or garaged out of the water.

Now as far as price at any boat dealer:  A medium size car dealer sells 50 new cars a month.  A big boat dealer sells 50 new boats a year.  They both have comparable operating expenses.  There's no way a marine dealer can sell'em for $100 over cost and remain in business.  That said, the internet is your best tool to figure out what a fair price on a boat is.  Let your fingers do the walking--asking for price quotations.   

I try to buy locally, but had to go 90 miles because the closest Bennington dealer (50 miles away) only had 2 toon boats with small engines or R/Q models with 250 hp.  The middle of the line is the best value in a boat for my use. 

Good luck in your negotiations.
 
I can speak to this topic as we had a 2013 22 sslx with two toonsw strakes and a 115 Yamaha, which was the max hp for that setup. We were unhappy with the performance when there were additional people in the boat and it banked to the outside. We ended up selling it with only 51 hours on it and ordered the 24 sslx with the sps and new Yamaha 200.

I highly recommend the sps package but at the least make sure you get the express.
 
I am a first timer also just bought a 2013, 2575 GCW with the elipical center tune and power asisted steering (a must) with a 200 SHO, didn't really want to spend that kinda money but after the research and talking to a friend and wanting only one boat for a long time this was the choice.

I have looked for a boat for seven years was about to purchase a sun catcher with a 150 and then talked to a friend that rented a boat similar with a 150 and was not able to pull him up on a single ski. Now probably will never need to do that but that made me think is that engine enough power for everything I will be doing, lots of people and pulling tube, so we decided on a 200, hoping this will be enough. Having fun but still breaking it in
 
Welcome, Dave. Nice boat!
 
Thanks
 
Your best bet is to figure out what your needs are and go from there. The problem there is if you have never owned a pontoon how do you know what you want....Just think about what you imagine you want to do with it. Are you just looking to cruise or are you looking to go fast and pull tubes? Is there rough water where you plan to use your boat? There are some things you will want to do now at the time of purchase for upgrades, they are way cheaper to order from the factory now than add later or actually impossible to add later due to cost or location of the dealer for install. I think everyone would agree, don`t go with standard logs ever.. unless you want a submarine..get the center tube or twin elips. Im sure the 3rd toon is awesome, never been on one but heard they were nice. I got the 32'' elips with the lifting strakes, so glad I did. It jumps up on plane and just floats across the water even in heavy chop and boat wakes and rides like a caddy. Load up the front and forget it, just like any pontoon it turns into a barge, a nice barge mind you but never the less it`s not the same boat with a heavy load. It sounds like any pontoon setup has this same issue to some degree, just keep in mind it is a pontoon boat.I do know other people on our river with standard toons and no strakes and way more hp than me and I run circles around them, higher top speed and a way better ride.I can actually run faster down river than most deep vee`s when it`s rough because im running on top and they are getting slammed in the valleys.

Everyone says buy the biggest motor you can afford. Now is the time if thats your plan. If you plan on swapping out a motor later your gonna pay. If you set up your toon the way you want it you can get away with a smaller motor fairly easy. I have a 90 hp yamaha and it pushes me along at 32mph with me and the wife on board our 22sslx. Start throwing people on and just as you would expect the speed goes down.No big deal really but when we had 12 people on this summer I could only get 15 mph out of it. If I had a 150 I might have been able to get another 10 mph out of it but look at the price difference from the 90 to the 150, I cant see it. To mush cash for not that much return in speed but thats just me. Don`t get me wrong, I would love a 250 on back shooting rooster tails down river but I still have to pay for the thing. As it works out it`s usually just me and the wife and maybe another couple and for that our toon setup and motor combo work just perfect, I believe we got lucky. Just remember it`s a party boat not a speed boat, Dont feel like a chump because you don`t have the biggest motor on the lake just be happy you got what you wanted and paid a fair price for it, You will love it even more if you get a fair price. My boat out the door with this setup and a bunch of other upgrades was 28k so your in the range of 25-50k depending on what you want.lol  Good luck and happy cruising....HAPEHOUR  
 
Well stated Hapehour, and for a quick comparison between the twin elliptical and standard 25", my 2075GLi was topping out at about 24mph with just me and the wife. The elliptical make a huge difference in ride quality and speed. As he stated, know how you want to use it. We had never owned a boat before, so dumping the 25-28G was a huge CHANCE to take that we would enjoy it. Well we did, and quickly found out that it was the wrong setup for our liking. So two boats later and multiple times the money, and we finally think we have pretty close to all we would ever want, for now. It's crazy, but for those 5 days and 15 hours that we put on the boat this year, we never once second guessed our decision. Now for the other 360 days we think of ourselves as idiots, but it's amazing what that one beautiful morning with glass like water and the fresh smell of trees and the calm empty lake will do to you. You forget everything and just revel in the awesome beauty that is laid out before you, and more than likely, when you leave the ramp and get to your spot and you cut the motor, the wake you made is consumed by the body of water and the stillness returns, the next words out of your mouth are, "Wow, what a perfect day." and that my friends is what it is all about for me. Worth every penny.
 
Right on Derrick. Let me second the consideration of the twin elipticals. WHAT A RIDE ! I have them with a 150 and am very happy. As far as negotiations. I found it helped me to have a couple of dealers bidding against each other. I ended up buying local but it sure made him get real on the price.

David
 
hapehour, I use to watch your youtube videos all the time while waiting for our 2013 to come in. You have a great setup for being on the river there.
 
I'm only a few days ahead of you, PSU.  I've been researching a long time and bought what Bamaman has- the 24 SSLX with extended rear deck, third toon, and the Yamaha 150 four stroke. I'm told that I should expect about 40 mph with it. 

Not much play on price from the dealer, but he has kind of a unique way of selling.  He sells on the markup from what he paid for it, not based on current market price.  Since this isn't fully loaded (only 50% loaded- he orders almost all "well-equipped" it didn't sell as quickly as others he had.  So it sat around through three price increases and I got it for the markup on the original price, instead of the current market price (saving me about 12K off the current price).  There wasn't any room for negotiation at that price, though.

I pick it up Monday.  My first 'toon.  First boat I've had in about 15 years, after previously having ski boats.
 
I had my 24 SSLX with the Express Tube out on the water yesterday on one of the few recent calm days, and it was about 59 degrees.  I had the bimini top in the low position with the cover installed.

With a full tank of gas and colder temperatures, I was running 42 mph @ 6200 rpms with the 15 pitch Yamaha Reliance prop.  Not bad.
 
I have the same boat as Banaman, and see 42 mph with our Merc 150 four stroke. I saw 43 once on the GPS, but only for a short time.

I fully agree with his comments on the extended deck. It really makes a big difference when you have several people back there.
 
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We have a 22slx with the sps package and love it.  Great stability, sharp flat turns, awesome in rough water.  We have a 150 Yamaha on it and top out at 40 mph.  Even loaded with people and pulling a tube we will get 32-34 mph.  Now is the time to get what you want but I really like three toons, and the sps package preforms great.  
 
Thanks everyone for your input.  It was a huge help in making our boat build easier and making sure we get what we wanted.  I ordered our boat Friday.  22 SSLX with SPS package, 150hp Mercury, and a few other options.  Now the waiting game begins since it wont be in until March.  Its going to be a longggggg winter !!  Not excited about waiting but definitely glad its a done deal.

Thanks again everyone ! 
 
Congrats and post pictures when it comes in. Our dealer just got our 24 sslx sps w 200 Yamaha this week. You'll love the ride and layout on the sslx, we loved it so much we ordered it again except in the 24'
 
Happy to help! Not sure if I did, but happy for you anyway!! Haha sounds like a pretty good setup to me! No regrets! 
 
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