Vikingstaff
Moderator
First, I want to say we are pretty happy overall with our new Bennington. We think it looks GREAT, and have enjoyed it the few times we've been out on it. I have a couple minor issues to bring up with the dealer when I take it in for its 20 hour oil change and service, but nothing major except for one performance concern: it is running slower than expected.
Details:
Currently I am still in the first 10 hours of the break in (8.4 hours precisely). As many know, it is a 24' SXP Swing back SPS tritoon, with a 200 hp Mercury Verado Pro. I have a ss Mercury enertia prop. The dealer went with an 11 pitch prop. I thought it sounded a bit small, but they said it would put me in the proper rpm range, particularly when we have a fair amount of people on board. I had thought it would be a 13 or 15 pitch prop based on articles, posts, and the mercury prop selector site, but don't know much myself other than things I've read.
Current Performance:
With a half tank through full tank, riding solo or with one other person, I am topping out at 33-36 mph gps at 6200 rpm.
With a half tank through full tank, 4-5 passengers, I am topping out at 29-30 mph gps at about 5700-5800 rpm.
Expectations:
I really thought I would be somewhere in the 40-44 mph range top end speed. Keep in mind, this is early break in, so times at WOT are short and per the manual. I test drove a sweetwater premium last fall with 3 people on board and 150 Honda and got up to 38 mph on gps. Thus, this experience also is impacting my expectations on our new boat.
From a performance expectations stand point, I am dissappointed. I wanted to check with the more experienced owners out there with a similar boat and engine set ups and get feedback:
Is this level of performance just because the engine is new and in its break in period, and top end mph will get better after its broken in? Were my expectations not realistic, and my numbers above are what I should have expected? OR is it sounding like the boat is underperforming and I might need to look into issues such as a different pitch prop?
Details:
Currently I am still in the first 10 hours of the break in (8.4 hours precisely). As many know, it is a 24' SXP Swing back SPS tritoon, with a 200 hp Mercury Verado Pro. I have a ss Mercury enertia prop. The dealer went with an 11 pitch prop. I thought it sounded a bit small, but they said it would put me in the proper rpm range, particularly when we have a fair amount of people on board. I had thought it would be a 13 or 15 pitch prop based on articles, posts, and the mercury prop selector site, but don't know much myself other than things I've read.
Current Performance:
With a half tank through full tank, riding solo or with one other person, I am topping out at 33-36 mph gps at 6200 rpm.
With a half tank through full tank, 4-5 passengers, I am topping out at 29-30 mph gps at about 5700-5800 rpm.
Expectations:
I really thought I would be somewhere in the 40-44 mph range top end speed. Keep in mind, this is early break in, so times at WOT are short and per the manual. I test drove a sweetwater premium last fall with 3 people on board and 150 Honda and got up to 38 mph on gps. Thus, this experience also is impacting my expectations on our new boat.
From a performance expectations stand point, I am dissappointed. I wanted to check with the more experienced owners out there with a similar boat and engine set ups and get feedback:
Is this level of performance just because the engine is new and in its break in period, and top end mph will get better after its broken in? Were my expectations not realistic, and my numbers above are what I should have expected? OR is it sounding like the boat is underperforming and I might need to look into issues such as a different pitch prop?
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