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Can`t believe we did it!!!

H

hapehour

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Location
Niagara Falls NY
I cant believe we did it. Me and the wife have been looking for a toon for a year now.We live about 1/2 mile from the upper niagara river. We have been on the river for our whole lives but neither of us has been a boat owners, just passengers. Well I had a boat years ago, a 23' raven cuddy but it hardly ever ran. If you knew the river you would know that`s not good, you got a very short time before you see the falls up close . Either way, we went to the boat show in buffalo and signed some papers. We purchased a Bennington 22 ssl with the big lounge seat on the rear.

Here`s the rundown. We were hugely dissapointed to find out that a standard pontoon boat will not do for the river. So we wound up going with the upgrade of the 32'' egg shaped pontoons, only 2..A 90 hp yamaha 4 stroke, we also got the upgraded helm chair along with power steering,better speakers and stereo, and a full coast guard kit with 12 life vests. They threw in a tow bar for tubing and a ss gas grill for the rail just for kicks. I was thinking about adding the tilt wheel, led lighting and a depth finder, What do you think?

The boat wound up running us around 27k. If we use it like I think we will it will be money well spent. We are not familiar with bennington all that much but everyone i have talked with has said they are the best. I guess we are just looking for a justification of our purchase,lol. Glad to be part of the club. We are both looking forward to any comments.
 
Yeah, you definitely want more flotation and stability in those waters.

Congrats on the new boat. I think it'll make a great river cruiser.
 
ericscher said:
Yeah, you definitely want more flotation and stability in those waters.

Congrats on the new boat. I think it'll make a great river cruiser.
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Thanks alot, yeah we didn`t realize we would need those toons for the upper river. Most of the time its calm but once all the boats come out or the wind blows the rivers gets pretty rough. Mike And Beth
 
You're gonna love the rough ride ride of twin elliptical in rough weather. We're on Saginaw bay and lake Huron and it gets nasty real quick. Very smooth and stable. We came back with a brand x boat 26 feet long with small triple tunes. He couldn't keep up with us without getting soaked.

Good luck

Todd
 
Sorry mtudb24, but I didn't understand your message. Are you saying your 32" twin tubs ride rough? I was under the impression that they'd walk away from a 24" tubes and even tritoons with comparable horsepower. That they're very fast and efficient.

Haphour has an absolutely top line pontoon at a very fair price. And, the 22SSL is a very attractive hull with the big sun lounge. The Yammie is also top line as a motor.
 
I think he's saying your going to love the ride of them in rough water, since he says they are so 'smooth and stable' took me an extra time reading it too! :)
 
Sorry guys. Yes, our 32" elips walked a way from brand x triple toons that was 26 feet long vs. our 24' footer

todd
 
Rough water ride in twin elips Is awesome. Triple tube brand x got soaked in the brand x boat. Our passengers were dry as a bone

todd
 
Our engineers will love to hear those last couple of posts! :D :) TB
 
ericscher said:
Yeah, you definitely want more flotation and stability in those waters.

Congrats on the new boat. I think it'll make a great river cruiser.
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Congrats on your new acquisition. I think the Bennington business is propping up the US Economy. ;)

Better to get what you want now, especially things like tilt wheels etc that are difficult to add after the build.
 
Thanks to all for there replies. I just got word that my boat was ordered on wed. I added the depth finder as an extra. The tilt wheel is included with the hydraulic steering and I guess the only led light option if for the binimi top so we said forget it. Me and the wife can`t wait for it to arrive and it seems that most of our friends and more excited than us. It`s going to be a great summer.

On to the toons.After some research I am glad we went with the 32'' toons.The upper niagara river is fairly calm in the am but after the wind comes up and all the boats are out and it can get really choppy. There are not many pontoons on the river, didn`t know why until the boat show. The big toons and a 90 hp yamaha should get the job done and it looks like the resale is going to be great especially with a boat that is truly setup for some rough water. The boost in top end will come in handy for those times when we need head back to the slip quick but we have no plans of ever getting back quick...Thanks again..
 
I think the tritoon options are best for someone that carries a bunch of people. Or, if someone is going to need great handling while pulling skiers or tubes. (My old style pontoon just handles like a pig in tight turns at high speeds.)

The ESP hull configuration is needed (over three 25" toons) if going heavy horsepower (over 150 hp.)

But, if someone likes a fast cruising boat, or is on a large body of water, I'm sold that the 32" twin ellipticals with strakes will do a great job--with the most economical fuel mileage. It's also good for an extra 1000 lbs. of passengers.
 
Bamaman. I believe you are correct. I will admit I've never been on a ESP equipped boat. I've heard nothing but wonderful things. I'd like to have the privilege of riding on one someday. I've been on other tritoons of various make, models and sizes. None of them compare to Bennington quality, fit and finish, and style. The only thing that I would like to see that was on brand X was a collapsible am/fm radio antenna and power reclining rear facing loungers. Maybe something bennington will consider in the future.

Todd
 
Bamaman said:
I think the tritoon options are best for someone that carries a bunch of people. Or, if someone is going to need great handling while pulling skiers or tubes. (My old style pontoon just handles like a pig in tight turns at high speeds.)

The ESP hull configuration is needed (over three 25" toons) if going heavy horsepower (over 150 hp.)

But, if someone likes a fast cruising boat, or is on a large body of water, I'm sold that the 32" twin ellipticals with strakes will do a great job--with the most economical fuel mileage. It's also good for an extra 1000 lbs. of passengers.
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Good description for novices like me to understand, thanks for posting
 
Wow! Great posts. It is like toons 101, all you need to know about pontoons.
 
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