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BillS

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I find the Bennington Website overwhelming. I am planning to Make a move to Bennington, and believe I am most interested in Tritoons.
We are primarily fisherman, but would like as much room and comfort we can get our of pontoon. I'm looking at the site, can somebody verify for me a couple things? It appears that the biggest Bennington you can get with a fishing configuration is 25', is that correct? I also need the rough water package, as our lake can get some real rollers.
Now, it would be nice to have some of those comfort features (bar/lounge) or ever the ability to tow skiers.

But I guess my main question is, is the biggest Bennington with the fishing options (live well, etc.) only 25' and only 8' wide?

Thank you
 
I'm pretty sure 8"6" is the standard width for pontoons. I think the 10' beam is only an option for longer pontoons with dual engines. For sure get a tritoon and 150HP+ if you want to do any watersports and to handle the waves.

The "Build & Price" tool in the upper RH corner of the website is super helpful, at least it was to me 2 years ago when we were purchasing. It looks to me like you're correct on the 25" and 8'6" width is the max for fishing furniture. Maybe a good dealer can special order a larger one from the factory. I seem to recall hearing they will customize to a certain extent.

Our rig is 23' and has tons of space. There's room for more people than I ever want on it! :)
 
BillS said:
I find the Bennington Website overwhelming. I am planning to Make a move to Bennington, and believe I am most interested in Tritoons.
We are primarily fisherman, but would like as much room and comfort we can get our of pontoon. I'm looking at the site, can somebody verify for me a couple things? It appears that the biggest Bennington you can get with a fishing configuration is 25', is that correct? I also need the rough water package, as our lake can get some real rollers.
Now, it would be nice to have some of those comfort features (bar/lounge) or ever the ability to tow skiers.

But I guess my main question is, is the biggest Bennington with the fishing options (live well, etc.) only 25' and only 8' wide?

Thank you
Click to expand...
Not sure on fishing models, so I will defer to others. If you are thinking the rough water package due to your lake, then I do have a few things to consider:

- There are 2 Bennington full length tritoon hulls to choose from: SPS and ESP. The ESP is the more robust of the two. Both are really great, but the ESP was originally designed for the rougher waves/wakes of LOTO. It is the most expensive hull, but it might be the one that gives you the most comfort for durability and handling big waves more regularly. I have the SPS and it does fantastic too, but just thought I would toss that out there.

- The ESP hull will handle absolutely every HP motor, particuarly on the L, R and Q model series Bennington’s. Thus, depending on how deep your pockets are, you will be able to go pretty much as big as you want for HP.

- Maybe without saying, but making sure you combine the under deck skirting with the rough water package will also significantly increase comfort, ride, handling, etc. on rough water. Frankly, you might have to already have to get the under deck skirting to get the rough water package, but just in case you don’t, I wanted to flag that for you too.

- Finally amneties are almost crazy endless. Good luck was you balance that into your budget with your fishing needs. Hope this is a little helpful. I hope others speak up about the fishing layout models. Good luck!
 
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This has been very helpful so far thank you both. It is helpful to consider that the 25/8.6 length is going to give me performance I'm looking for. I do have a lot to learn in this and could understand why a 10/30 may be overkill. And I maybe being overzealous in my giving up a fishing boat for the Toon world.

And hearing about the SPS/ESP hulls is also helpful and something I need to do more research on. We are not LOTO, but could be on LOTW. Our Primary Fishing location is Lake Vermilion (MN) and Big Bay can get some pretty big rollers. I just want to be able to cut across it, and not have to plan for skirting the shores to get home.

Amenities are crazy, with is fun and overwhelming at the same time. Not a terrible thing:)

Thanks for your feedback!
 
Here is some information on ESP &SPS.

High-Performance Features | Bennington

Learn about the different performance packages and systems which enhance stability and handling of Bennington pontoons.
www.benningtonmarine.com www.benningtonmarine.com

Here’s a video I found on YouTube showing a 25 ft Bennington with ESP handling 2-3 ft waves with no problem.
For other videos just search Bennington ESP on YouTube. Most videos are several years old because they came out when ESP was a new feature. Please let us know more of what you are looking for out of your boat. How much you want to spend? How many people our regularly? I live in MN and have a 26 ftwith ESP sitting at the dealer in St. Cloud waiting for the ice to melt. I will say it’s a big boat. We are all glad to help! Good luck!
 
Echoing the advice above:
Invest the time to learn the details of the builder site, it is very helpful and will allow you to narrow the features you desire most.
I don't think they call the rough water package that anymore, instead it is a series of options and would be based on the SPS or ESP, then add lifting strakes, underdeck spray deflectors, wavetamer options.
Online 2021 Catalog: https://online.flipbuilder.com/pjvn/emjo/
Use the search bar and dive into this forum for answers!

Enjoy!!!
 
I have a 24’ sslx which is not a fishing model and I have the sps tritoon package and a Yamaha 200. It will do 44 mph and has a live well under the L bench seat that I use as a bait well. Does everything I need it to inshore here in south Florida.
I added a trolling motor last year and it’s changed the game for fishing.
 
Here are your 25' fishing model options:

Screenshot_20210322-204851.png

SSAPG = S Line
SSXAPG = SX Line
LSAPG = L Line
RFAPG = R Line

SX and higher will have the ESP option available, which adds a bit of buoyancy over the SPS, resulting in more people capacity and/or more weight carrying capacity.

L and higher will have the option to add the raised helm, which will provide better forward visibility.

Just about all of them will allow you to substitute the bass jumper seats with either upgraded jumpers or full recliners, should you want that level of seating. Could have passengers sit in those upgraded recliners while underway, since they should be able to swivel to face towards the bow.

Best of luck with your search and feel free to holler with any other questions!
 
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Thanks for your help everybody! I reached out Bennington, a salesmen responded to me letting me know that they were all sold out of everything for the year. He said that Bennington is not allowing them to give quotes anymore this year, because they intend to raise prices, which they may not have figured out until July. So I guess I have time.... Thanks again.
 
BillS said:
Thanks for your help everybody! I reached out Bennington, a salesmen responded to me letting me know that they were all sold out of everything for the year. He said that Bennington is not allowing them to give quotes anymore this year, because they intend to raise prices, which they may not have figured out until July. So I guess I have time.... Thanks again.
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Holy Cow Batman.
 
BillS said:
Thanks for your help everybody! I reached out Bennington, a salesmen responded to me letting me know that they were all sold out of everything for the year. He said that Bennington is not allowing them to give quotes anymore this year, because they intend to raise prices, which they may not have figured out until July. So I guess I have time.... Thanks again.
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Best thing will be to play with the boat builder site. You can get live wells in other floor plans and you can get the chairs instead of the front bench so you can have a “fishing boat” without having to stick to that floorplan. If you hard core fish then option it up just the way you want it! Usually the middle of summer is when they switch over to the new model year. Good luck!
 
BillS said:
Thanks for your help everybody! I reached out Bennington, a salesmen responded to me letting me know that they were all sold out of everything for the year. He said that Bennington is not allowing them to give quotes anymore this year, because they intend to raise prices, which they may not have figured out until July. So I guess I have time.... Thanks again.
Click to expand...

They're gettin' while the gettin' is hot.
Give it 2-3 years for the dust to settle from what's been going on for the past year, and the market will probably be flooded with a bunch of barely used boats.
 
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