For sea use ??

[Dutte]

Hi all,

I'm considering purchasing a Bennington pontoon for daily touring use along the sea coastline.

- I am wondering if the boat interior and exterior material used is sustainable against sea / salt water daily use?

- Are diesel engines availablbe beside gas engine driven pontoons? What are the pros and cons of the two engine types? Which one is more efficient and what is the price difference between the two considering the same HP power?

Kind regards,

Dutte

 

[mtudb24]

Dutte, cant answer all your queations, but their sealed lifting strakes are for saltwater use, they do have a salt water package which gives u mor anodes etc. Any ouboard engine either diesel or gas, will need to ne flushed with freshwater after each use. Dont know much about gas or diesel i/o's, but again if they dont have some sort of closed cooling water system, they need to be flushed too.

Best thing is to ask your dealer and see what bennington says

good luck

Todd

 

[ericscher]

There are those who would tell you that you'd be better off with a deck boat. It might even be true. At the very least you'd want a sacrificial anode, and even with that the aluminum parts are likely to go white on you sooner than you'd think.

The non-metallic parts should do fine, especially if you at least hose the boat down after a run and keep after the basic maintenance. It would also help if you had a boat lift and used it instead of leaving it in the water.

You could of course simply dismount the logs and have them painted with appropriate sea-water resistant paint. Just saying...

If you DO decide to try it, I strongly suggest getting the ESP with the extra fuel tank and an I/O boat. In fact, the 2874 would likely be the most stable. And don't forget the sacrificial anode.

To the best of my knowledge, Bennington doesn't offer a diesel engine, but you MIGHT be able to get a dealer to install one for you. The I/O engines available are already GM engines, and there are diesels with bellhousings to fit.

I also happen to know that there are folks with pontoon boats in Florida who make runs around the Caribbean with pontoon boats. They do so in good weather and with big engines though. 250+ hp outboards and larger.

BUT...

Consider this carefully. Make sure you know what you are deciding and why you are deciding it.

 

[Dutte]

Dutte, cant answer all your queations, but their sealed lifting strakes are for saltwater use, they do have a salt water package which gives u mor anodes etc. Any ouboard engine either diesel or gas, will need to ne flushed with freshwater after each use. Dont know much about gas or diesel i/o's, but again if they dont have some sort of closed cooling water system, they need to be flushed too.

Best thing is to ask your dealer and see what bennington says

good luck

Todd

Hi Todd, thank you very much for your reply !! I'll check with a dealer.

 

[mtudb24]

My only concern with i/o's, is u cant trim up the outdrive. If u look in fla and all costal areas, outboard powered boat are about 80% to 20% in boats under 30 feet.

Good luck and keep us posted

todd