Getting ready to order but would like some feedback first

Stevie G

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Getting ready to order my first pontoon.  I've been a open bow I/O owner for years.  I have to admit to loving to go fast and have enough power to get off the lake when I need to....and probably like to be one of the first to the dock.  So with that said, I'm making a big change to a toon because we just don't ski anymore and could use the party room.   So I've done two boat shows worth of research, tons of internet reading and visited the dealer today.   No doubt I like the Bennington R model and I"m looking at the 2550 RS Fast Back model.  After spending the day reading this forum I still have some questions or am looking for opinions....


1) I'm not fishing so I don't care about the fish finder - but maps would be a nice upgrade.  My ski boat had depth and water temps and that is it.   Standard is the Garmin 100 but thinking about upgrading to the Garmin Echomap 53.  Any thoughts on non fish finding performance, quality of unit, etc.  Is it worth the additional expense?


2) Kicker stereo.  What worries me the most is that the head unit is only available from the manufacturer - so when this thing blows up or fails then what?  I had to admit I have not had a unit blow up or fail but I also had a standard stereo mount and could replace it at any time.  It seems this comes standard with a KMC1 round head unit.  I went on the Kicker site for info and got nothing but a picture.  I also am curious as to why this unit doesn't have satellite radio on it?  I see that you can upgrade to the KMC10 unit but still no satellite radio.  The only one with satellite radio is the KMC20 and it doesn't seem to be an option for Bennington.  Seems the dash on the R is molded for this head unit and not much of an option if I wanted to install my own system or at least upgrade.


3) Also read a lot about upgrades to Wet Sounds audio amps and speakers.  I'm not sure that I need some killer system that can be heard across the lake but we do enjoy floating on inflatables and hearing our music.   On my ski I installed a power amp which drove two remote speakers independently from the main speakers.  This allows us to turn up the "water speakers" while maintaining a normal level inside the boat for those who were not on the inflatables.  I also had a remote control which could be reached from the water which allowed us to change channels, CD's and volume.  Doesn't seem like the Kicker product can do any of this.   Does anyone have any operating detail of these units and any thoughts on speaker upgrades.  I've read a whole bunch of existing posts already so I don't need that detail again - just wondering if I can get away with the standard kickers for now - are they decent enough to enjoy on the lake and once I get money back into the boating coffers, then upgrade?


4) Anyone done anything with AC inverters in a more permanent installation?   We have a large island inflatable - seats 8 people.  We use a large blower which requires AC to power it, not DC.  Thus it requires me to use my inverter.  It's a royal pain to pull out the cushions to get to the battery, connect the alligator clips and then hold it all together while we pump up this huge float.  Would like to have a AC outlet mounted so we can just plug in when needed.   I realize this requires GFI and so that will be needed as well.   Outside of using it for this, we really don't use it much so I'm not looking for some major system - just wondering if anyone has done this?


5) What does everyone do with their anchors?  I prefer to store mine while in motion and while docked as there is a good chance they would get stolen or possibly fall off in rough water, which we do get when heading down the river with weekend traffic.  I'd like to stow an anchor in the front and another in the back.  My understanding is the back storage is taken up by the dual batteries so is there other convenient places to stow them?


6) Eventually I would like to add some side lighting and possibly some underwater lighting.  Are there accessory switches open which also have wiring there that I can use or will I have to add additional switches to do this?  I'd like to have these isolated from other lights as I do not think our marine authorities allow these on our boats while in motion, so I'd like to have seperate control of them.


7) Finally, I'm going with a 300hp motor to try and still maintain some of my speed to the dock.  I haven't seen much posted on Yamaha vs. Merc outboards.  Dealer is telling me Yamaha has had very low maintenance issues in his shop and he recommends them.  I have always been a Merc guy but with a I/O.   It's a strange move to a big outboard but I hear the new 4 strokes are very quiet and efficient.  


I would appreciate any insight - I'm brand new here so forgive me if I broke posting rules.  I read a lot before I posted but thought I'd ask opinions on my own set up.  I hope to put my order in this weekend to hopefully still get the boat before our short season starts but need some opinions before I put the money down.   Thank you!
 
We have a 2014 G model but a lot of the items you are asking about transfer across the platforms so I'll throw in my $.02


1. We don't fish much of our boat either but we do have a lowrance mark 4 depth/fish finder mounted on the helm to the right of the wheel.  Our dealer suggested that model over the base garmin and I do like it.  It not only shows the depth of water but temp as well along with your gps speed....of course you can find fish with it too if that's your thing.  It  looks as if they came out with a new hdi model that can be black and white or an upgrade to a color display.


Elite-4-Mark-4-HDI.jpg



Lowrance Mark 4 and Elite 4 Website


2.  Can't really help you with that one as we still ave the old school sony head unit that can be swapped out if it croaks.  Good thing is that even with the old school sony you can have a wireless remote to control it.  Odd thing is that Bennington chose not to give you the remote control with the boat even though almost every sony deck comes with the credit card sized remote right out of the box.  I stole the one out of my old car and it works great on the boat....volume - preset radio changes - mp3 track/folder advance.


3.  I've got nothing as we still have the 4 lighted kicker speakers and sony deck.


4.  We only have a couple towables (big mable and yankee coupe)  that can be blown up at the docks before we leave for the day.  If we are heading to the sand bar we have a simple $20 12v pump the we bought to pump up our lake floats.....probably a little slower to fill though.


5.  We actually use the built in cooler in the starboard corner bow seat to store our anchors since it has a drain in the bottom.  The stern anchor is normally under the rear corner port side seat cushion.  We also store our sand anchors and towable ropes back there as well.  I guess you could say it's overkill but we have minimum of 3 dropable anchors (large danforth - small mushroom - 15# navy anchor) on board plus our sand anchors.


6.  On the G model there are 6 rockers ( master power - dock lights/nav lights - mood lights - horn - 2 acc) on the helm......we have the fish finder and radio wired to one acc switch.  Easier to remember if you shut both off when it's set up that way and it works well for us.  The other switch isn't currently being used but could be used for aux lighting like you want to.  (the pic isn't our boat but it is the exact same right down to fish finder location)


digi46169645_l.jpg



7.. For speed we have a gsr2250 with the sps package (lifting strakes and underskin) and we see just a tick under 40 with a yamaha 150....right at 38-39 with a full tank of gas and 2 people on board.  Might loose 1 more mph once we get all our crap on the boat for the season.....inflatables - rafts - air pump - extra towels that stay on the boat - bow filler seat - her ottoman - 15 life jackets - anchors - dock lines and fenders - cooler for the day.....yeah we could probably live on the boat for a week with all the crap we bring along.  Better to be prepared than to be caught with your pants down and need something and not have it.  


For reliability regarding the yamaha 4 stroke motors.......we have 252 hours on the motor in 2 years (quite a few for ohio boating) and it hasn't missed a beat.  Even with the capabilities of almost 40mph the 150 really isn't that hard on gas in everyday use (for us a lot of channel and sunset cruising).  When tubing it takes a little more gas but anything fun costs money or as they say "You gotta pay to play"


Did I forget to mention that the 150 is very quiet as most of the 4 stroke motors are.  Our guests always think I shut the motor off when we are putting through the no wake zones just because they can't hear it running...which is a real plus from our old 2 stroke boat that was loud and had that wonderful 2 stroke smoke aroma added to every ride.


Hopefully that helps you out a little bit regarding a few of your questions even though our model isn't exactly the same as what you are looking at but it gives you a place to start
 
Welcome to the forum and the pontoon lifestyle. We have a 10 year old boat so I can't help you with the new stuff but you'll love the boat and Yamaha is a good motor.
 
Welcome aboard StevieG.  I can chip on a couple of items.  Absolutely upgradr to the 53 Garmin, I don't fish either but enjoy having the maps & chartplotter.  Many on this forum use the box anchor, I have the small size and store it under the corner seat.  There has been a lot written on installing LED's on the boat, use the search engine for a wealth of information


The RS Fastback model is one sweet looking boat, enjoy
 
I'll give it a shot.  Although new to a pontoon I was in a similar position a few months ago and can give you my opinion.  Pardon if it comes across sounding short but as you stated; you have read most of the post and don't need a lot or re-iterated details. B)


1. By comparison you are talking about pennies.  If you have family, friends or whoever, you might like to have the option available to you.


2. 7 year warranty.  Nothing to worry about. Get the KMC10 with Bluetooth.  That's all you'll need. 


3. Upgrade now.  I had a remote added to the rear for additional control.  I have to get on the ladder to reach but I, like you, did not want to have to get out of the water.  I also upgraded the whole sound system. By adding a power sub with a separate amp for the speakers, you can control speakers independently by channels.  You should be able to find plenty of info on that.


4. Opted to stick with all DC.  There is nothing wrong with an inverter but I don't have one on purpose.


5. Stow one in the bow and one in the stern as Indian Lake Bum mentioned.


6. Yes, there should be two extra switches.  I just finished putting the under deck lighting on the sides last week.  I had the marina install the harness while they were adding the two additional speakers I wanted.  You will find out quickly that it is not easy to get anything wired on the boat if you have waveshield.  I ran all the lights and made the connection and I was done.  You will need a 15 amp switch depending on length of LED's.  You can find information for calculating the amps online.  I plan to install underwater lights when she makes up her mind on color.  I had a plate added to the rear of the Starboard side toon during the build.  Typically only has the plate on the port side for mounting of transducer unless you ordered the underwater lights from the factory.


7.  I'm sure you know you can get a Bennington with an I/O.  With that being said...this question will quickly become a Chevy vs Ford.  They say the digital control is a great feature but have no preference other than that.  I went with the Yamaha.  Got an extended warranty as a promo.  6 years total for motor.  Goes great with the 7 years on the boat.


I am adding a battery charger due to sound system.  Feel free to ask for more detail if you like.  There are plenty of helpful people willing and able to help.  I can give you more detail if you like but tried keeping it short per your request.


Good luck and enjoy! 
 
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I can't address all of your concerns but a few I can.  


On the Garmin unit, get the upgrade.  I did and love the 53.  I haven't used it specifically for fishing yet but even the chart plotter is very nice.  I'm very glad I went with the larger unit.


I upgraded on the stereo stuff as well.  The new Kicker KMC-10 is a great little unit.  Like you already learned you need the 20 for satellite service.  I use my IPOD just about exclusively and all the controls for it work flawlessly.  I added two additional remotes, one front and one rear, so control from outside the boat is simple.  I got the Wetsounds speakers with the Kicker sub and amp.  While the amp was mounted inside the helm (great place for it) the sub was mounted under the front seats.  It doesn't sound bad at all up there but the rear area needed some thump too.  I added a shallow mount Pioneer sub under the rear seats and the stereo actually sounds quite good after a bit of tweaking.


I use a box anchor and it stores nicely under one of the front seats in it's own storage bag.  No big deal at all.


For motors, I got the F350 and absolutely love it.  It purrs like a kitten at idle but wakes up nicely and actually sounds like a V-8 when you get on it.  The acceleration for an outboard is remarkable.  My last boat was only a little Malibu wakeboard boat with a 350 but prior to that I had a twin engine deck boat with Mercury 525's.  The 525's certainly don't compare to the F350 but even coming from that the new outboards have come a long way.  I'm sure you'll be impressed as well.  Congrats and good luck with everything.
 
Throwing my 2 cents in!


Do the full Garmin GPS, I don't own a fishing pole but all the other features are worth in, plus the factory mounting and warranty


I too am a speed demon, just not a thick enough wallet to run with the big boys, buy what you can afford now, ESP is a must if your performance minded as you say.


Small box anchor, came in a bag, use a plastic cord wrap for the rope, throw it under a seat


Can't help on the motor brand....... I like 2 stroke smoke! (evinrude)
 
Hi Steve I bought my Benny 2552 last year and have really enjoyed it people said I should have gone with an outboard but was used to my other boat a power quest with 502 mag  this one has a merc 415hp and does about 50. 


I have had a few issues with pairing my phone with the blue tooth but otherwise no problems 


great luck with your new boat


mark
 
Make sure you get the Tritoon


Upgrade the GPS


Upgrade the stereo (To be honest, you would probably be able to pay a pro to upgrade your stereo better and cheaper than Bennington)


Get the foot locker storage in the floor of the Tritoon.  You can store 4 dead bodies in it, probably 50 anchors!


Get as big as a motor as you can afford and the boat is rated for
 
I just want to add one more thing.  I am in the exact same boat (no pun intended)  Ordered a Bennington QSB 2575 in Feb, was supposed to be built on 3/21 and hoping to take deliver next weekend (with a little luck)  I just sold my 26.6' Crownline BR with the 454 CC Exhaust and loaded out and that's all I knew about.   But did a lot of reading and took a lot of advice from this forum, and stacked this new pontoon out with about every option they offered except the extra bow seat (didn't want to have to keep moving it around) but ordered every other option included the power lighted Bimini, all the way to the galley sink and frig.   I did the 300hp Verado Pro because I too was just so used to Merc's and my old boat after 16 years never failed me.   Plus where we boat there are only a couple of marina that service and all they service was Merc, which is what a majority of marina prioritize on.   The one thing I don't recall anyone mentioning is to be sure to add the Sharkhide from Bennington at the dealer.  They say it will keep the tunes looking new and shiny and so much easier to clean for a few years and then it needs to be reapplied.  If you search other on the forum they have had to scrub hard, pay for acid washing and regret the fact they didn't have it done from the get go. If you are anything like me, I'm very particular about the way I baby my boat.   Hope my .02 has been helpful, but I know exactly where you are coming from.   I too am just a bit nervous about making the plunge from a runabout boat to a tritoon but it seems like it's the in thing these days, which must by why they've gotten so expensive..
 
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I ended up putting the Sharkhide on myself and while it wasn't hard, I should have just had the factory do it.  I asked my dealer about it and a few friends with pontoons and got mixed answers.  The dealer thought it wasn't worth it while my friends with older pontoons wish they had applied it early on.  I'm glad now I got it on before the toons started to discolor.  I think it's certainly worth putting on if you want your boat to stay looking somewhat new.
 
This is great information!  Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond.  This is exactly what I was looking for as I head to the dealer today, better armed to make a good decision.  I didn't know about Sharkhide and I am someone who wants my boat to look delivery new all the time, so hopefully this will help.  I feel move comfortable now with my engine choice and will upgrade the Garmin and to the Kicker 10 unit.  Now it's a matter of getting my wife to ok the purchase price!


Thanks again to everyone who helped me here.  This has been extremely informative!
 
Aw, I forgot a few more questions.....


1) anyone know the difference when ordering a Fastback version of the boat?


2) How low in the water does the pontoon sit vs. a I/O.   I'm on a very shallow chain of lakes and depth in some areas is a real problem.  Of course you learn quickly where not to go but if we are now hanging lower that puts us in a whole new set of challenges.   I've seen standard outboards but not a 300 sitting on the back of a pontoon.


3) Does pitch of the propeller work the same for an outboard as it does for an I/O.  I'm used to higher pitch giving more speed and lower pitch giving more torque.  Is this still true?


Thanks everyone! 
 
We boat on a very shallow lake (average of 5-6 feet in most area's but some are even shallower) and have only hit bottom if in REAL shallow water at the swim area/sandbar......this is under 2 foot of water.   Wasn't paying close enough attention to the depth finder as it was flashing for the shallow water.
 
At the end of the summer there is only about 24" at the end of our dock where the lift is. It's all sand though, so not too much of an issue. I just take it nice and slow, trim up as needed. The engine can trim all the way out of the water so not like an I/O that sits deep on the transom.


Yes, props work the same way. With a 300 on a 25', you'll probably be at ~16-18 pitch.
 
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