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Just got my first Bennington and I can't see a damn thing

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Stevie G

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Wow I'm excited.  I got my new Bennington on Thursday.  Quite a difference from my runabout from performance through operation - both good and not so good.  So I took a bunch of people out for a long day and night of boating.   The night part is what I'm writing about - in the dark you can't tell what switches do what.  The labels are not backlighted - only a simple diagram that shows a light or some other stuff of which I have no idea of what it is.   Why would they not backlight a label - like "nav light".   I had to look like an idiot with all my lights flashing on and off as I try to figure out what the hell switch does what.   Eventually I just turned the flashlight feature on my cell phone on to be able to look at my light panel - which is just stupid.


On top of this, when using the nav lights - the interior light turns on thus eliminating any night time vision I have.  Why would they put the interior light on the Nav portion of the switch.  It also illuminates in the dock position as well.


Next, my fancy digital gage stack has no backlighting that I can find!   So in the dark I have no idea what speed I am going from these gages.   I'm looking for anyone who may know more about this - as in there are lights and here's how to turn them on.  I"m hoping it's just my lack of knowledge of my boat at this point.  Fortunately I upgraded to the Garmin fish finger/map unit and it saved me.  It has a GPS read out of speed.    The great thing about this unit is the mapping - all I had to do was follow the breadcrumbs on the screen and get back home without hitting a submerged rock, tree stump, etc.  Really happy I upgraded here.


So what I found is that I really need more lighting inside this both - both on the gages but inside the boat as well.  The glowing speakers just don't provide enough lighting to do anything at night.  I am dependent on these lights to clean up the boat, find missing flip flops, etc before we put the cover on.   The lighting package on these toons needs a LOT of help.   Now I'm going to be forced to find a way to install cabin lighting.   After looking at how well the bottom is sealed - it's a great thing unless you have to figure out a way to fish wires under that stuff.


The biggest problem is the dash lighting - it's non-existent and I wish someone could tell me why in the hell they wouldn't backlight letters vs. some stupid symbol that is used on several switches.   Has anyone come up with any kind of alternative that works?  The best I can think of this morning is to use a label printer with clear tape and put it over the lighted area - on a brand new, expensive boat, this is crappy solution - I'm hoping there is something better.   I did see the link on this site to a type of rocker switch but it's not the Bennington switch and I'm not about to try and make an alternative switch fit in the Bennington dash.


Yes I know I should contact the dealer, and yes I will but I'm the type of guy who goes to bed with a problem and want to get it fixed this morning.   I"m heading back out to figure this out but felt better writing to fellow Bennington owners first.   I'm excited about the boat but really disappointed in my adventure last night.


Thanks for the opporunity to vent!
 
What boat did you buy?   Mine are labeled nav light, mood lighting, etc.   I don't like that the garmin doesn't light up so you can see the depth as i go through a lot of canals that are shallow.   
 
I have the R2550 series.   My switches are labeled that way as well but when dark, that letter is not backlit so you can't read them.   The only thing that is backlit is a little icon that looks like a light, etc. but there are several of those which are all the same so in the dark you can't tell which one does what.  I did upgrade to the Garmin 53dv and it's lit - in fact it's so bright it kills my night vision so I'm looking for ways to cut that down which I'm sure it has an option to do.
 
Not out at night usually but I know our round interior light can be turned on and off by pushing on the face of it - it "clicks" on and off. 
 
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Swiftm,


Well...I'm sitting on my boat and try this.....my wife's response..."seems kind of intuitive doesn't it...."   Crap.   You are exactly correct!!!    That is exactly how it works!!!   Thank you!!!!!!   One problem down.


It appears there is some kind of backlighting on the Yamaha digital gages which I am trying to isolate now.  Still surprised they don't come on with the rest of the lights via the switch but at least it seems there is some kind of backlight.......
 
Can you post a pic of the dash?Capture7.JPG
 
Sorry I didn't see your post until I left the boat for the day.   My dash has a row of switches at the bottom and the most defining part of it is the circular Kicker remote unit on the left hand part of the dash and the square indent on the right for the fish finder mounting.  Not sure if that helps or not.


I did find that the Yamaha digital units do have a backlight option but it wasn't dark enough for me to see if they actually work.  By placing my hands over the unit it did not appear they worked as I pushed the brightness to as bright as they can go - but that is a poor test.  Either way it does not appear that the gage backlighting is tied to the other lighting.


I also found that the Nav lighting switch does have one small difference in the backlight icon - it has a small boat inside the light icon while the other lighting options are just a light with nothing in it.  Still a very small difference.   I'm wondering if I can pop off the physical switch cover and remove these icons.   Then I would actually label print a clear label with the words instead.   My boat is three days old and I certainly can't imagine having to do this to a three day old boat but the icons just don't cut it for me.
 
I looked at mine tonight and noticed the switches are not backlit as well...Hmmm? My gauges however are lit and controlled by a dimmer switch. I am also considering adding some interior lighting. I was thinking about in the bimini seeing that it is a tower type and does not fold away and maybe something mounted at the top of the dash to highlight that area when needed.  
 
First thing, congrats on the the new boat. Second, sounds like you had a great day out on the water that went into the night. As far as the switches go. Sounds like you didn't have enough time to get accustom to the locations and operations. And that comes in time. That being said. I do approx 25 percent of my boat time at night and you don't want your helm lit up like the dash in your car. All the different  types of lighting will distract your vision at night. And as far as the one helm light, I also was thrown for a loop on the operation. So I changed the way it was wired, it now works by pushing on and off. Makes more sense to me. I'm sure in time the operations of all the night lighting will be learned. Because night time boating is the best!
 
I am also somewhat frustrated by the number of switches and their relatively marginal labeling. With just over 10 hours on the engine, I haven't quite figured out what does what so I just start flipping them on and off. I can imagine that doing it in the dark only makes it worse. That said, with a few more hours on the boat, I'll figure it out. Practice makes perfect.


That said, when I went to use our navigational lights last weekend I discovered that there is a dead short somewhere. The marina came out on Sunday and looked around for a while before stating they would have to pull the boat out of the water. Actually, they'll probably have to pull the boat apart! 
 
I only have a few switches on my S helm but I think you'll get used to where they are in time. My turn signal lever isn't illuminated in my car but I know where it is.
 
Thanks guys for the feedback.  I agree that we don't want a lot of light on the dash BUT even my car has labels on the switches I do need.   To me it's important to know what lights are on what switch as there is a hefty fine and safety issue if I don't have my NAV lights on in the dark.   I've had runabouts for the past 20 years and all of them had the gauges back lit with red - red light does not impact your night vision.  Pilots use red lights all the time for this reason.


What is interesting is that there are word labels on each switch - so there must be some value to having them in writing vs. just learning what the switch location is.  I really don't see the value of a back lit icon vs. the word - especially when it comes to Nav lights.   I'm on a quest to figure out how to take the rocker panel off and see if I can pry the icon off or if it's permanently on there.


With the help of SwiftM I found that the interior light is a push button.  By pushing on the face it turns on and off.   Still don't understand why it's not put on one of the open rocker switches but I'll make it work.
 
And the interior light will only come on if the Navi lights are on.
 
Lakeliving - what would happen if you had 5 turn signal levers all in a row in the same location?  I'm sure eventually you'd remember it's the third one down, now if your spouse takes the car out....might be kind of dangerous or maybe a ticket for no turn signal usage because they were actually turning the wipers on and off!   It's not life and death but I sure do feel that there is a much better way.   I'm kind of thinking that if you spend over $50,000 for your car - you'd probably expect some simple labels.  At least I do for my boat!


CWAG911 - my interior light comes on if I'm in anchor or nav position.  To the point earlier - you don't want a bright light on while underway at night as it kills your night vision.  The good news is that it can be switched off.
 
I get your frustration. For me though, the lights should be coming on before it is too dark to see the switches, and the speedometer shouldn't even matter as when it's dark you should be traveling at minimum speed to maintain steering. At least that is the law here in MI for dusk to dawn boating. Would it be great if they were all back lit? Yes! Enjoy the new boat.
 
I didn't read through all responses, but you do know that the interior light is a push on and off. You simply push the light itself to turn it off when it auto lights up with the nav switch. 


You seem just a little upset about your purchase. I was so excited when I got mine, I don't know that i would have noticed if they had left the pontoons off during manufacturing. :D
 
Thanks Spoiledrotten - someone else pointed that out to me about the push on and off.  I didn't learn that until yesterday.


Yeah it does sound that way only because I"m so focused on it.  I have been fortunate enough to have other new boats in the past and it's always exciting.  I was fortunate enough to even get a factory tour which really sold me on the boat.  There is no doubt that these are some nice boats but I think in a way that might be why I'm more disappointed in my findings.  I'm feeling that I just purchased the most expensive vehicle of my life - even beyond my car and truck.   For the money I paid, I could of got one hell of a sports car.  Basically this is a high end purchase and something as simple as turning on my boat at night should not require me to fire up a flashlight to figure out the lights.  Probably just me but it's important to me.  I sat there with all kinds of light flashing on and off as I tried to figure it all out.  By far the best thing I did was upgrade the GPS to the GARMIN 54 unit.  It totally saved me getting my expensive new baby back to dock without running over something or hitting a marker or something.  I just am shocked that something this simple has not been thought through or maybe just not important enough for others.   For me, I'm gonna fix it, somehow.  Regardless I am a proud owner of the Bennington brand and feel it was a good choice - just needs some modifications in my mind.


Thanks for your note!
 
Just catching up on this topic. I was wondering which helm configuration you have Stevie G.You mentioned the Yamaha gauges, do they take the place of other gauges in the helm. I have two Evinrude I command gauges,one on each side of the speedometer. They actually flood my helm with low level light,and I can change the lighting intensity and color. Maybe that is a possibility with your gauges. Just hate to see someone not happy with their boat. We're all here to support you if you need any answers.
 
1Blderbob said:
Just catching up on this topic. I was wondering which helm configuration you have Stevie G.You mentioned the Yamaha gauges, do they take the place of other gauges in the helm. I have two Evinrude I command gauges,one on each side of the speedometer. They actually flood my helm with low level light,and I can change the lighting intensity and color. Maybe that is a possibility with your gauges. Just hate to see someone not happy with their boat. We're all here to support you if you need any answers.
Click to expand...

What Evinrude are you running? I don't have the I Command but have thought about adding it. Do you have any pics of your helm. I would also be curious to know what prop you are running.
 
Will take a picture this weekend when I go to the beach.

Landscaper2009 said:
What Evinrude are you running? I don't have the I Command but have thought about adding it. Do you have any pics of your helm. I would also be curious to know what prop you are running.
Click to expand...

Motor is the 200HO and rigged with I command system.
 
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