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Looking for a second (third, fourth, fifth . . . .) opinion!

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Macon_a_Splash

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This is a great site. I've spent some time (okay, lots and lots of time!!) reading old posts and trying to figure out what I was going to do. In the beginning, I was just going to do a little research and check out a boat show and be ready to either buy a great boat this spring or wait and order what I wanted next year'ish.

But did I mention I went to the boat show?!? And then all thoughts of later sailed away and I wanted to be sure I had MY boat THIS summer, not sometime later. Carpe diem! So, without asking for the wisdom of the group, and feeling confident because of my reading time here, I went ahead and pulled the trigger a few days ago. Now I'm wishing I had gotten some other opinions about some of the options. I probably have a few days (my boat dealer has been nice, but I wouldn't want to push it) that I could change small things. So, better late than never, I wanted to tap into the brain trust here to see what you all have to say.

Boat use: Primarily will use the boat for cruising with just a few - but I do like to get from point A to B sooner rather than later. There will be several weekends over the summer that it will be a big group who will want to boat and tube and ski. No hardcore fishing, but want the option to look "busy" as I float aimlessly - so some very occasional fishing without much gear. Of course, my boat needs to look gorgeous! :)

I am limited in space to what my current boathouse will allow. My slip measures 10'6" wide by 20'8" long although my roof overhangs the end of my slip by another 2' - so a little more than 22' in length of roofed space. So my size options and model options are limited.

As it is, the one I ordered will be longer than my actual slip, but should fit under the roof (except maybe part of the engine). I think the LOA of this build 21'11". Anyone think this sounds like a problem? My boat dealer thought it would be ok.

Here's what I ordered:

21 SLXP / extended aft deck / Yamaha 150HP / SPS w/transom fuel package
Colors
Smokey granite with midnight black accent
Sandstone upholstery (80% cut out) with carbon accent
Zebrawood slate
Seagrass slate floor

Options
Elevated helm
Stainless dock lights
Recliner upgrade R series caption chair
Heavy duty rub rail
ski tow bar (not the turbo swing)
kicker KMC10 Stereo upgrade
battery - single switch
electric bimini
RGB toe kick lighting/cupholder lighting/side illumination
Table upgrade to rectangular
a couple of portable cupholders
privacy enclosure
Simrad G05
4 pole rod holder

Questions
I exercised very little fiscal discipline, but it felt good to say "no" about something, so I didn't spring for the underwater lighting (could add later) or the center toon storage (can't add later).) But I'm curious if others would swap out something above for one of these options or something else? How much storage will I have without the center toon?

I also struggled to decide between the Simrad and the Garmin option - really couldn't find good information as to exactly what the differences are - I am not an experienced boater and some of the descriptions were lost on me. What's the difference? I want something that will help me find my way home - especially at night - not a big lake, but I haven't yet figured out the landmarks. Depth, water temp and speed are good to know as well. I don't really care about its ability to find fish - the pole typically will dangle just to give the appearance of something other than pure lazy idleness. Haha.

What's the difference between the "single switch" for the battery and the "master power switch S/G".

Any pics of my build/colors? I've had trouble finding pics of the colors I chose - haven't seen the combo in real life and I've kinda panicked the past day or so wondering if I'm going to love it. If anyone has pics of these colors, I'd really appreciate seeing it.

Safe to pull a tube with a ski tow bar? I won't be pulling a tube that often, but on the days I do, I certainly want it to be safe. I've seen some posts that discuss whether the ski tow bar is okay for pulling a tube. There is a post where TB weighed in and says its ok - but it's a post from a couple of years ago. There isn't any info in the Bennington brochure that says what the limits of the "ski tow bar" are. The Bennington website has a number of photos showing tubes being pulled with a ski tow bar. I wouldn't expect Bennington to show those if it wasn't totally safe.

Thanks so much for any help and reassurance you all may have!
 
Looks like a nice build.
I'm going to guess "master switch" is helm switch , vs. single which is back at the battery.
As for Garmin vs. GO5. I have GO5, great mapping, but fishing .... not so great, but it's useable. If FISHING is your primary need, I'd go Garmin, if MAPPING is your primary need GO5 is your choice. Not sure of pics of color, but I've seen combo and it looks good!!
 
This has Blackout, but color combo is what you want

IMG_0053.jpg
 
You’ve done your homework! I’d add power steering. It is a game changer! Not sure if they’ve changed the tow bar but we’ve pulled tubes with ours.
 
Bad lighting on this


6350017_20170828104854544_1_LARGE.jpg
 
Thanks, Semperfi! It looks great with the blackout package. Trying to decide if I love it without. And do most people match the bimini to the accent or the main panel?

Thanks, Lakeliving. I wondered about the power steering. With a 150 HP (see you've got 200 HP), will I wish I had power steering all the time, or just when I'm pulling a tube?
 
I think you need the Blackout ..... ;)
We have a Matador Red with Blackout and went with black canvas.
 
It’s a nice build! Power Steering would be a must for me. I do love the center storage, you can put a ton of stuff in there and leave a little more room under the seats. Great place for poles too. I also keep my tube and wake board in there. I tube off the same tow bar your getting without any issue.
 
The black out package is awesome, but then Again I’d buy another 50hp instead.
 
168F94D6-0248-42A6-926D-E7445E58903D.jpeg BEAE9781-4A1B-4802-BDBF-5CF7F360B593.jpeg
30061332-E233-451A-BC39-D77DFB0270D1.jpeg A69807D6-8131-42FB-BCF7-B408020E63DA.jpeg
Your build is really nice. +1 on power steering, particularly when doing water sports. +1 on Simrad G05 if primary use is mapping and info vs finding fish. We love our G05 for mapping and other info - we really dont fish ourselves.

We have the turbo swing, which is supposed to be engineered for tubing...BUT most everyone else we hear from says it’s over kill and a regular tow bar is fine. Frankly for the cost difference, it can be hard for many to justify the turbo swing.

The first pick posted by Semper above is our boat - we are the same color combo as you, but in the blackout. We love it! Very sporty, eye catching, and pardon the language, “bad ass” color combination. :cool:

We matched bemini to accent strip for ours, and it looks good with that color combo.
 
I myself have added a few things to my 20sl which I purchased this past fall and is sitting in my pole barn waiting for the weather to break in a couple more months. Seems like I am still coming up with add on's. I am getting the lighting pkg in blue and I just ordered a Blue Sea e-series selector 3-position battery switch with AFD ($54.99 from West Marine). Have beeni told that this helps battery discharge when boat sits idle for extended periods of time. Hope that helps in some way. Have a Great Summer.
 
Macon_a_Splash said:
And I've been agonizing about the storage situation as well. Is it true that power steering CAN be dealer added?
Click to expand...

You can add later but doing it now gives you a 10 year warranty on it.
 
I would definitely add the power steering, and the in floor storage for me was a must. In my ESP center toon I had a two person tube, two three person tubes, wakeboard, kneeboard, couple fishing rods, couple oars, couple of big bumpers! Probably could have gotten an extra 2 mph had I emptied it!! Hahaha

So you just have a single battery if I'm reading it right? I'd do dual, just for the peace of mind. She'll be a great boat!
 
If you want a great value in a fish finder, check out the Garmin Striker 4. I bought mine for $80 at Menards (on sale) but $100 on Amazon right now. This thing not only finds fish, it cleans and cooks them for you. Water temperature, GPS speed, you can hit a button and record a marker so you can find that spot later (I enter a handful of buoys so I don't hit them at night). You can spend a lot of $ on these things, but this has to be one of the best values.

https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Strik...pID=41f2ftaBVuL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

I have mine mounted temporarily in a cup holder until I decide where to mount it. If you ever mount one of these, make sure the boat cover will fit over it.
 
+1 dual battery if its an option. If you are going to sit and hang out leisurely, its nice to know you have back up with using power with radio, or other features - let alone a battery just going bad. Having back up in that area is CHEAP peace of mind!

Because of the speaker system on ours, its basically our dockside music/entertainment center lakeside when not using the boat. I just always use Battery 2 for that purpose, and now I am good to go when boating to switch back to batt’s 1+2 when cruising around.
 
kaydano said:
...you can hit a button and record a marker so you can find that spot later (I enter a handful of buoys so I don't hit them at night).
Click to expand...

I am going to use this idea. You can save “waypoints” pretty easily the Simrad, but I do it exclusively for friends cottages, marina, lakeside restaurant, etc... I never thought of using them to mark shallow areas/warning areas on the water.

Is this one of those brilliant and obvious things everyone does...except me the slow learner? o_O

Sure going to mark shallow areas of my lake this summer to better keep away from them when shore cruising with friends and family.
 
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