Looking for all sorts of advice as new owner

ygkwcc

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Happy Easter to all,

We have just ordered a 20-SSRXP. with the SPS pkg
We are not speed demons, but do plan to explore the 90kms of bays and inlets on the Bay of Quinte where we live and want to take it out onto Lake Ontario to head to the Thousand Islands as well.
-We will be putting on a Evinrude 115 but not sure if we want the pontoon series or 115HO as an upgrade.
- What prop to get, it will be stainless but pitch and 3 v 4 blade?
- We thought the 20 SSRXP would suit us in size and bang for the buck, the only negitive is you can only put on the 10' bimini and not the double bimini for full deck coverage. We could get a 14' factory bimini but is $2000. worth it for 4'?
- I have been fishing on the internet to see if I can find any specs on our setup as to MPH but can't seem to find anything.
Regards,
YGKWCC
 
Buy the HO version, it’ll give you that little extra you can’t get anywhere else. Only downfall is only mechanical controls, you can get an icon digital with the pontoon series. Same block size, little different gear ratio, pontoon series only comes in a 20” shaft, the HO will come both 20”/25” shafts. The prop will be dependent on your use but the Rebel series seem to fit a good range of pontoon use and good
 
Welcome. I have a couple cents to spend. You will be wasting money on a SS prop for a 115. SS props are made to NOT flex at high speed (or high torque) and a 115 will not have enough horsepower to flex an aluminum prop. Plus, you said you intend to "explore bays and inlets." SS props aren't very forgiving when a submerged object is struck. An aluminum prop will "give" easier and potentially save you from having to spend big $$ to replace other parts in the driveline, should the unfortunate occur. Save your money and specify an aluminum prop.

Personally, I would not take a 20 foot pontoon boat with a 115 onto a lake like Ontario. Granted, I don't know how far the trip is to the Thousand Islands, but if something blew in quickly and you needed to get back right away, I don't think you have enough horsepower (or boat).

Is 115 the maximum horsepower for the 20 footer with SPS? If not, then I suggest going up to a 150. If yes, maybe look at a 21 footer. These are rated for 150 with SPS.

As mentioned, these are my 2 cents. YMMV. But one thing is for sure, you are gonna love owning a Bennington.
 
Goldenrod 24 makes some excellent points. A longer tritoon will ride smoother and we love our Yamaha 150.
 
I agree with GoldenRod in all aspects of his response. Take it from a guy who bought a Yamaha 115 and after spending the money I did wish I would have spent $5000 more at this point.
 
That's a lot of big water. 22' SPS and a 150 would be my minimum, I'd ditch the premium Interior to help offset cost.
 
We have a 21 with a Yamaha 150 on it and absolutely love it. We’re originally gonna get the 115 until we went for test ride with the 150
 
If you poke around this site a bit I think you'll find that there are not a lot of 115 fans out there for various reasons. Personally, I've never owned or been on a boat with that kind of set-up so I can't speak from experience. You stated that you're not speed demons but ordering the SPS makes me think otherwise. Help us help you by telling us a bit more of how you'll be using your boat besides cruising/exploring. How many people on average? Adults, kids or both? Any possibility of water sports (tubing, skiing, etc.)? Obviously, your budget is going to dictate what you end up with but perhaps a few key decisions may greatly impact your ultimate enjoyment.

BTW, welcome to the family and as Randy said, whatever your decision, you're going to love it!
 
Thank you all for your great advice. It will be my wife and I alone 80% of the time on leisurely trips to the bays and inlets.
Maybe once a year we may take the 2-3 hour ride the the 1000 islands but it will be just along the shore and behind some big islands to get there, not the big open waters of Lake Ontario. We could also trailer down there in about 1.5 hrs. We wanted the SPS pkg due we were advised that it will be a lot more stable on those rough water days. We will be joined by 4 to 6 friends at times but that will be just for touring our area. The SS prop is a freebie from Evinrude but to some suggestions we maybe better off with the aluminum. The 20', max eng is the 115hp but we could bump the power a bit with the HO model. Not much in the way of water sports planned. The dealer will be taking us out for a test run on a windy day with one of his demo's so we can get an idea of the nuances of the 20'. One of the consideration for the 20' is it will fit in the second bay of our garage quite nicely during the winter. Again very grateful for all the solid advice.
 
One of the consideration for the 20' is it will fit in the second bay of our garage quite nicely during the winter. Again very grateful for all the solid advice.

Does that include height, on a bunk trailer these things are taller than an average garage door. That is an important factor though if it fits.
 
Yes height is good, but thanks for the thought.. After some suggestions on getting bigger we went on the build your own on the Bennington site. Cost is now an another consideration. Going with the 20' is about $10,000 cheaper than the 21' for the same base boat, to go from the 21' to the 22' is only a few hundred more, all things being equal. Would love to know why that is?
 
Small correction, 20' to 21' about $9500 spread, 21' to 22' about $2000 for base SSRX models. Go figure!
 
A 20’ SPS Hull is probably a specialty Hull as the 21/22’ SPS Hull is almost just commonplace plus the furniture is probably interchanged between those boats as th me shorter 20’ may only take specific furniture. Just my crazy thinking!!
 
ygkwcc, sounds to me like you've thought this one through pretty well and the fact that you'll actually get to demo one should confirm your decision. Obviously, the tri-toon will give you more speed and better ride along with a higher profile for taking on rough water. Enjoy!
 
If you do go the Evinrude, I assume you're talking the G2 motor--not the old generation. The 115 hp G2 will run with my F150 Yamaha. They are very strong on torque at speeds where 4 strokes are marginal on torque. I wouldn't go with the Evinrude if it wasn't a G2--no matter what the warranty is.
 
There's lots of good advice here from people with more experience than I have in those kinds of waters... but I'll add two comments:
  1. On this forum, and on the Airstream (trailer) forum where I've been a member for 12 years, I often read about people who regret going small and then upgrade. I've never heard about people who regret going big. In the Airstream world, everybody loves the adorably cute Bambi 16-footers... until they've camped in them for more than 2 nights, then they start looking to upgrade. (The only caveat to this is that we're finding our 2575 RL (36-feet long on the trailer) to be dauntingly big to tow)
  2. Getting out of bad weather in a hurry is a big deal, especially on a lake that size. Islands aren't going to protect you. We took our boat (260 hp Inboard/Outboard) out for a test drive last November . At the other end of the lake (5 miles out) it started to rain hard. We turned and headed for the dock - and it was sure nice to outrun that storm at 40mph! (It was also fun to go fast!!!! My wife hates speed, but even she was smiling!)
 
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I almost made a poor decision. I was glad I had been reading this forum for several months before purchasing. The piece of advise that really sticks in my mind is “buy your last boat first.” Much cheaper in the long run.
 
Well, I'll admit that I've mellowed about always buying the most horsepower. I know, hard to believe. I think, ultimately, the trick is to match your needs (and anticipated needs) with the available horsepower and not go all ape poop crazy just because you can.

Case in point. I bought a new orange tractor toy in December 2017. Of course, like boats, you can buy all shapes, sizes and horsepower of orange (and green, red, etc.). As it turns out with tractors, horsepower is directly correlated to the ground-engaging tools you wish to use. In my case, since I am not using ground-engaging tools, the ability to lift with the front loader is the same regardless if you buy 18 horsepower or 25 horsepower. For me to have spent the extra coins for more horsepower would have won me points in the locker room, but ultimately, it would have been money squandered.

The take away for me, is to be able to anticipate the uses you expect to have in the present and future and buy accordingly.

So for you folks following this topic, I suggest you assess your present anticipated needs, your future anticipated needs and make a choice based on those needs. Don't pay for more horsepower than you need. Conversely, don't pay for less horsepower than you need because you'll be back here in a year (or less) telling us about your expensive upgrade. ;-) PADS.
 
If you do go the Evinrude, I assume you're talking the G2 motor--not the old generation. The 115 hp G2 will run with my F150 Yamaha. They are very strong on torque at speeds where 4 strokes are marginal on torque. I wouldn't go with the Evinrude if it wasn't a G2--no matter what the warranty is.
They don’t make a GS 115hp, the G2 models start at 200hp. On the other hand we’ve had a 200hp G1 since 2014 and it has been flawless.
 
Again thanks for all the generous advice. We are heading down tomorrow to close a deal on a 22SSRXP with a 135HO. The 150G2 was put on the table when the owner of the dealship was pushing us in that direction and said he would see what he can do to make it affordable, however the difference between the 2 engines is $5000usd so he will have to come up with some discount to sell us on it especially since we have destroyed the budget. Now after going from 20'-22' we won't be wintering our new Bennington in the garage so we are looking for donations to build a new one and I think you should all chip in since your great advice sent us this direction..... ;-) Merci to all......ygkwcc
 
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