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New Bennington Carpet 'still' gets wet!

Freddy

Freddy

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Our new Bennington, and I may be getting buyers remorse! On our first outing we noticed the carpet was getting saturated about half way back, just before the helm. Called the dealer and he agreed that should not be happening so he came out and installed "wave shields". This did not help the problem out. When he came out my boat had 3 hours on it. When he was done it had 5, so I am pretty sure he had ample opportunity to see if it resolved the problem. Any suggestions, should I call Bennington to see about skinning the bottom. I wish I had known that was an option because I would have upgraded. The other thing is I noticed that the trim gauge had water condensation inside it and the helm captains chair pops and cracks like it is coming out of the floor. I can feel it vibrate on my feet when it pops! 

Wish I had done something else...I am very frustrated. My family and I putted around on the lake for ten years on a toon with no seats, without problems, so we were over the top after getting the new Bennington, but after 40 G's I would expect more. 

Any help,

Fred
 
Hey Freddy these are all problems that can be fixed and once they do you and your family will enjoy your boat! Your dealer seems genuinely concerned and wants to fix the problem. Sounds like the water is hitting the cross members while you are underway and is seeping through the floor. This problem was brought up before on this forum and I believe the general consensus was they were going to have the aluminum under skinning or "wave shield" installed so the water can't hit the cross members resulting in a surge free and dry ride. Find out exactly what your dealer installed on your boat.

As for your seat pops and gauge condensation......Your dealer can easily check and fix those. Your seat is bolted through the floor so make sure they fix it before they install the under skinning.....
 
Freddy, the water coming up halfway is most likely waves hitting from below when it is rough or you are moving along at a good clip.  My boat did this as well and I believe that is considered not to be a manufacturing defect.  I just had the underdeck wave shield put on and although my boat hasn't hit the water yet I would think that I will no longer have that problem.  I also get water condensation in my gauges but after a little time in the sun it dissapears
 
I had some condensation on one of gauges yesterday ,went away in the sun .

My seat made the same noise on my 2013 SLX ,dealer fixed ( tightened it )  when I traded it in .
 
That is great guys! Thank you for the feedback. I am just concerned that I did not educate myself enough on the different models before I pulled the trigger and bought this one. Now it seems that every little thing has me concerned I did not "buy enough boat", or the right boat. The dealer drove an hour to my home and added small wave deflectors on the front of the cross beams. After reading some of the other forums I think what I want is for them to add a 'skin' along the length of the bottom to prevent any lengths and the noticed surges as I go through the water. 

The gauges, from my understanding are supposed to be sealed, under pressure. If the seal breaks condensation will occur and ultimately result in corroded terminals. 

Thanks for the advice on tightening the seat. It was not doing it at first and it is an awful noise, but you know how it is with something new, every little noise and bump will be a concern. We went with Bennington for the reputation of a solid great boat. I hope it is what we expected. 

Thanks for the great information. Does anyone know how I would get started with ordering an under skin from Bennington, or should my dealer handle that?

Best regards,

Fred
 
Fred, I was told by my dealer that there is a bent hole in the bushes to allow moisture to escape
 
Thank you Commodore!! I had seen that video and it is AWESOME. It would seem to me that the boat would get better fuel economy as well since the drag is significantly reduced. I am wondering too that if one wanted to add lighting and other electronic type upgrades; could the wiring be done over the tunes, or would the shields get in the way??

Sincerely,

Fred
 
I don't have lighting ,I would think it would be an easier installation before the wave shield is installed .
 
The wave shield would not be a warranty item as it was not installed during the build.  It will be worth the expense. 

If Freddy had asked us, we would have helped spent more of his money than he did.
 
I am going to go for the wave shield. other than it stopping the water from coming through the floor, what performance difference can I expect to see from having a full shield installed?

Gas mileage improvement?

smoother ride?

And, I do not have lifting strakes on the sides of the toons, should I have that added, would the expense be justified? Are the lifting strakes that big of a deal?

All of these things are questions I wish I knew to ask prior to the purchase of the boat.
 
It gets rid of the surging from the water hitting the crossmembers.  What is gas mileage on a boat.  You will go from horrible to slightly less horrible.  Lifting strakes are a really big deal.  How big is your O/B?
 
Freddy said:
I am going to go for the wave shield. other than it stopping the water from coming through the floor, what performance difference can I expect to see from having a full shield installed?

Gas mileage improvement?

smoother ride?

And, I do not have lifting strakes on the sides of the toons, should I have that added, would the expense be justified? Are the lifting strakes that big of a deal?

All of these things are questions I wish I knew to ask prior to the purchase of the boat.
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Can you tell us a little more about which model you have, engine, options, etc? That would help with giving answers appropriate for your model.
 
My trim, fuel gauge had condensation yesterday morning, was gone by the afternoon.
 
Post up your boat specs, that will help us spend your money.    :D
 
Spending my money...lol, now y'all sound just like my wife.

it is a new 2014 SCWX 24 feet with a new 2015 Mercury 4 Stroke 115. I will try to post a pic..I am proud of the  boat, just want it not to leak and want a bit better performance. 

If lifting strakes are a big deal, should I consider adding them to the toons and if so what is the costs of doing that, and how will it improve the performance. Total newbie here, and let me say I really appreciate the feed back from you guys/gals!!

Sincerely,

Fred
 
Hey Commodore, I see you have a boat on Lake Cumberland, in KY! I am on Lake Nolin in Kentucky. Small world. 
 
Remediation said:
The wave shield would not be a warranty item as it was not installed during the build.  It will be worth the expense. 

If Freddy had asked us, we would have helped spent more of his money than he did.
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On my 2013 I had my dealer install a few extras ,because he is an authorized Bennington dealer they ( dealer installed items )  also had the 7 years .Check with your dealer .
 
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Freddy, I had the strakes added after the fact on our 2014 22 SL, I paid for the strakes and Bennington paid to have them installed by a local shop chosen by my dealer. They are worth it.
 
Thank you Admiral. I will look at doing that too. I just spoke to the dealer and he immediately said, "that should not be leaking through, we will fix the problem". I was pleased to hear that. I took the opportunity to tell him that I want to go ahead and add the metal sheeting all the way back...not sure he was fully on board with that idea or not. 

soon as the bottom is done I will ask about the strakes. Can you tell me what difference I can expect from the strakes?

Thank you very,  very much. I wish I had consulted this forum prior to purchase. I would have walked in the show room knowing what I wanted. Not playing catch up as I am now. 

I did get a GREAT deal on the boat since it was a left over 2014, but I hate running back and forth to the dealer. 

Thanks again,

Fred
 
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