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New Boat Splash Guard

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Ishoot308

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I had the opportunity to see my new boat today at my dealer. I was surprised to see a rear splash guard on both port and starboard. This splash guard is made out of 1/8” aluminum, is rather sharp and sticks out at least an inch beyond the outer most point of the rub rail. I honestly don't see how this guard is not going to get in the way when docking As it completely eliminates the rub rail from rubbing the dock post as it should…I just don’t get it…. Do any of you have this on your boat? Ill post a pic below but you will have to zoom in to see it….if you zoom in at the back corner just below the rub rail you can clearly see it…

Dan
 

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Ishoot308 said:
I had the opportunity to see my new boat today at my dealer. I was surprised to see a rear splash guard on both port and starboard. This splash guard is made out of 1/8” aluminum, is rather sharp and sticks out at least an inch beyond the outer most point of the rub rail. I honestly don't see how this guard is not going to get in the way when docking As it completely eliminates the rub rail from rubbing the dock post as it should…I just don’t get it…. Do any of you have this on your boat? Ill post a pic below but you will have to zoom in to see it….if you zoom in at the back corner just below the rub rail you can clearly see it…

Dan
Click to expand...
I can see it Dan. I have no idea why it sticks out like that and what the purpose is. Ask the dealer. Maybe they'll have an answer or can find out the answer from the factory..... Take more pics from different angles if you have the chance. Beautiful boat!
 
Nice color scheme. :) Our new 30 Q do not stick out like that. And could clearly see it rubbing a cut into a fender rendering the fender useless after a short bit. I think you are right on being concerned about this. Reference photo below show how the splash guard is done on our 2024 30 Q.

PXL_20230920_225833817.jpg
 
Thanks! Apparently this splash guard is done differently on the 8 1/2' beam models...not sure why but I have confirmed that with my dealer. Waiting for some input from Bennington on this. The simple fix would be to just trim it back behind the rub rail. I can't imagine that would affect anything but again waiting for input from Bennington...

Dan
 
Interesting. Looking forward to learning what they tell you. I see it having 2 potential uses: (1) as stated, splash guard of some sort. (2) is it flat beneath that edge under the normal decking? I also wonder if it’s there to provide a solid flat area of “lift” when water spray hits it? Totally speculating, so will be very interested in what Bennington tells you and the dealer. With a dual motor, normal width boat, that’s a tune of weight back there. Maybe helps in both these areas, splash and lift?

Anyway, Bennington always seems very practical minded with these sorts of small tweaks compared to other manufacturers. I bet it has a very specific intended purpose. That purpose aside, sure seems like it would cause the problems you mentioned in regards to docking, bumpers, etc.
 
It is apparently definitely there for functionality as my dealer said this...

"I’m sure they are there because the 8.5' wide sits a little lower in the water with the weight of the twin engines(25 inch outer pontoons versus 32 inch elliptical outer pontoons) and it banks corners harder than the 10' wide."

We are working on an idea to help alleviate the sharp edge issue yet keep the form and functionality. If it gets blessed and works, I will post pics later on...

Dan
 
Thanks for sharing. Waiting for my new boat to be delivered. It’s a single engine so it may not be outfitted the same way. Will definitely check it out. Beautiful boat. Enjoy!
 
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