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Zeeman

Zeeman

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Hello all! We just bought our first Benny and took it out for the first time Friday. We have done a lot of research before buying and this was about a two year process We are totally in love with this boat! We love to fish and are slipped on Brookville lake in Indiana. It’s a small lake so we didn’t need a big boat and we wanted to fish mostly and also be able to enjoy what we call “bobbing” in the water. We decided on the SFV 20 with a 90 Yamaha as an entry level boat and honestly it has everything we need for this particular lake. I have been reading all the good thoughts y’all have on this forum for the last couple of months and we would appreciate any tips for the newbie. The video that Semperfi had on covering the boat was an awesome help so thanks so much for posting.
 

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Congratulations. We got our boat from Lodders also.
 
Very nice, you are going to have a great summer. My only advice would be if you are new to boating take a boater safety course. Many times they are available locally if not you can take them online. Welcome to Bennington and to this forum. Btw it is a great place to ask any questions you might have.
 
Smack that Bass, love it! Of course my wife would be hitting me over my head with a plastic bumper...

I’m hoping mine simply has fish scales and guts all over it. Congrats!
 
Mike31406 said:
Very nice, you are going to have a great summer. My only advice would be if you are new to boating take a boater safety course. Many times they are available locally if not you can take them online. Welcome to Bennington and to this forum. Btw it is a great place to ask any questions you might have.
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Thanks, we were all set up for the class from the marina but Covid 19 cancelled that. Fortunately we have been around boats all our lives but never had the time or funds when the kids were young unfortunately. This is our 35 anniversary present to ourselves.
 
Sorry it was cancelled, maybe you can take in the future. So glad you were able to get a Bennington. Happy Anniversary!!
 
Congrats, and nice ride!!
 
Zeeman said:
Thanks, we were all set up for the class from the marina but Covid 19 cancelled that. Fortunately we have been around boats all our lives but never had the time or funds when the kids were young unfortunately. This is our 35 anniversary present to ourselves.
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BoatUS Foundation has a free online boating safety course approved by the Virginia Dept of Game and Inland Fisheries. I bet they offer the same for many states. We got an insurance break for completing it.

Happy Anniversary!
 
Ditto on doing online training. You will get a credential for wallet or keep with boat papers plus most insurance gives discount after you show it. We don't fish but have our Benny for the "OTHER" reason!!

The snap strap holding the ladder up WILL break soon. I promise. Buy one of those small rubber truck hood straps and screw it to frame for easy to use and permanent fix. Put rubber strap on ladder and the metal clip on boat so legs don't get scratched under water.

Use fuel stabilizer every time you fill the tank. I like Stabil 360 but any stabilizer will make starting much easier if you don't go out often enough. Gasoline starts degrading right after you buy it. Ethanol blended fuel attracts water so keep your filter changed on time. It's in your Yamaha book.

A battery tender is nice if you can get one plugged in. Boat battery will be more dependable too. If you play stereo a lot with engine off you may want to add a second battery and switch.

NEVER start the outboard unless it is water or you have a hose with muffs on intake. The flushing connection Yamaha provides DOES NOT COOL THE MOTOR!! You must use muffs with a hose or you will destroy water pump in seconds! That is for all outboards BTW. Gotta have water to the pump.

And lastly for now - - - - - Congratulations on 35 years!! You are a rare thing now a days. We are just over 50 years but that club is empty around here. Lonely at the top it seems! May your Benny outlast you both!! Tall order for sure!!
 
Welcome to the Bennington family! You're in for an awesome adventure beginning this summer.
 
mowdoc said:
Ditto on doing online training. You will get a credential for wallet or keep with boat papers plus most insurance gives discount after you show it. We don't fish but have our Benny for the "OTHER" reason!!

The snap strap holding the ladder up WILL break soon. I promise. Buy one of those small rubber truck hood straps and screw it to frame for easy to use and permanent fix. Put rubber strap on ladder and the metal clip on boat so legs don't get scratched under water.

Use fuel stabilizer every time you fill the tank. I like Stabil 360 but any stabilizer will make starting much easier if you don't go out often enough. Gasoline starts degrading right after you buy it. Ethanol blended fuel attracts water so keep your filter changed on time. It's in your Yamaha book.

A battery tender is nice if you can get one plugged in. Boat battery will be more dependable too. If you play stereo a lot with engine off you may want to add a second battery and switch.

NEVER start the outboard unless it is water or you have a hose with muffs on intake. The flushing connection Yamaha provides DOES NOT COOL THE MOTOR!! You must use muffs with a hose or you will destroy water pump in seconds! That is for all outboards BTW. Gotta have water to the pump.

And lastly for now - - - - - Congratulations on 35 years!! You are a rare thing now a days. We are just over 50 years but that club is empty around here. Lonely at the top it seems! May your Benny outlast you both!! Tall order for sure!!
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Thank you so much for the great info and wisdom, we are going to treat her like a baby lol
 
Zeeman said:
Hello all! We just bought our first Benny and took it out for the first time Friday. We have done a lot of research before buying and this was about a two year process We are totally in love with this boat! We love to fish and are slipped on Brookville lake in Indiana. It’s a small lake so we didn’t need a big boat and we wanted to fish mostly and also be able to enjoy what we call “bobbing” in the water. We decided on the SFV 20 with a 90 Yamaha as an entry level boat and honestly it has everything we need for this particular lake. I have been reading all the good thoughts y’all have on this forum for the last couple of months and we would appreciate any tips for the newbie. The video that Semperfi had on covering the boat was an awesome help so thanks so much for posting.
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Hey Zeeman, we just bought the 20 SLV, took delivery yesterday. I also got the 90 HP, but we haven't gone out yet. Glad you had good things to say about your boat, because ours are basically the same, sans the seating arrangements.IMG_2763.jpgIMG_2766.JPGIMG_2765.JPG
 
RaiderDon said:
Hey Zeeman, we just bought the 20 SLV, took delivery yesterday. I also got the 90 HP, but we haven't gone out yet. Glad you had good things to say about your boat, because ours are basically the same, sans the seating arrangements.View attachment 26579View attachment 26580View attachment 26581
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Awesome! You will love it. I’m a newbie to pontoons but I don’t see how you can beat the value and quality Bennington puts into the join the family boats. To me it’s a no brainer compared to all the other brands we have looked at
 
Zeeman said:
Awesome! You will love it. I’m a newbie to pontoons but I don’t see how you can beat the value and quality Bennington puts into the join the family boats. To me it’s a no brainer compared to all the other brands we have looked at
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Agree. I had a sun tracker pontoon, an older one, and the Bennington's are way better made. It'll probably be another month until mine sees water.
 
RaiderDon said:
Agree. I had a sun tracker pontoon, an older one, and the Bennington's are way better made. It'll probably be another month until mine sees water.
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Sucks to wait, we went out last Friday in some not ideal weather lol. Just couldn’t wait any longer. We looked at Ranger pontoons at the boat show and nowhere near the quality for 5k more. I’ve researched just about every pontoon brand there is and nothing beat Bennington IMHO
 
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