PADs Backwards

bcpnick

Nick
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Colorado
Hey everybody! Long time no post, but I've been lurking around. As a proud, card carrying member of the PADs club, I thought I better share that it has struck me again. First it was the 22 SX with a 90hp and twin 25's. Then it was the 2275 GCW with ESP and an F200. I didn't think I'd go up from the GCW, and it turns out, I won't. The new boat is unfortunately not a Bennington. But it's not really a pontoon either....


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All photos by previous owner. More here: https://goo.gl/photos/q5ge1yr2LkCQeG586


Say hello to my new-to-me 20 foot rubber pontoon (aka cataraft). It has twin 30" diameter tubes and it will have a 30hp motor once I get it rigged up how I want (it has an 18hp now). Seems like a massive downgrade, but this is exactly what I needed all along for how I use it. Since it weighs so little a 30hp motor will actually push it in the mid 20's with a heavy load of camping gear and friends. And more importantly, I can beach/anchor it to shore just about in a lot more places at Lake Powell. With my tritoon, I'm limited to about .001% of the shoreline because almost all of it is solid rock. With this, we can let it bounce on rocks all day long. We can also just grab it and pull it up on the shore. I was getting very frustrated about being able to get off the boat and explore, and this solves that. And the cherry on top: I can take it whitewater rafting in the Grand Canyon, Cataract Canyon and other big western rivers and have a far lower chance of dying in the process!


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I was going to build my own this winter but I got lucky and picked this exact rig up. It wasn't up for sale but I reached out to the owner to ask him some questions and one thing led to another. Deposit is paid and I'm driving out to Chicago to pick it up soon. I'm very, very happy. 


So now it's time to sell my Benny. It's still down at Lake Powell, but I'm going to go down over New Years weekend and take her out for one more night. I'm going to clean her up and tow her to St. George, UT and store her there and see if I can't sell it to someone in Vegas with it being a couple hours away. The Bennington dealer here in Salt Lake is officially off of the dealer list so it could be a tough sell close to home. Wish me luck!


So I guess I'm only officially in the Bennington club for as long as it takes to sell my GCW, but I'm plotting to put something from the Benny on the new boat so I can still hang like Wooden Pontoon with his Bennington furniture. So how do I change my username to Rubber Pontoon?? :)  
 
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Looks like a pretty cool setup and will fit your needs better. You better stay active here! 
 
Thanks. You know, I think the biggest reason I've become less active is the dang software update they did here a while back. As a guy who runs websites and forums, I'm surprised at how much I've disliked it. Not a Bennington issue, of course. It's just the software they picked. Anyway, I'm definitely incorporating some pontoon-like comforts into the modifications I make to this boat for when it's on the lake. I have a feeling I'm going to have to pick your guys' brains for ideas on how to improvise some of the luxuries I'm giving up. 
 
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Congrats! Looks like a very cool setup for your needs. 
 
Congrats Nick!  We've always been impressed with your adventurous spirit and the way you got the most out of your Bennys.  Glad this will serve you even better.


Definitely don't be a stranger -- once a Benny owner, always a Benny owner.  And keep uploading your pics -- we love to see them!!
 
I think the first purchase for the new boat should be two sets of raised " B E N N I N G T O N " letters. One for each side! Just a suggestion. Hopefully your adventures will only get better with this boat. Please don't leave all of us out of the adventures Nick. And thanks for the adventures that you have already shared.
 
Glad you got something more suitable for your needs!  Can't wait to see your mods...  And pics!


Did you sell the GCW?  I remember you were in a bad market for Benningtons...  You could pull this like a tube behind your GCW.  Then you could anchor the Benny and take the "tube" to shore.  Ha ha.  Best of both worlds.
 
Glad you got something more suitable for your needs!  Can't wait to see your mods...  And pics!


Did you sell the GCW?  I remember you were in a bad market for Benningtons...  You could pull this like a tube behind your GCW.  Then you could anchor the Benny and take the "tube" to shore.  Ha ha.  Best of both worlds.



Not yet. I'm going to list it in January once I can get down to a warmer climate and get her ready to sell. I don't suspect I'll sell it to anyone in Utah. Having no Bennington dealer now is a downside, and for some reason they just haven't caught on much here. I'm hoping I'll have better luck in the Las Vegas/Mead/Havasu area. 


I can totally see towing this thing with the Benny. Crack that whip! 


I've been going crazy designing all of the improvements I want to make to it. It's a ton of fun to be able to start from scratch. I'm getting a custom aluminum helm made with a captain's chair that raises and lowers. I might position it as a center console at first. The nice thing is, I can move it around! And I'm super excited about having the Mercury MercMonitor on the dash. Seems a little silly for a small motor (I'm up to 40hp), but I feel pretty confident it'll move me almost as fast as my 200 on the GCW. I'm also planning a 17' long double bimini for super shade and to help make it easier to quickly enclose the whole thing. I can't wait! 
 
Lets see.... Sell the outboard, transfer the furniture and bimini, cash in the aluminum.  Done. :p
 
Lets see.... Sell the outboard, transfer the furniture and bimini, cash in the aluminum.  Done. :p

OR, keep the Bennington. Remove aluminum toons, replace with rubber toons, you're all set!!  :lol:
 
OR, keep the Bennington. Remove aluminum toons, replace with rubber toons, you're all set!!  :lol:

This actually crossed my mind! But then I figured how cheap it would be to just build my own pontoon deck and features on top of the rubber tubes! I even downloaded some 3D CAD software so I can get better communicate what I want to the welder. Here's the first draft of my aluminum helm. Yes, it's missing a cup holder, speakers and a couple other things. Damn G series helm mixing me up! 

 
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On 19/12/2016 at 8:37 PM, bcpnick said:



This actually crossed my mind! But then I figured how cheap it would be to just build my own pontoon deck and features on top of the rubber tubes! I even downloaded some 3D CAD software so I can get better communicate what I want to the welder. Here's the first draft of my aluminum helm. Yes, it's missing a cup holder, speakers and a couple other things. Damn G series helm mixing me up! 


I know this is old, but thought I'd mention, don't forget to build in some sort of waterproof area for keys and cellphones etc. Actually , something similar to this, https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/32283833227.html?trace=wwwdetail2mobilesitedetail&productId=32283833227&productSubject=400-300-170mm-Clear-Cover-Lid-Waterproof-Enclosures-for-Electronics-With-Lock-PC-Material-Plastic-Enclosure&spm=2114.40010308.4.14.5gQqeJ#autostay


Inset into the dash or something. 
 
I had looked at small glove box type things to build into my helm but unless it was an exact color match it would stick out like a sore thumb
 
Good call on building the waterproof storage in. I finally got my new boat setup last weekend and I'm taking it out this weekend. I'm still months from having it decked out to be even a little comfortable but at least I'll get an idea of how it will move on the water. So far I'm secretly happy that my Bennington hasn't sold yet. If it's still around in June I'll get another trip or two to Lake Powell out of it while I work on the new one. 
 
And keep the photos coming!!!
 
Going from a 200hp luxury tritoon to an 18hp rubber boat is hard. I took my new rubber boat out for the first time last weekend. It is far from what I would consider ready but some friends needed some help that weekend so I scrapped it together enough to work. We launched it on the Colorado River and floated on 25k CFS into Lake Powell. It was pretty scary dodging sand bars in chocolate milk muddy water, and even scarier wondering if we'd have enough horsepower to drive back up the river to where the truck was. It all worked out pretty good, but I'm starting to feel pretty happy that no one has bought my Bennington yet. I might be having a change of mind about selling. I just need to convince my wife. 


Here's a pic of the new boat at our last campsite of the trip. We motored halfway back up the Colorado River and camped on the shore near a big eddy. This area would normally be under about 95 feet of water if the reservoir were full. 


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Not seeing the pic here unfortunately 


I have had the same problems with pics in the past 


Hope we can see pic in near future 


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Keep the pictures coming. 
 
Good to see you back Nick, we all love your pics and the stories of your adventures.  Good luck with the boat situation.  You know we all want to see you back in your Benny!  
 
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