Perspective Bennington Owner question

Jayp1919

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Hello,

I hope this is the appropriate forum to post this in. I am looking to buy my first boat. Was looking at a used 2019 22” with the SSRX floor plan. We are a family of 5, the kids are 10,6, and 3. My question is: is this the optimal floor plan for the family now and in the future? With kids comes all the stuff you need to bring with you each trip. We are going to be using the boat on a river. I am concerned about fitting/storing everything with the ssrx floor plan vs the traditional L bench floorplan. Is there anyone with experience that could recommend either option for me?

The used model mentioned has 36 hours on the motor (Yamaha 115 SHO), aft deck, ski bar, lifting strakes, upgraded radio/speakers and a few others....the dealer wants 29,900 for it. Is that a good deal? This seems like a better buy than brand new L bench boats but if it’s not right The right layout for family use than id rather buy the “right” boat vs get the best deal if that makes sense?

Any help is much appreciated, thank you!
 
Welcome. I would pass based on the motor size. I had a 22’ with lifting strakes and a 115 and it did not have the performance I needed for tubing and other water sports. I sold it after 3 months of use and bought a 24’ sslx with sps and a 200. Night and day difference and now I have a boat we won’t grow out of. Good luck on your decision!
 
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I have 2019 22 SSRXP. While the under bench storage is not as versatile as the L bench with the sunpad, I find it to be plenty. I pretty much store all my safety gear, mooring cover and anchors in the benches with some room to spare for some bags. I stow the table under the helm.

The best feature of the SSRX seating is that it comfortably seats the most amount of people. 10 adults comfortably.

If I’m bringing a cooler aboard it can either serve as a footrest for the co captain, or I stick it in front of the rear door. Everything else in boat bags I stow behind the captains chairs or along the port door.

I have a Yamaha 150 and at WOT I never have any problems with things flying out of the playpen that are stored just on the floor.

Does the boat you are looking at have the SPS hull, express tube, or just a two log pontoon? That will make a huge difference in whether that is a good price.
 
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Thank you,

it’s just a two log setup. Only performance thing that it has are the strakes and motor. It’s a river that we are on and not a lake so I’m not sure how much performance we really need. That may be an ignorant statement though because I’ve never owned a boat so I’m sure it’s one of those things that I don’t know what I’m missing.
 
I would echo lakeliving's comments about the size of the motor. I would also suggest going with a boat with the express tube and the wave shield.
 
We personally like the SSRX and SSRXP floor plan. It was what we were going to get before switching to the SSBXP floor plan (swingback) at the last minute. I think the SSRX offers nicely balanced seating. I envisioned storage much like Rodsfields above described how they use theirs. I think you will be fine in that regard. It also sounds like it has some good options/upgrades, and that is always really nice.

Also, if exclusively on a river, I am sure you are fine with the 115 SHO. That’s a nice motor with low hours. Unless on an incredibly large river, probably offers plenty of power for how you will be able to use the boat. IF you will trailer to lakes, then maybe consider looking for another boat with a 150 that is a tritoon.

The only thing I question is the deal. Have you negotiated down yet? With it being a two toon set up, and not any kind of a tri-toon, like an SPS, I am not sure about the price. Maybe go over to the Bennington boat builder website, build the same basic boat online. Get its MSRP that way. Then subtract 20% from that MSRP price to approximate cost what it might have cost new.

That might be a way to judge how much you are saving going used on this particular boat. Price seems high for a traditional 2-toon used boat, but I am a 3-toon person, so I might be looking at it from a skewed perspective. Since it is less than 2 years old and barely used (presumably like new conditions with no damage or flaws?), perhaps its now so bad if they come down in negotiations...?
 
@lakeliving is right. And depending on the currents you have on the river you may want more power. Either way 29,900 for a two log with a 115 feels overpriced to me.
 
In case you are unaware ,here is a link to the Bennington Boat builder site .
 
MSRP from the boat builder site was $45,320. I haven’t tried to really negotiate...I suck at it. I started by sending in an L bench setup at 20ft and after going over prices he called a few days later saying he had just taken the used boat in, from trade.

Yeah on the two toon and 115... my father has a Lowe with a 90hp merc and strakes on a small lake and when we throw the kids out on the tube it seems to have plenty of power to pull but turning is slow and clunky. Kids have fun and it seems enough for them. He skis off it too. As for my use, I see it mostly as a drive to anchor location and hang out in water and relax more so than water sports. It’s not an overly large river and it does get crowded so I dont know how much we would tube and stuff like that. There is room and people do tube but kids are still young so that could change. I honestly don’t see us towing to bigger bodies of water but you never know. My budget is pretty much low 30s so I know that limits me from going to tri toon and bigger boat. I don’t want to waste my money either though, if it’s truly a bad choice I would just wait another year or two.

thanks again everyone for the advice
 
Welcome! We have 2017 SSRX SPS Yamaha 150 also Kids and Grandkids.The floor plan works out great for us ,but a we have the under deck storage that you won't get with the two logs. Price will be a little higher going into the boating season.Play the game! The Dealer probably wants used 2019 models out of his way for new Boats.Or keep looking !
 
The best I can can tell, without knowing all of the options is that is a $34k plus boat. That is with what my dealer typically offers as a discount. I owned a 21 ssrx and storage was never lacking but we had it on a lift and didn't have to pack everything. We could run back and get something if needed. This boat also had the express package and a yamaha 115 non HO motor. It would run around 34 in a straight line with just me in perfect conditions. I would lose about a mph per additional person. With a loaded boat 22 to 24 was all you could get. I traded after one year for a 23ssbxp with sps hull and a 150. Night and day difference between the express hull and the sps. The 150 will run 40 in perfect conditions, but still run 32 with a loaded boat. The 22ssrx will be a nice boat, but a 22ssrxp (premium) is worth the extra money. If around 30k is all the budget can stand, the boat you are looking at will work. To get a gently used sps hull with a 150 will take 40k plus (key word is the plus).
 
MSRP from the boat builder site was $45,320. I haven’t tried to really negotiate...I suck at it. I started by sending in an L bench setup at 20ft and after going over prices he called a few days later saying he had just taken the used boat in, from trade.

Yeah on the two toon and 115... my father has a Lowe with a 90hp merc and strakes on a small lake and when we throw the kids out on the tube it seems to have plenty of power to pull but turning is slow and clunky. Kids have fun and it seems enough for them. He skis off it too. As for my use, I see it mostly as a drive to anchor location and hang out in water and relax more so than water sports. It’s not an overly large river and it does get crowded so I dont know how much we would tube and stuff like that. There is room and people do tube but kids are still young so that could change. I honestly don’t see us towing to bigger bodies of water but you never know. My budget is pretty much low 30s so I know that limits me from going to tri toon and bigger boat. I don’t want to waste my money either though, if it’s truly a bad choice I would just wait another year or two.

thanks again everyone for the advice

Not many people feel like great negotiators. The key is to get a boat you like at a price you are comfortable with. When I traded my 1 year old 21ssrx, I got within 3k of what I paid for it. Prices had gone up about 1k on that boat new at that time. It was sold within a couple of months for a little over 30k.
 
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Check out Boat Trader and look at some high-volume dealers around the country and you should be able to determine the market for this. From my quick look it appears to be a fair price for a 115. Come with a trailer?

I don’t have any experience with this particular model or being on one with a 115hp, but I would guess this will be nothing more than a “cruiser”. Being two-tubed and with only a 115 it’s going to plow and not get up on any semblance of plane. And once the word gets out that you have a new boat the friends are going to want to join you, which will really turn this into a slug. I think when your kids are older they may want to do some sports on it and so a 150 would be much better (if the transom can even handle it) to cover your future needs. But that will obviously add a few thousand.

You can easily fall into that “more is better” trap and really bust the budget, but at the same time many here have given the advice of getting your last boat first so save yourself from either regret or buying another one down the road. I think growing kids are the key to your decision and what your family needs will be 3-5 years from now.
 
You can also go to the NADA boat pricing site to get a better idea on the price of the used boat you are looking at. The link is below:
 
Do porta pottis fit/store in the seats? Our 3 year old is still in pull ups and our 6 year old is the king of having to go number 2 at the most inconvenient times
In the standard bench seats a porta potty won’t, however if it has the pop up changing room in front of the co captains chair, it will fit there. Your other option will be under the helm. Third option is to just get the luggable loo from amazon. It’s essentially a 5 gallon bucket with a snap on toilet seat.
 
There is a 98% chance that the boat was traded in because the owner was not happy with the performance. You will not be happy either. The 115hp engine just doesn't perform with loads in the boat. You can search for all the times somebody has asked about prop changes because the 115 isn't giving us want we need.
 
Don't get me started with putting a 115 on our 2012 24SSL...

My suggestion would be to ask them for the cost to trade the 115 in on a 150. Do this BEFORE you buy the boat so you have some leverage to get a good price.

115s are pure evil on a pontoon boat.
 
I bought a used 2013 22 SLX with Yamaha 115 and express tube package with 280 hours in July 2017 (short decks front and rear) on an EZloader trailer for $27,500. I just traded it in for a 2017 22 SSRCXP SPS performance triple toon, center floor locker, Yamaha 150 with 29.5 hours, bow seat, dash fish finder, stainless rear ladder, extended decks front and rear, and Power Assist factory steering!!! Dealer wanted $46k and we settled at $25,500 and trade. It comes with a high end EZLoader trailer with mag wheels. I loved my first boat but had to work to give kids a good tube ride when several passengers but it is doable. But after only 10 minute test drive with newer boat I was in heaven with the silky smooth F150 with its balance shaft design and the unbelievable automotive feel power steering. It is same length boat but has way more storage, maximum seating of 13 , and plenty adequate power for this 67 yr old fart. When looking at used boat ads, make sure you know if it has a trailer in price or not. I am in Portland, Oregon so these boats are not as plentiful as back east so prices are probably higher here. Dealer put trade in for sale for $26,500 and had 3 families looking at it and it sold and it is verily March and still rainy here! Don't know what dealer ended up getting. At least get express tube package and 115 minimum hp. Nothing wrong with a few year old Bennington that has all the goodies if it was serviced and stored inside. I would choose a boat that was only in fresh water though. Sorry if it sounds like I am bragging but I am stoked with this new boat I haven't even got on river yet as rivers are high, logs floating, and verily in 50's so still cool! Update.... I just went through the "boat builder" on my 2017 22 SSRCXP and a 2020 built like it is $70k! Not that much difference between a 2017 and a 2020. 3 cheers to someone else eating the new boat depreciation! Hip.Hip.Hoorah
 
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We have a 22 GSR which has essentially the same floor plan. We have a 150 with SPS we frequently had 10 on board with plenty of room to store things and pull the tube. We strap the tube to the ski tow bar with bung cords when not in use.
 
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