Perspective Bennington Owner question

It all comes down to how you want to use the pontoon. I have a 2019 22 GSR, 2 tubes, Yamaha 115, Ultra Legs (aka sea legs) on a 5700 lake in MN. We put 40 hours on it for a half season and only used a tube once. 90% of the time we are just slow cruising. Top speed is low 20's which is not great. Strangely that it feels faster than my old sport-fish boat given that I feel the wind more without windshield. Would be nice to have 150, but dealer said I would need 3 tubes given weight of Ultra Legs. A tri-tune with an upgraded 150 was not worth the $ for me at this time. I am guessing a tri-tune with 150 upgrade would have cost another $10,000. At this point, I like the benefit of the Ultra Legs as I am trying to make it easy versus installing lifts.
 
I like my 115 Yamaha on our 2018 SSRX. Its just two 26 inch round tubes with no strakes but I get 30mph on a GPS every time I open it up. The best part is I cruise it at 4000 rpm which is 19 mph and it gets right at 5 mpg! Hand calculated at each fill up. I did have one degree of pitch taken out of the factory steel prop to increase full throttle from 5300 to 6100 rpm. No real effect on top speed but takes loads better without lugging.

I also put a bottom skin on the boat. Bennington calls this the Wave Tamer option. The big change was how much smoother and quiet the ride got! Also holds speed more steady in rough water. I recommend doing this to any Benny that does not have it.
 
Mowdoc, Did you put the Wave Tamer on after ordering it and do you a rough idea how much it costs? Sounds like a good idea. How long is your SSRX? Thanks.
 
Sorry about that - my boat is a Bennington 22SSRX. Standard deck length. I'm not sure about prices but I think Bennington wanted $700 from factory and $400 for parts if you do Wave Tamer yourself. I worked a deal with my dealer and got mine installed much cheaper. They did order and use the kit from Bennington.

I had used my boat for about one season before doing the Wave Tamer so I can swear about the difference it made! Perhaps the best thing they offer in options.

Many people get the aluminum cut at a metal shop and install at home. That is much cheaper but I was able to work a deal to get mine.
 
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