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Placing our order tomorrow!

J

JsnMR2

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Location
Redding CA
After a lot of research, we are placing our order for a 2017 Bennington 2250 GPD tomorrow! We've finally nailed down a price with the dealer and finalized a pretty extensive list of options. 

Panel will be Smokey Granite with Regatta Blue accent and Ragatta Blue Canvas.

Interior will be Sandstone with Driftwood accent and Diamond Pressed Pillow Top upgrade. Graywood will be the wood color of choice. 

Flooring will be full Seagrass

- Dimensional Chrome Logo
- Double Bimini top with Blue Ice LED Lighting
- Mooring Cover Storage Bag
- 4 Step Stainless Steel Ladder upgrade
- Port Dinette Seat Upgrade
- Graywood Rectangular Bow Table
- Elevated Helm
- Stainless Steel Corvina Steering Wheel 
- GPS Speedometer with Compass Heading
- Illuminated Wet Sounds Speaker Upgrade (4)
- Stereo - Kicker Sub and Amp Upgrade
- Kicker KMC10 Stereo Upgrade
- Fish/Depth Graph - Echo 301
- Stainless Steel Sink upgrade with Wash Down station

SPS Performance System - SPS w/Transom Fuel
Mercury 150  HP 4 Stroke 25 IN

- Battery - Dueal with Switch (Port/Starboard)
- Battery - Power Distribution Panel
- In Floor Storage (3 Tube)
- Solid Keel (3 Tubes)
- Steering - Sea Star Hydraulic
- Water Fuel Separator Large
- Underdeck Wave Shield

- American Flag
- Fish Graph Console Exchange
- Blue Ice LED Underwater Illumination
- Blue Ice LED Cupholder Lighting
- Blue Ice LED Side Illumination
- Dock Lights in LED Stainless Housing
- Premium Stainless Cleats
- Stainless Steel Rub Rail

- Ski Tow Bar
- 4 Pole Rod Holder

Think that covers it! If anyone sees this before tomorrow mid day, feel free to shoot any suggestions! This will not only be my first Bennington, but my first boat period. Pretty excited!
 
Congrats, good luck and welcome to the family!
 
Wow, looks like a great build!


Since you asked.......you'll see lots of talk on this site about people liking Sharkhide and power assist steering, neither of which I see on your build.  I have both and am a fan myself, but whatever you get you'll love it!   
 
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I went back and forth on the sharkhide. Talking to me dealer, they don't seem to think it's a big deal. I am incredibly OCD and would likely detail the pontoons 2-3 times per year. If I do that, do you still think it's really worth it?

The Power assist seems to be an additional $2,656.00 on top of the SeaStar Hydraulic steering that I already have included with the SPS package. Is it really THAT big of a difference? I've sort of maxed out what I wanted to spend on this, but don't want to make a crucial mistake either. 
 
BTW the boat will live most of its life in Shasta Lake, CA and Whiskytown Lake CA. Both of which are 10 minutes from my front door in different directions. I will occasionally transport it to lakes further away such as Lake Tahoe. 
 
Sounds like a real beauty.


Before you place your order, please read my recent thread.
 
Wow, I just read the whole thing. Looks like a couple of naysayers, but overall overwhelming support for the option. 

A: I have exceeded my "max budget" already in order to get what I want. Now I don't mean by huge margins, but by a few grand none the less. I'm sure I can get them to add it for a bit less then the $2,656 list price, but it'll still push me that much more over what I wanted to spend. 

B: I called my rep over there. He said "it will make a difference, but not a two thousand dollar difference on 150 HP. If it was 200 HP, I would absolutely recommend it"

Thoughts? Do I really push the budget that much more to add the power assist? Is it really THAT much better on a 22' boat with 150HP? (Boat actually measures close to 25' even though Bennington calls it a 22' boat)

I don't want to make a mistake, while still being conscious of my budget. 
 
I have a 24' (24 SSL) w/Yamaha F150 w/SeaStar Hydraulic Assist and it handles just fine with one hand.
 
JsnMR2 said:
Wow, I just read the whole thing. Looks like a couple of naysayers, but overall overwhelming support for the option. 

A: I have exceeded my "max budget" already in order to get what I want. Now I don't mean by huge margins, but by a few grand none the less. I'm sure I can get them to add it for a bit less then the $2,656 list price, but it'll still push me that much more over what I wanted to spend. 

B: I called my rep over there. He said "it will make a difference, but not a two thousand dollar difference on 150 HP. If it was 200 HP, I would absolutely recommend it"

Thoughts? Do I really push the budget that much more to add the power assist? Is it really THAT much better on a 22' boat with 150HP? (Boat actually measures close to 25' even though Bennington calls it a 22' boat)

I don't want to make a mistake, while still being conscious of my budget. 
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You've got plenty of options checked such as LED lighting and a wash down sink that I think should be exchanged for the assisted steering.


PM "AliceDream" (Ray) and ask him. He has a pretty convincing argument.


Any other arguments I have are already explained in the thread and I won't belabor the point except to say I didn't start that topic for shoots and grins.
 
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The LED lighting was thrown in as a freebie during negotiations. They knew I wanted it, and it was easier for them to add those in. Unfortunately, there is no money to get back by deleting those.

The wash down is a mandatory option when selecting the sink which was one of the reasons we wanted this floor plan to begin with.

Im currently convincing myself to add the power assist lol.... I'll probably do it.
 
I have a 21slx with a yamaha 150. I have seastar but no assist. I wish I did. 


Brian
 
The only other point I will make is that you have already committed to at least $15K worth of upgrades to the hull (SPS) and motor (150) along with the power distribution panel and dual batteries. Why wouldn't you spend +/- 18% of that amount on an option that unlocks all the awesome potential of the boat?


Your boat will behave like a runabout with the assisted steering. Ask me how I know!
 
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Alright alright! lol. After pushing for my price and insisting that I had a max budget (which wasn't a lie), they are going to think I'm insane. 
 
JsnMR2 said:
Alright alright! lol. After pushing for my price and insisting that I had a max budget (which wasn't a lie), they are going to think I'm insane. 
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I get it. It took some time for the dealer to verify with the factory that it was do-able and I confirmed I wanted it on the day the order was finalized for production with no more changes.


You will not regret your decision.
 
Congrats, and welcome. Whatever you choose to spend your money on, I am sure you will be happy. I do not have it on ours, and don't miss it. Maybe if I had convinced myself I needed it, I would feel different. In your case, you are so far along being sure you need it that I am sure you'll have buyers remorse if you don't buy it. 


Ask Bennington why they don't recommend it for the 150, and why the majority of their customers don't buy it with the 150 hp motor. If it were so necessary to make the boat be improved that much, would they not push it? Just my opinion, others may vary.
 
One more question. The "Lifting Strakes - Sealed ESP/SPS" option for $643. 

"Improves speed by up to 5 MPH"

Is it worth it for a 150 HP Merc? My dealer says it'll make the boat harder to turn. However now that I'm adding power assist.....

Thoughts? 
 
Tooner said:
Congrats, and welcome. Whatever you choose to spend your money on, I am sure you will be happy. I do not have it on ours, and don't miss it. Maybe if I had convinced myself I needed it, I would feel different. In your case, you are so far along being sure you need it that I am sure you'll have buyers remorse if you don't buy it. 


Ask Bennington why they don't recommend it for the 150, and why the majority of their customers don't buy it with the 150 hp motor. If it were so necessary to make the boat be improved that much, would they not push it? Just my opinion, others may vary.
Click to expand...

My thoughts.... I didn't ask Bennington directly why they recommend it or don't. I asked my dealer. Their opinion on recommending it or not could be based on their personal experience, or the fact that they know I've maxed out my budget. I don't know. On Benningtons website, it does say recommended for boats with 150 HP or more. 

I test drove a SPS boat with a 115. At higher speeds and turning hard, I did notice it became fairly difficult to turn and certainly required two hands. That was a SPDX boat that I test drove. I am fairly young myself and have a very young son. As he gets older, tubing will become a very popular thing to do. I definitely want to be able to whip him and his friends around. Heck, I want to be able to be whipped around behind the boat myself! 

Could I probably deal with it, without? Yeah I'm sure I could. For my intended uses though, I feel it may be a worth while upgrade. I didn't know any better before and was not informed properly about the benefits by my dealer. If I didn't ask here, I may not have ever known any better. 
 
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