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seat base lock nuts

R

ricks 0712

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Way to go Bennington! The lack of a plate spacer under the deck with double lock nuts on seat base mounts has resulted in all my seats coming loose due to the shrinking and flexing of the plywood. Sounds like an easy fix until you have to remove the wave shield to access the seat base bolts. This happened within 12 hours of new boat in water, not only to me, but also my friend who bought his boat at same time. I know warranty would cover this, but they will just tighten nuts and that will not solve the problem long term.
 
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Same thing happen on our 2006 Bennington & our 2012 Bennington. Dealer tighten up the bolts under warranty on both boats. They removed the outside plates above the pontoon to gain access to the bottom lock nuts. (small hands & long arms help) The bolts seem to stay tight after that.

RiverBill
 
Instead of complaining about it, why don't you let your dealer fix it? I haven't had a problem with our 2007 which was purchased in 2006. And, if you have to remove the wave shield to fix it, how do you know how it's attached?
 
So what are you asking? It's under warranty. Have you even contacted the dealer yet?

Seems odd that it's only 12 hours old and "ALL" your seat bases are loose and your friends too ....... ???
 
Quality Control! Our 2012 Bennington had a loose driver's seat from the factory, it had never seen water. I had the dealer fix it before we would take it home. Our 2006 Bennington was back at the dealer 2 weeks after we picked it up to have the driver's seat bolts tighten (under warranty). I see a pattern. RiverBill
 
Mine does make some popping noises too. Perhaps that's the issue, other than I should lose a few more pounds?
 
First of all, I love my new Bennington. Top notch quality, far superior to other brands. I researched pontoons for months before making my choice of Bennington. Thats why its a little disappointing to find such a simple prevention not in place. A small flat washer does not allow proper torque to be applied to the seat bolts, which are under a lot of stress when big guys like me sit down in a recliner G series seat. An aluminum plate or bushing would allow more torque to be applied and distributed to a larger area on the deck. This fix cannot be done without removing wave shield. And yes Semperfi8387 All 18 bolts in three G series recliner seats where loose after 4 trips out. Not only in my boat but my buddies also.
 
TomS said:
Mine does make some popping noises too. Perhaps that's the issue, other than I should lose a few more pounds?
Click to expand...
Mine also makes the "popping noise "
 
They should be visable from under the boat.
 
You should see them from underneath in a circular pattern if you don't have the waveshield blocking your view.
 
My guess would be that Bennington is installing the seat bases as per the manufacturers instructions, and i am sure that the nuts/bolts are torqued ( no Derrick, not toqued) to a specific spec.

As the parts settle and the plywood shrinks, there may be some loosening of the fasteners.

While this may not be the best mounting method, it's the one they must use for warranty purposes for the seat base.

Talk to your dealer and see if they are willing to improve on the design while they are in there getting things tightend back up, or get in there and make whatever improvements you feel it needs. ;)
 
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