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Swingback Rail

ILLINOIS AVE

ILLINOIS AVE

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So I was looking at a Swingback model on line. Question being ! With out the rail around the swing back seat, would no one be allowed to ride back there when boat is in motion? Why do the rails not come on every boat ? Easy install or dealer install ?Just curious


Thanks Jeff
 
From what I gather most states require the rail for passengers. I know MN and WI do. I am going to ask my dealer if they or me can buy the rail and install it should I decide I want it later. 
 
Just seems like all the Benningtons should come with the rail. I  would let no one ride on the back when the motor is running with out a rail.
 
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I was told at the boat show in Charlotte that........It's actually an option on the  Benningtons. They said they don't know of anybody getting in trouble for being back there while underway and usually people use that area while anchored and hanging out. Personally I think it would be a great area to sit and watch somebody skiing, wakeboarding, and tubing since you have the option of facing to the rear. That's a great floor plan! But I would want the protective rails.
 
I would have to say that I'd rather have the option to add it then have to worry about deleting it. Kind of like going to a car dealer and every car on lot has power everything and I just want a cheap no frills car. What's important is that dealers realize, it's their responsibility to inform the purchaser of potential consequences of not ordering it. 
 
I know that in MI you must have the rail installed to have anyone in the back while underway.  I believe that if its something required by law, it should either be a no cost option, OR it should be standard, with the option to delete.  Now if it were not required by law, then having to pay for it as an option is more understandable to me.  Just my opinion.  I get others may disagree.



That said, we have a SB on order, and because its required to be legal and under way (let alone our own personal sense of safety), we paid to add it onto our order.  I can see family members laying out there during slow cruises, or hanging out and spotting during tubing or skiing.  We want them safer, and we don't want trouble with law enforcement.
 
So the states that it is a law. Shouldn't the dealer be responsible for having the rail on before the boat is sold? Or installing the rail free of charge because the law has since gone into effect?
 
This is why I love our sslx! Rear double lounger and it's encased with fence rail but still feels open 
 
ILLINOIS AVE said:
So the states that it is a law. Shouldn't the dealer be responsible for having the rail on before the boat is sold? Or installing the rail free of charge because the law has since gone into effect?
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That seems reasonable too.  That said, I get that the materials and labor are a cost to someone, so that's a tricky element; whether thinking Bennington should absorb it, or a dealer, or us the buyer.  It would be interesting to have a list of states where it's required vs. where its not, as well as perhaps info on our good neighbors to the north. In Canada is this a provincial thing...or national thing...?
 
Most of the picture Bennington has on their web site shows the Swingback without the rail. 


We opted to go without the rail as we have a number of low bridges.  Where the Bimini sits in the down position on the last 2 Bennies I have had it interferes with the rear facing seats and the captains chairs I had on the 2250GRB model.


I hope I don't regret not getting it and hope it's something that can be installed as an after thought. 
 
lakeliving said:
This is why I love our sslx! Rear double lounger and it's encased with fence rail but still feels open 
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Us too.  And you can use the seats behind the seatback at the same time. Doesn't the swingback eliminate 2-3 seats?  


On our boat, those are the most used seats (the lounger and the seats in front of it). And they are almost always used at the same time.  Even when there are as little as 5 or 6 passengers.  Largely because the bimini covers both.
 
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kaydano said:
Us too.  And you can use the seats behind the seatback at the same time. Doesn't the swingback eliminate 2-3 seats?  


On our boat, those are the most used seats (the lounger and the seats in front of it). And they are almost always used at the same time.  Even when there are as little as 5 or 6 passengers.  Largely because the bimini covers both.
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My understanding is the swingback either flops to the front or the back, no middle position so you're right, you lose the ability to use both while underway.  
 
And when anchored. Something for those thinking about a swing back to think about.


I saw one at a boat show and personally wasn't real impressed. It was uncharacteristically wobbly for a Bennington when I moved it back and forth.  Maybe it was loose. The one I saw didn't have rails and I immediately thought it would be such a waste while underway. I didn't know you could add the rails to make it legal at the time.  


People getting their first boat should really think hard and imagine their family in whatever layout they are thinking about buying...


My wife is quite good at that. We must have looked at 100 pontoon boats over about 5 years before we saw the new (at the time) 24 SSL.  My wife said "that's the one" just a few minutes after we first saw it.
 
kaydano said:
  My wife said "that's the one" just a few minutes after we first saw it.
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Same here! We liked it so much we're on our second sslx!
 
I had to give up a 22GCW with a 250/ESP because my wife like the SSLX floorplan so much. I had my dealer ask if I could get that floor plan on an ESP hull and was told a firm NO!


  200/SPS doing the job just fine! :)  
 
Had SPS been an option when we bought our boat, I would not have gotten the Express hull.  Not sure why they make Express hulls anymore. I'm guessing they will stop offering it at some point...
 
I agree Kaydano, like you I added the express toon which was a nice cost effective way to improve the existing condition
 
I know for us, the idea of a two person lounge area was a huge selling point with going with a SB.  My wife loved it immediately, as did our daughter.  I like the idea that we can lay back there together on the same lounge.  The one we saw at the dealership was pretty nice.  However, I too would echo that I was not totally impressed with the "looseness" in the swing back portion of the seats/lounge when we had the opportunity to see it in person on a floor model. I look forward to getting ours delivered and seeing what we think about it this summer.
 
I have a swingback with no rail. So far I haven't seen local law enforcement to verify the legality of riding back there while underway. But from the few rides I've been on the passengers prefer to sit on the bench facing forward.


However, we did test out what it is like to ride on the back while under way to see how easy it would be to fall off. This test was done in an inlet to the ocean where i could try it on some sizable waves to make it a worse case scenario. From a stop, I went full throttle (150hp/SPS) to about 35mph in a slight chop at first, took a few turns, slowed down and sped up again multiple times, took it into some waves.  The end result is that if you fall off of a swingback lounge then you were trying to haha. My father was the test subject and he was not holding on, just laying down normally.   From this I believe it is safe to ride back there at lower speeds in a safe environment. But I will update once I speak to an officer about if it is legal. 


Side note, SB with no rail looks so good on the water
 
I agree with the looks with no rail is one of the reasons we chose the swing back.  We also like that while at the sandbar you can sit upright on the back edge which you wouldn't be able to do with the rail.  I am really not sure about what the law is in Virginia but we like it without the rail either way. 
 
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