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Table/cooler/ottoman question

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BAK

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Guys,

Once again great forum, I have learned a lot here.

I purchased a new to me 2011 2275 RCW with a bow gate seat.  My older Crest Pontoon had a cooler table with a flip top and drink holders on each end.  We really enjoyed it and the cooler was a good size for a day at the sandbar.

It appears that Bennington offers 3 options here, 1 being the ottoman, 2 the cooler table, and 3 the granite table

The Bennington we purchased has no table/cooler/ottoman and I would like to order one to match directly from Bennington.  Can anyone help with 2 things…...

1) Which of the 3 that Bennington offers will allow you to comfortably walk around the cooler to access the seating in the front of the boat?

2) Which of the 3 will give you a decent amount of cooler space?  If you know the cooler size that would be really helpful.

Thanks again in advance for all of your help.

Best,

Brian
 
Take a look at this thread on the coolers.
 
I have the granite.  It looks beautiful but we never use it for a cooler.  You would have to put a small cooler in it and then open the granite and the cooler lid to get anything out.  It would be a PITA. Even for just 2 people we take a cooler and put it behind the drivers seat. 
 
Our most frequent use of the coffee table/cooler is to slide it back between the rear loungers on the RCW and put our food and drinks on it when we're parked. When it's in the front section it's mostly in the way and also slides around. We do have the Seagrass floor which is a bit more slippery than carpet.
 
I get that many may like the cooler/ottoman.  For us, I'm glad I didn't get one.  With kids/teenagers, it would just be in the way.  And I can tell you from experience a normal hard-plastic cooler slides around VERY easily on the boat when underway.  We generally keep our cooler wedged in by the port side gate where it's out of the way.

But, there have been times when we've used the cooler as a small table in between the front couches.  One time we had a veggie tray and dip on the cooler.  A wave came by, the dip slid off the cooler and landed upside down on the carpet.  5 second rule applied and we got most of it put back in the tub and we ate it.  The carpet wiped up surprisingly easy.  This would have been a MUCH bigger mess on our carpet at home.  A wet rag and it was completely gone from sight.

Whatever you get, I would suggest a rubber mat if the surface is slick!  Make sure the bottom has enough traction that it won't slide around.
 
I got the ottoman / cooler and it has worked out great.  There is a large space behind the captain's chair before the stern gate, where it is normally stored.  We do a lot of waterskiing and that is the spotter's private seat.  As for a cooler, I couldn't tell you, there are towels in there. 
 
We have the nice granite table/cooler but as others have stated, we don't even use it.  It justs gets in the way.  I feel bad because I know it was an expensive option (although it came with the boat when we bought it used a few years ago) but again, it just takes up leg space for those sitting in the bow (we put the cooler over the center storage door).  So this thing just sits in my shed....not even being used.  It looks sharp but has zero pracitcality in my opinion.  If Bennington would have put a drain spout in it (for easy removal of thawed ice....like every other cooler that size has) then we might use it more.  This was a huge topic of discussion last year.  Someone recommended the A&O soft coolers so I bought one and love it.
 
We have the table-cooler also.  It's about 3' long, and just gets in the way. 

Since we live on the lake, we seldom use any large coolers.  If we run out of drinks coming out of our small flexible Bennington cooler, we just run by the house and pick up more.
 
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