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Thinking about buying a new Bennington-Opinions???

KellyNBham

KellyNBham

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My husband and I are thinking about buying a new Bennington pontoon and I'm so overwhelmed.  We are going from a wakeboard boat to a pontoon.  I can't decide if I like the exterior color,  Matador Red or Crimson Red????  Also, I can't decide if I like the 2 loungers in the stern facing backwards.  If any of you have them, do you like them, use them?   Also, I can't decide on the co-captain area, passenger.  A chair or flat seat with table??????  Of course the hub makes all the engine decisions.  We are going with a S or G series.   So many options, so many decisions......
 
Welcome, you're in the right place!

We moved from Malibu ski boats and have never looked back. The rear loungers are great for watching what's going on behind the boat, and we love them.
 
Last year was our first year of boating .We ordered a 2013 22' SLX Crimson Red with the Ivory furniture .

Our brother in law has the Matador Red and the Crimson is very much brighter .

We enjoyed it so much we are trading it in on a 2014 2375 RCW also in Crimson Red with Ivory furniture .

We had a table last year ,used it once ,no table on the new order .We did order the captain and co-captains chairs and the two rear facing loungers .
 
We have a 2013 2550 RSR with the co caption chair and optional ottoman. We cruise for hours and my wife loves the comfort of the chair and the  ottoman for her legs. We would recommend this choice.
 
We had a 22' sslx (double wide rear lounger on one side) and loved it so much we ordered that layout again on our 24 sslx. Everyone who gets on the boat ended up in that seat. The wife and I would sit back there for hours and just float around. It is also a great place to sit and watch water sports from. I would think resale as well. The rear facing seats just make sense on a pontoon in my opinion. Good luck on the purchase and keep us updated!
 
Thanks so much for the comments.  This helps me tremendously!   My 12 year old son is really wanting the rear facing seats in the back as well.  We are only a family of 3 but we ALWAYS have a crowd and friends tagging along with us.     One more question,  I am digging the sporty bimini tower rather than just the regular tower.  Any of you have that?   While it doesn't look like it provides as much shade as the regular top, I like the 'sporty' look of it.
 
Welcome!  We have the rear facing lounges and they are used more than any other seats in the boat!  I do not have the tower so can't help you there but others on the forum do have that setup and will chime in.  Enjoy the boat!

Jack
 
That was one of my questions ,there is a difference between a Tower and Arch .

On the Tower and the Hybrid Arch they do Not close up for full sun ,which is what we wanted .

The standard arch Does close and that is how we ordered ours.Also the pictures on the build site of the Tower and both style of Arch's  are Not accurate .

.
 
I think that first picture on the red boat, the tower is going to be way pricey, so I was thinking the sport arch was more what we would get.  I like it.   Thanks so much for posting these pics!!! 

Another question, how do you all feel about the two toons versus the Tri toon?  
 
We ordered the Express package  ,and that was budget related .If it is in your budget I would go with 3 full . You will get  many more opinions .Go to as many dealers that  are in your area ,and price them out ,prices do vary between dealers .
 
If you're budget allows go SPS or ESP. Both of those are tri-toon performance packages if you will. We had a two-toon boat (2013) with lifting strakes and a 115hp motor and sold it before the summer was over to order another boat that would better satisfy our need for speed. Our 2014 has the sps package and 200hp motor now. We had the luxury of testing that setup last year and that is what really pushed us over the edge on selling our last boat. The ride is night and day different.
 
I'm SO glad I found this forum.  You all are answering so many questions that I've been struggling with.   Like I said, we are going from a Malibu wakeboard boat to a pontoon, so I want to make sure we do it right the first time.  I don't want to be ordering ANOTHER boat next summer.   I'm hoping to make all the right decisions the first time around.   THANKS!
 
As I said, we replaced our 'Bu with this Benny.

2013 2275RCW Limited 52" ski pylon, ESP tri-tube package, 52g fuel tank, center tube storage, power steering, power bimini. Other options are mostly convenience, stereo, and styling things, personal taste.

2013 Mercury Verado Pro 250hp 45-50mph top end, more than enough power to pull multiple deep water slalom, wakeboards, tubers.

I'd also suggest the raised helm and you should invest in a separate PTM Edge Ski Mirror just like the wake boats have. They have a special one for pontoons and it works great.
 
Nice explanation Jack M on the Biminis.  I was confused on the differences as well
 
I don't think we are going to be able to get in a R series right now.  Maybe if the price is right.  It's looking more like the G series.   The more I look at my options and choices the more and more I want..

I also want a darker interior, more of a mocha.....
 
KellyNBham said:
I don't think we are going to be able to get in a R series right now.  Maybe if the price is right.  It's looking more like the G series.   The more I look at my options and choices the more and more I want..

I also want a darker interior, more of a mocha.....
Click to expand...
There are so many options, you can easily spend more on a G than an R! The good thing is they're all Benningtons' from the S to the Q, built the same way, great designs, style, performance, attention to details, warranty support, etc. The key, as many folks here will tell you, it's best to buy what you want the first time. Painful to swallow at first, but you won't regret it once you're in it.

Engine choice and the associated mechanicals - 2 vs 3 toon configurations, under-skinning, lifting strakes, and such are particularly important to get right up front because it's hugely expensive to change later.

Good luck and keep asking away!
 
You may be surprised at the price of an R .A lot of the options you put on a G are standard on an R . Ask you dealer to price them both .
 
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