Recent content by Bamaman

LOTO is simply one of the premier lakes in the U.S. Full of homes and condos. Lake of the Ozarks is Branson's lake and it's quite beautiful. Bull Shoals is another amazing lake--down on the AR state line. It's not as settled as the above, but look at it on any map.

Alabama has a bunch of great lakes. Pickwick, Wilson, Wheeler and Guntersville lakes on the Tennessee River are hard to beat. The entire Tennessee River system runs 650 miles from Western KY to Knoxville, TN, and it is undoubtedly the premier inland cruising in the U.S. It gets more...

Harbor Freight has dollies with swivel wheels that will work with a pontoon boat. They're also relatively inexpensive.

Yearly maintenance is so easy on modern 4 stroke motors, and it's just a 30 minute job. I don't see any reason to pay an extra $250 to a dealer for 30 minute's labor. Life has got in the way of our boating the last couple of years, and with such low hours put on the motor I'll skip a year of...

My 24SSLX is sitting on a 10' x 20' rack made out of 4" channel iron with a total of 4 crossmembers. I prefabbed the rack at home and have put it together with 4" long angles and bolts. (Welded would be better but more expensive.) Each toon sits on two 2 x 6's bolted flat to the frame an...

Bennington probably has 100+ seating and fencing options to choose from. They're not really in the business of upholstery and mooring covers. I suggest you find a good upholstery shop to redo your seats. Or, you can buy all new seating online at PontoonStuff.com. Mooring Covers can be...

I have a 24SSLX with a F150 and the Express Tube. I have no issue with the way it handles waves at all. With the engine trimmed out, it's running nose high with the nosecones out of the water--fast and efficient. And even in whitecaps running fast, I see not one bit of deck flexing.

I have a 24SSLX with the Express Tube (three 25" toons). I like to say it gives 90% of the performance of three full toons for a price much less than the twin elliptical toons. My boat runs exactly the same speed on top end as three full toons, and it turns well enough to pull tubers. It...

If I was in salt water, I'd avoid the big Yamaha motors. I hear complaints of corrosion and an uncooperative warranty department. The Mercury Verados are actually built for multiple engine applications in salt water--fishing fleets. It almost takes an electrical engineer to hook up the motors...

If you ever have a Dyson, it's hard living without it. At least until my wife bought a high line robot vacuum cleaner--comparable to a I Bot. Our house is remarkably clean with it running 2 hrs. every morning. But for the boat, the Dyson would be hard to beat. I also carry a Dust Devil...

The owners of Barletta started Grand Design travel trailers and fifth wheel trailers (and toyhaulers.) They previously were in upper management at Thor Industries. Their facilities were bought out of bankruptcy cheap, and they hit the retail market at the right time--2014. Grand Design kicked...

Before you check your oil level, tilt it as high as it goes and leave for a few seconds. Then drop it down to a "level" position. Wait a couple of minutes for the oil to drain into the sump. If your oil level is not midway between the cross hatch pattern on the stick, take a little oil out...

Boat prices in this market are somewhat deceiving. Makes me glad I got my 24SSLX 9 years ago @ $39K with F150 and trailer. When you make your deal, make sure the dealer's going to include a Mercury Enertia propeller--and not some off brand or aluminum prop. Your boat deserves a $700 prop.

You're as low with the engine as you can go. And looks are deceiving on engine setup. I suggest you call Bennington Customer Service and ask them the correct prop for your boat. I think they keep notes on what combos work best. The chances are you're a prop away from doing better. The next...

We have the 24 SSLX with a Yamaha F150 and just SeaStar hydraulic steering. Most of our cruising is 25 mph or less. When you kick it up into the 30's, yes the steering gets a little hard to steer. But power steering assist is just so expensive since most of our faster speeds are in a straight...