We were finally able to put the new boat in the water yesterday! I have been worried that maybe we made a mistake getting the express toon and not the sps, but with 8 adults and 3 coolers we were still running 32 mph. Plenty fast for me!
We are kind of in the same situation, wife loads while I back. We pick up our new boat this weekend and it has the guides like your top pic. I can let you know this weekend how it works out
Used Bennington's are pretty hard to find around us. The ones I did find, I could buy a new one cheaper. The dealers in southern Ky, and Nashville, Tn have some great discounts going on new boats.