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1st Bennington

jfluhr18

jfluhr18

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Dubuque Iowa
So I just put a deposit on a 2014 24 SLX3 that is scheduled to be manufactured on July 8th. Very excited about the purchase. It was hard selling the Crownline but once I saw the Bennington I knew I would not look back!!

I do have a few question for you experienced Benni owners out there. The one we are getting will have a Merc 150 with the express package. What are you thoughts on the express as far as performance goes? we will be using it mostly to cruise but once the kids are old enough I know they will want to ski and tube on it. What should I expect for mph? dealer thought around 40?

should I upgrade to the kicker speakers? I can not find any info on the ultimate speakers. Any details of what the specs on them are would be great. I plan on adding an amp and a few more speakers so we can hear the music while cruising at 30-35 mph.

I know I will have more questions, but thats good for now.
 
Hello Welcome to the Bennington family. I too bought my first Bennington just two months ago. I know you will LOVE IT !

I have the 2375RCW with twin elliptical tubes and a 150 Yamaha. With four people and three dogs on-board I have seen a top speed of 42 and that is by GPS so I know it is accurate. But conditions must be pretty perfect on the lake for that. I would say 40 is a very realistic number.

We don't ski but we do take the grand-kids tubing and they seem more than satisfied. In the past we had to use the Seadoo for pulling. But we are selling that because of the job the Bennington does.

As far as the sound system goes. I have the upgraded Sony with Kicker speakers and we have no problem cranking out enough volume to hear at cruising speeds. That includes six lighted speakers and the remote on a rear lounge.

Hope this helps. Happy boating
 
My 24SSLX is now a year old, and has 25 hours on the Yamaha F150 with Express Tubes and a Reliance 15 pitch prop. It's running exactly 40 mph @ 6000 rpm's.

As dasalmon says, his ellipticals are 2 mph more than my boat, which would make them also slightly better on fuel.

The Express tube package gives you 90% of the benefits of a full 3rd tube at substantially less price. The Express tube is also slightly less expensive than ellipticals and the weight capacity is about the same. The Express Tube will handle better in tight turns than ellipticals. I don't know which boat rides better.

I see much more expensive boats with the big engines beating me by 3 mph on top end. Realistically, I seldom even throw the throttle to mine. The F150 is enough engine for me. Our lake has big water, and I've yet to experience any hull flexing when in the big waves.

As far as speakers, you can always replace them with really good speakers anytime in 5 minutes per speaker. Speakers are getting cheaper and cheaper all the time. You can hear available speakers at car stereo shops or at Best Buys, and then order them in via internet.

Welcome aboard!
 
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I have a 24SSL and you are making a good choice with Express and the 150.

If you want, you could add strakes to the outer toons. For the price, good option in my book. Planes quicker, also faster top end.

I have the 115, and am dealing with performance issues I would not have had with a 150.

Dan
 
I might say the express is more in the 65% range than 90%. There is a reason the SPP cost more. Just my opinion. If adding to an existing boat, than yeah the Express is the way to go, cost wise, it would be a pretty big job doing the full center tube
 
We have a 2012 Bennington 22 SSI 3 tubes with the Mercury 150 XL Performance Package (3 full length tubes & lifting strakes). The boat is quick to plane, tops out at 42 mph (gps) with clean tubes and 4 adults! Cruising speed is around 28 mph (4200 rpm), If I push it up to 30 to 35 mph the fuel consumption rises quickly. I don't like running it at 5200rpm's for long drives, the engine noise is more noticeable. We have the kicker speakers they do a good job at cruising speeds.

RiverBill
 
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Congrats on the new boat and welcome to the party! And go with the 150 and 3 tubes, you won't regret it.
 
I have the 2014 24 sslx with a yam 150 and the sps package.It would run 40 mph when new but has sat in the water for a little over 2 months and is now only running 34mph.Boat handles well and turns well.I have the upgraded speakers,no amp and I think its plenty loud enough but Im not as young as I once was.
 
I have a 2574 RFS elliptical "3 tunes" with a 250 four stroke Yamaha and have been to 45 MPH with out pushing it all out. But like others, I can almost watch the gas gauge dropping, so I don't go there often.
 
Well my build date is here--today!! Dealer said he will have it in the water for me by this Friday. I just hope that he can keep his word as its been a long 2 months.
 
Going to be a nice weekend for you jfluhr18, enjoy
 
Wow, where's the dealer, next door to Bennington ????

Congrats, and PICS !!!!!
 
SEMPERFI8387 said:
Wow, where's the dealer, next door to Bennington ????

Congrats, and PICS !!!!!
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The dealer is 6 hours from the factory and now that its Wednesday already, I know it wont be ready by Friday. Already started looking at a 2012 2250 RCL.
 
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jfluhr18 said:
The dealer is 6 hours from the factory and now that its Wednesday already, I know it wont be ready by Friday. Already started looking at a 2012 2250 RCL.
Click to expand...
Are you related to Derrick by chance ...... :)
 
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