Another Recommendation Needed - Twin Elliptical vs. SPS Draft Difference?

[smorourke]

Hey all...so I am about to order a new 22' SXSRC and deciding between the twin ellipticals or the SPS - both would be set up with a 150 Yamaha SHO and the Saltwater set ups. My dock is in a shallow river and I am putting in a boat lift so draft is really important; however, I am unclear if the twin ellipticals drastically changes the draft of the boat versus the SPS package. An additional 3-4" would be meaningful for my set up.

It sounds like the SPS handles better which sounds great, but if the twin ellipticals has a significantly shallower draft, I'll just go that route.

Any and all opinions welcome!

Thanks!!!

 

[John(DE)]

I have twin ellips with a 150 and love them. They each get you an extra 1000 pounds of bouncy. My boat rides drier in choppy water than my friends with tritoons. That said, if you are doing a lot of watersports, the twin ellips push a lot of water and certainly don't turn on a dime. I'm not pulling tubers and skiers and would never buy anything but twin ellips again. I also have lifting strakes which also makes a difference. Subjectively I think I sit higher out of the water than other boats, certainly higher than 2 toon boats. But I don't have any scientific evidence to support that.

 

[Vikingstaff]

Twin Ellipictals have a shallower draft, but off hand, I cannot remember what it is (mainly in the rear of the boat is where its striking - maybe 4-6” difference when paired with a heavy/big outboard motor). So buoyancy, weight capacity and draft is better with twin ellips. Tritoon is still good in those ares, just not as good, and the tritoon will really “sag” lower in the water in the back with bigger outboard motors there.

If you prefer a tritoon for handling and some other benefits of them over twin elipticals, you could always consider something like Sea Legs or Ultra Legs. We sold our canopy boat lift and switched to Sea Legs on our tritoon for the very issue you mentioned (extremely shallow water dockside).With the Sea Legs, if its deep enough to be at all bouyant, then we can just lift the boat out of the water in the Sea Legs.

 

[Pbakk]

I am surprised that pontoon would have shallower draft than tritoon, but I have never owned a tritoon. I would have guessed that tritoon would have more floatation. My pontoon really plows through the water and I am looking at a tritoon thinking it would have more floatation.

 

[Vikingstaff]

I am surprised that pontoon would have shallower draft than tritoon, but I have never owned a tritoon. I would have guessed that tritoon would have more floatation. My pontoon really plows through the water and I am looking at a tritoon thinking it would have more floatation.

Well, I tritoon will have more bouyancy over a traditional bi-toon. The only pontoon hull set up it doesn’t have more bouncy than is Bennington’s twin elliptical pontoons. The large twin ellipticals are designed single mindedly with bouyancy and weight capacity in mind. Beating out even Tritoons, which says something.

However, tritoons are still incredible in both of these areas! Second to only the twin ellipticals in each, but then so much better in a number of other areas: namely handling and maneuverability.

To me personally, tritoons are still the overall better option when weighing ALL variables. But for some (for price!), the twin ellipticals provide a nice option.

 

[DVW]

I can give you observations and my best guesstimate based on simple calculation. From observation most pontoons will have the waterline at the stern about half way up the tubes. Half way up is 12.5” from the bottom for both round and elliptical tubes. From that midpoint waterlines vary up or down about 2 inches. From simple calculation a SPS tritoon hull has 17% more total displacement than a twin elliptical. Total displacement (under water) does not take into consideration the way the boat sits in the water but it is a good indicator of draft. Calculating draft at the stern is beyond my skill set but it is clear to me that the SPS hull will ride higher. My best guess is that the SPS will ride 1” to 1.5” higher than the elliptical hull.

 

[LaurencetheAdventurer]

Bennington’s twin elliptical - The large twin ellipticals are designed single mindedly with bouyancy and weight capacity in mind. Beating out even Tritoons...

I wonder if the ESP with one elliptical and two regular toons would be more or less than the twin elliptical!? Hey, maybe owners can post their Twin Elliptical noting the Benning Length and Engine Make/Size and we can compare pictures of owners ESP!?!? Here is my L26 / Merc 350 (nobody on board, tank most likely full), you will note the water level is just below the support arm for the ladder.

 

[Vikingstaff]

I wonder if the ESP with one elliptical and two regular toons would be more or less than the twin elliptical!? Hey, maybe owners can post their Twin Elliptical noting the Benning Length and Engine Make/Size and we can compare pictures of owners ESP!?!? Here is my L26 / Merc 350 (nobody on board, tank most likely full), you will note the water level is just below the support arm for the ladder.

Good idea on side view picks. Also, I’ve wondered the exact same thing with the ESP with center elliptical.

Here is ours: 24’ SPS hull, 200HP Merc Verado Pro. Side profile empty and another showing back (pre-Sea Legs):

 

[LaurencetheAdventurer]

Good idea on side view picks. Also, I’ve wondered the exact same thing with the ESP with center elliptical.

Here is ours: 24’ SPS hull, 200HP Merc Verado Pro. Side profile empty and another showing back (pre-Sea Legs):
View attachment 36279View attachment 36280

That's the money shot! I have 900 pictures and not one from the back like that...lol. Your Benny appears to sit much higher than mine, 2 to 3". I assume the weight of the engine and smaller gas tank account the variance, even without the ESP. Looking through the pictures, I am also reminded the center toon does NOT come all the way back, the transom does not provide buoyancy for 2' to 3' at the rear/aft. I surmise that with that ah..ha moment, the twin elliptical will provide the most bouyancy. Keep the pictures coming!

 

[mtudb24]

These are from my old 2275 RCW with twin elips and 150hp outboard

 

[Bill N]

Many variables makes it difficult for a definitive answer, but let me chime in on the lift. You will want a rack style and not a bunk style. Also, you will want a cantilever over a vertical lift. The reason for these recommendations is they both allow use in shallower water. Obviously setting rack height so no elevation is wasted.
Whoever is selling you a lift should know this.

 

[LaurencetheAdventurer]

These are from my old 2275 RCW with twin elips and 150hp outboard

Thank you for sharing - that third shot is best: your Twins don't look significantly different than the Tri's, though they have larger motors. While difficult to see for certain since you don't have the newer style ladder, it appears your tunes are about 55% submerged, while the Tri's look 60%+. Suggesting a slight win for the Twin Elliptical. I think you need to find a large marina and take inventory. I have not seen any TE at mine, though there are about a dozen Benny TTs.

 

[mtudb24]

Thank you for sharing - that third shot is best: your Twins don't look significantly different than the Tri's, though they have larger motors. While difficult to see for certain since you don't have the newer style ladder, it appears your tunes are about 55% submerged, while the Tri's look 60%+. Suggesting a slight win for the Twin Elliptical. I think you need to find a large marina and take inventory. I have not seen any TE at mine, though there are about a dozen Benny TTs.

Maybe a better view is to show the actual water "scum" line when it was out of the water. But I agree with your statement, its about 50-55% under the water. You can still see where the scum line was after the toons were cleaned up in the spring. These pics were from Spring 2023 when the boat was 12 years old. Gotta love the Napa aluminum bright cleaner

If memory serves me correctly, the weight on my 25" shaft 150 Pro XS 2.5L V6 2 stroke was about 450lbs. I jumped on Merc's website and a 250lhp 4 stroke Pro XS 4.6L V8 is about 510lbs for a 20" shaft. Maybe another 5 to 10lbs for a 25" shaft. Honestly, I was surprised it wasn't a bigger difference. But then again, most (if not all) of the tri toons will have a larger fuel tank then mine which was around 30 gallons.

 

[smorourke]

I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and responses! I ended up ordering the TEs. Even if it is a 1-2” win, that might be super helpful at a low tide situation. I am very excited for the new boat delivery in the spring!!!

 

[Vikingstaff]

Congratulations! Keep us posted on it when it arrives and toss us some pictures. Not as many TE owners, so it will be great have another one in the group.

 

[mtudb24]

I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and responses! I ended up ordering the TEs. Even if it is a 1-2” win, that might be super helpful at a low tide situation. I am very excited for the new boat delivery in the spring!!!

Congrats on your new purchase. Will have to keep us posted during the building phase. If this is your first Benny, you can reach out to customer service and they can take pics for you as your boat is rolling down the assembly line. They did for us back in 2011 and it was so cool to see it at the various stages of build.

 

[smorourke]

This is my second. I just traded in my 2014 SL which I bought used in ‘20. I am excited about the new set up and 150 HP vs 115….my 2014 was a 2 toon model. I’d expect some significant performance increases.