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Any Tips for New Boat?

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MrsT

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Hello -
New to Bennington and excited to post.
We just purchased a 2020 Bennington 22SSRXP tritoon with a 175hp Yamaha 4 stroke VMAX.
We will be boating in WI.
Do you have any tips or advice I can think about before we launch?
Any helpful "learn from your mistakes" stories?
Any must have boating accessories?
Any cleaning or maintenance tips?

Be Kind and Enjoy the Adventure!
- MrsT
 
Welcome to the forum MrsT! Congrats on the new boat! Do you already have it or will it be delivered in the spring? Are you new to boating or a seasoned vet?!? If new to boating I would suggest taking a Boaters course. Only thing I can think of is keep your boat covered when not in use. The sun will tear up that upholstery. Must have accessory if you do watersports or just for overall safety is to get a PTEM Edge pontoon boat mirror. High quality well made mirror that will last.
 
Welcome ! Your Dealer should cover all you need to know. But stay tooned very helpful tips and advice will come from other members. Where in Wisconsin will you be boating?
 
Congrats on the new boat and praying you have a short winter!
 
BigKahuna said:
Welcome to the forum MrsT! Congrats on the new boat! Do you already have it or will it be delivered in the spring? Are you new to boating or a seasoned vet?!? If new to boating I would suggest taking a Boaters course. Only thing I can think of is keep your boat covered when not in use. The sun will tear up that upholstery. Must have accessory if you do watersports or just for overall safety is to get a PTEM Edge pontoon boat mirror. High quality well made mirror that will last.
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Thank you for your helpful thoughts. We take delivery in the spring when the lake thaws. I would rate my boating experience level much like I rate my snow skiing level, very much in the middle. We traded-in our well loved family deck boat, which I felt comfortable driving. I know a tritoon will move differently it the water, and I will need to practice docking. I agree about keeping it covered against the sun and weather. I will look into a PTEM Edge mirror as we do plan to tube and ski.
 
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MrsT said:
Thank you for your helpful thoughts. We take delivery in the spring when the lake thaws. I would rate my boating experience level much like I rate my snow skiing level, very much in the middle. We traded-in our well loved family deck boat, which I felt comfortable driving. I know a tritoon will move differently it the water, and I will need to practice docking. I agree about keeping it covered against the sun and weather. I will look into a PTEM Edge mirror as we do plan to tube and ski.
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You're gonna love it compared to your deck boat! Smooth stable ride and will easily go over those waves!
 
I've had my boat 3 years. I would suggest santa bring you at least 6 boat bumpers, a box anchor (small size might work), a bottle of 303 cleaner, ski rope, and some nice big seat floats. Have fun!!
 
TejasNewbie said:
I've had my boat 3 years. I would suggest santa bring you at least 6 boat bumpers, a box anchor (small size might work), a bottle of 303 cleaner, ski rope, and some nice big seat floats. Have fun!!
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And Alcohol Vodka, Beer and Tequila.
 
#1 Boat tip - USE IT A LOT. Make that a promise to yourself. Life gets in the way and then the next thing you know is, Sumer is OVER.
 
TejasNewbie said:
I've had my boat 3 years. I would suggest santa bring you at least 6 boat bumpers, a box anchor (small size might work), a bottle of 303 cleaner, ski rope, and some nice big seat floats. Have fun!!
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Hello -
Thank you for the Christmas List. A few questions.
Do you have a favorite boat bumper? Do you recommend a size or brand? What are opinions about giant boat bumpers? Where do you attach your bumpers? Is it wrong to attach them to the railing?
Which 303 cleaner do you use? I see there is a multi surface cleaner, fabric guard to repel water, mold/mildew cleaner/blocker. Do you use the 303 as a cleaner or preventative, or both? Do you use your cleaner on the SimTax upholstery?
- Thank you! - Mrs. T
 
GWLK said:
#1 Boat tip - USE IT A LOT. Make that a promise to yourself. Life gets in the way and then the next thing you know is, Sumer is OVER.
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Yes, I agree. With our previous boat we fell into the mindset "We can boat anytime"...then summer slipped away. We need to be more aggressive with our boating summer hours and boat, boat, boat.
 
MrsT said:
Yes, I agree. With our previous boat we fell into the mindset "We can boat anytime"...then summer slipped away. We need to be more aggressive with our boating summer hours and boat, boat, boat.
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We have a saying at Green Lake! "Go enjoy the lake" and we do !
 
Congratulations on moving in a new boating direction with your future Bennington. I look forward to hopefully seeing pictures of the new boat when you eventually have it. Here are some answers to your questions above from my personal use perspective. Best of luck squaring everything away:

Do you have a favorite boat bumper? Taylor Made are good, and you have a lot of options. Many companies and marine supply stores sell their own versions, as well as discounted ones on Amazon. Taylor Made have 5 versions of them, but these are what I have:

What I have: Taylor Made Storm Guard

Taylor Made Home Page to Explore all Opions: Taylor Made Boat Producs

Do you recommend a size or brand? What are opinions about giant boat bumpers? Where do you attach your bumpers? Is it wrong to attach them to the railing? I think the elongated style work best for pontoons. I would go a 6.5x22 or even an 8.5x26. I honestly do not 100% remember what size I have on our boat, and it is put away into winter storage now. I lean towards us having the larger 8.5x26 though based on another members recommendation when we were buying our boat in 2016-2017. We attach 3 evenly along the side of the boat. We attach them to the rail with Taylor Made Fender Clips. We like these because they are cheap, and you can put them anywhere to adjust for different docks/side by side tie ups, etc...

What we use: Taylor Made Clips

This site seems somewhat split between the Tayler Made clips above and EZ Fender clips. The EZ Fender clips are permanent mounted and look more polished. I just don’t like that they are always on, and mounted in one spot. However, here they are, and many members love them:

Another Good Option: EZ Fender

Which 303 cleaner do you use? I see there is a multi surface cleaner, fabric guard to repel water, mold/mildew cleaner/blocker. Do you use the 303 as a cleaner or preventative, or both? Do you use your cleaner on the SimTax upholstery? Some divided opinions here on 303. The newer Semtex apholstery advises against using chemical cleaners such as 303. They recommend Ivory or Dawn dishsoap for cleaning. Many on here have stuck to that with great results. We have always just used Dawn dish soap on our Semtex, and it is looking good going on 4 summers now. Others on here have used 303 with their older marine vinyl over the years, and have chosen to stick with it with newer Semtex fabric boats. I don’t think that is advisable since Benningtion and the manufactuer recommend against it. There was also a few people with Semtex this past summer starting to have some issues with theirs, and I couldn’t help but suspect user created problems by using chemical cleaners and protectorants on their Semtex. The only chemical cleaner they recommend for extreme situations is limited use of Fantastic. We’ve never had to resort to it, so I cannot speak to it.
 
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I have to say ditto to everything Vikingstaff said. No need for me to re-write it all. And if I did a copy paste I would be accused of plagiarism. :cool:
 
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